Durham University Observatory

Durham Observatory
Observatory front view
Location within Durham, England
General information
Type	Observatory
Location	Potters Bank, Durham
Coordinates	54°46′05″N 1°35′10″W / 54.768°N 1.586°W / 54.768; -1.586
Construction started	1839
Completed	1840
Owner	Durham University
Design and construction
Architect	Anthony Salvin

The Durham University Observatory is a weather observatory owned and operated by the University of Durham. It is a Grade II listed building located at Potters Bank, Durham and was founded in 1839 initially as an astronomical and meteorological observatory (owing to the need to calculate refraction from the air temperature) by Temple Chevallier, until 1937 when the observatory moved purely to meteorological recording.

The observatory's current Director is Professor Tim Burt of the Geography Department, who is also Master of Hatfield College.

After the Radcliffe Observatory, Durham has the longest unbroken meteorological record of any University in the UK, with records dating back to the 1840s, principally due to the work of Gordon Manley in creating a temperature record that would be comparable to Oxford's. At present the observatory contributes to the Met Office's forecasts by providing automated records.