Towads Zero
Greenwich is famous for being home to the Prime Meridian – Longitude 0° 0’ 0” – the beginning of time and space measurement in this world. We went to Greenwich on 28th October, the day before Britain moved its clocks back from British Summer Time to GMT.
Greenwich pier is a short walk from the Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich railway station which can be reached by the Dockland Light Railway service. This service was quite astonishing because I didn’t see a driver/driver’s cabin on the train – there were only passenger coaches. The train was quite small (about 4 carriages) and was probably controlled from a remote location.
At Greenwich pier we saw the entrance to the foot tunnel which (as the name suggests) is a pedestrian tunnel under the River Thames. Imagine walking under a river! The tunnel is about 35-50 feet below water level, and though we didn’t walk all the way, we descended into the tunnel to look around.
Also at Greenwich pier, in a dry dock is the Cutty Sark, the only surviving tea clipper and one of the fastest sailboats ever. The ship is currently open to the public though it will be closed soon for repairs and renovation. We saw the captains salon and officers quarters, the dining room, pantry, seamen’s quarters, the upper deck, lower deck and the cargo hold. The rooms have been preserved to depict the life of sailors on board the ship. The lower deck houses works of art, ship’s instruments and other memorabilia and also a souvenir store. The cargo hold houses a museum of unusual figurines – there are figureheads from other ships that no longer survive, the original figureheads have been preserved in the Cutty Sark. Some of the figureheads are based on the ship’s owner or his immediate family, among the more well-known figureheads were several members of the Royal Families (of various European countries), past Prime Ministers of Britain, Abraham Lincoln, Disraeli and others. Since these figureheads are life-size, the room is quite spooky especially if viewed in the dim light.
After touring the ship, we walked towards Greenwich Park which houses the Royal Greenwich Observatory, the National Maritime Museum and the Queens House. On the way we passed through the grounds of the famous Trinity College of Music.
Greenwich Park is a vast park along the River Thames with a very good view of the river. The National Maritime Museum is the first building very close to the park entrance. Adjoining the museum is the Queens House which was a former Royal residence and now houses the fine art collection of the National Maritime Museum.
Behind these two buildings, the park gently slopes upwards towards a hill. At the top of the hill lies the Royal Greenwich Observatory – Ground Zero - and the climb is quite steep. The meridian line lies just inside the observatory gate and has been embellished with a metallic frame. Most people take pictures with their feet on either side of the meridian line thus standing in the eastern and western hemisphere at the same time. There is a telescope adjacent to the meridian line which provides a great view across the River Thames and the London skyline.
Right next to the telescope stands the Camera Obscura – the only surviving Camera Obscura in England. The camera obscura consists of a darkened room with a white table. In the roof of the room is a lens and mirror combination that captures the image of the surrounding landscape and projects it onto the table. The room had black drapes to keep out the light and we had a real time view of the scene outside.
When we came out of the camera room it was time to attend a talk on the history of the observatory and the necessity for the zero line. The talk was held in the courtyard of the observatory and I volunteered to be the captain of the ship (well, all I had to do is hold a small wooden sail ship while the presenter told us about the early explorers) for the duration of the talk.
After the talk we entered Flamsteed House (the house of the first Astronomer Royal) which now houses the Time galleries. Flamsteed House was the living quarters of the Astronomer Royal and at the top of the house is the beautiful Octagon Room from which the observations were carried out.
The Time galleries are fascinating. The entire history of timepieces unfolds before your eyes – from the early pendulum clocks to the development of marine timepieces to the very latest electronic masterpieces – it’s all on display. The craftsmanship of the mechanical movements of the early clocks has a delicate beauty that is quite nonexistent in the electronic circuits of the modern age. However, the time galleries are an interesting study in miniaturization and technological advances.
Next to Flamsteed House stands the Meridian House. It has further displays of astronomical instruments, early navigation equipment and the telescope of Sir George Bidell Airy (one of the Astronomers Royal) which is exactly lined up with the Prime Meridian and whose cross-hairs define the exact location of the zero line.
We then retraced our steps down the hill and made our way to the National Maritime Museum. On display outside the museum is a Sea Harrier lent by the Royal Navy to mark the decommissioning of the aircraft in 2006. As the name suggests, the museum galleries have the sea as the underlying theme. There are exhibitions of early explorations, the history of passenger travel by sea, exhibits of Admiral Nelson and his life with the Royal Navy, London and its maritime history, models of ships of war, memorabilia from famous warships (including the silver, weapons and navigation instruments), development of trade and spreading of the empire through sea routes, communication at sea and many more. You can also navigate a ship through the virtual River Thames. The museum is a treasure trove of how oceans have influenced life through the ages.
The visit to Greenwich was an enlightening experience. It was like a geography and history text book coming alive (except the history was all British, so we were completely unaware of all the parts that did not involve India). The entire package (National Maritime Museum and Royal Greenwich Observatory) was a tribute to the people, objects and events that occupy positions of glory in the history of this nation.
