Coats Observatory
Coats Observatory is Scotland’s oldest public observatory. Located in Oakshaw Street West, Paisley, Renfrewshire, the observatory has been operational since October 1, 1883 and continues to function to this day, offering visitors the opportunity to view the night sky through the powerful telescopes housed within the building.
The idea to create an observatory in Paisley came from the annual general meeting of the Paisley Philosophical Institution (PPI) held in 1880. The PPI was founded on 13 October 1808, having its origins among the educated and professional gentlemen of the burgh, such as ministers, doctors, lawyers and bankers. These ‘noble pioneers of philosophy’ [Gardner, P5] banded together with a view to improving themselves and their fellow towns-people through lectures, the collection of scientific books and by the formation of a museum, an idea first mooted in 1858 which eventually reached fruition in 1871 with the opening of the first phase of Paisley Museum.
At the 1880 AGM of the PPI a proposal was made that a telescope should be purchased, to be housed in a tower which was to be built in the new extension to the museum currently under construction. This decision came about as several lectures with an astronomical theme had been given to the PPI in 1878 and 1879, including four by Robert Grant, Professor of Astronomy at the University of Glasgow and one by Reverend John Crouch entitled ‘The Telescope in Relation to Astronomical Observation’.
The council of the institution agreed to purchase a telescope and Thomas Coats, a member of the world-famous thread manufacturing family and also of the PPI council, offered to meet the costs involved. He also proposed the creation of a purpose-built observatory to be located in Oakshaw Street, to the rear of the museum complex. This street is one of the highest points in the local townscape giving an uninterrupted 360o view over the town.
The architect chosen for the project was John Honeyman. He had been responsible for the design of many houses, churches and other buildings throughout the country, including Paisley Museum, Art Galleries and Library, and he had carried out alteration work to the now-demolished University of Glasgow’s observatory in 1862 and 1871, so was familiar with the design issues needed to create a fully functional observatory.
Honeyman’s design incorporates a number of interesting architectural features. The building consists of a three-storey tower, reaching a height of almost 20 metres, and topped by a copper-plated domed roof, within which the telescope is housed. The dome is reached via a short flight of stairs at the beginning and end and a ramped walkway between, designed this way to limit the number of steps required to reach the top of the building and to facilitate the easier passage of equipment throughout. The entrance foyer features a large stained-glass window dedicated to the late 18th century astronomer William Herschel plus further depictions in stained glass of earlier astronomers Johannes Kepler and Galileo.
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