Greenwich pier is a short walk from the Cutty Sark for Maritime Greenwich railway station which can be reached by the Dockland Light Railway service. This service was quite astonishing because I didn’t see a driver/driver’s cabin on the train – there were only passenger coaches. The train was quite small (about 4 carriages) and was probably controlled from a remote location.
At Greenwich pier we saw the entrance to the foot tunnel which (as the name suggests) is a pedestrian tunnel under the River Thames. Imagine walking under a river! The tunnel is about 35-50 feet below water level, and though we didn’t walk all the way, we descended into the tunnel to look around.
Also at Greenwich pier, in a dry dock is the Cutty Sark, the only surviving tea clipper and one of the fastest sailboats ever. The ship is currently open to the public though it will be closed soon for repairs and renovation. We saw the captains salon and officers quarters, the dining room, pantry, seamen’s quarters, the upper deck, lower deck and the cargo hold. The rooms have been preserved to depict the life of sailors on board the ship. The lower deck houses works of art, ship’s instruments and other memorabilia and also a souvenir store. The cargo hold houses a museum of unusual figurines – there are figureheads from other ships that no longer survive, the original figureheads have been preserved in the Cutty Sark. Some of the figureheads are based on the ship’s owner or his immediate family, among the more well-known figureheads were several members of the Royal Families (of various European countries), past Prime Ministers of Britain, Abraham Lincoln, Disraeli and others. Since these figureheads are life-size, the room is quite spooky especially if viewed in the dim light.
After touring the ship, we walked towards Greenwich Park which houses the Royal Greenwich Observatory, the National Maritime Museum and the Queens House. On the way we passed through the grounds of the famous Trinity College of Music.
Greenwich Park is a vast park along the River Thames with a very good view of the river. The National Maritime Museum is the first building very close to the park entrance. Adjoining the museum is the Queens House which was a former Royal residence and now houses the fine art collection of the National Maritime Museum.
Behind these two buildings, the park gently slopes upwards towards a hill. At the top of the hill lies the Royal Greenwich Observatory – Ground Zero - and the climb is quite steep. The meridian line lies just inside the observatory gate and has been embellished with a metallic frame. Most people take pictures with their feet on either side of the meridian line thus standing in the eastern and western hemisphere at the same time. There is a telescope adjacent to the meridian line which provides a great view across the River Thames and the London skyline.
Right next to the telescope stands the Camera Obscura – the only surviving Camera Obscura in England. The camera obscura consists of a darkened room with a white table. In the roof of the room is a lens and mirror combination that captures the image of the surrounding landscape and projects it onto the table. The room had black drapes to keep out the light and we had a real time view of the scene outside.
When we came out of the camera room it was time to attend a talk on the history of the observatory and the necessity for the zero line. The talk was held in the courtyard of the observatory and I volunteered to be the captain of the ship (well, all I had to do is hold a small wooden sail ship while the presenter told us about the early explorers) for the duration of the talk.
After the talk we entered Flamsteed House (the house of the first Astronomer Royal) which now houses the Time galleries. Flamsteed House was the living quarters of the Astronomer Royal and at the top of the house is the beautiful Octagon Room from which the observations were carried out.
The Time galleries are fascinating. The entire history of timepieces unfolds before your eyes – from the early pendulum clocks to the development of marine timepieces to the very latest electronic masterpieces – it’s all on display. The craftsmanship of the mechanical movements of the early clocks has a delicate beauty that is quite nonexistent in the electronic circuits of the modern age. However, the time galleries are an interesting study in miniaturization and technological advances.
Next to Flamsteed House stands the Meridian House. It has further displays of astronomical instruments, early navigation equipment and the telescope of Sir George Bidell Airy (one of the Astronomers Royal) which is exactly lined up with the Prime Meridian and whose cross-hairs define the exact location of the zero line.
We then retraced our steps down the hill and made our way to the National Maritime Museum. On display outside the museum is a Sea Harrier lent by the Royal Navy to mark the decommissioning of the aircraft in 2006. As the name suggests, the museum galleries have the sea as the underlying theme. There are exhibitions of early explorations, the history of passenger travel by sea, exhibits of Admiral Nelson and his life with the Royal Navy, London and its maritime history, models of ships of war, memorabilia from famous warships (including the silver, weapons and navigation instruments), development of trade and spreading of the empire through sea routes, communication at sea and many more. You can also navigate a ship through the virtual River Thames. The museum is a treasure trove of how oceans have influenced life through the ages.
The visit to Greenwich was an enlightening experience. It was like a geography and history text book coming alive (except the history was all British, so we were completely unaware of all the parts that did not involve India). The entire package (National Maritime Museum and Royal Greenwich Observatory) was a tribute to the people, objects and events that occupy positions of glory in the history of this nation.
Hey! I have to say...seems that u and Santosh really like roaming around and visiting many places where'er u r... :))
Posted by
Anonymous |
2:08 am
Hi !
Hmm ive been to greenwich before so it was such a great write up i feel like going again! So mebbe i'll go ther this weekend :-))
btw check out my london post too
cheers
naveen
Posted by
flaashgordon |
10:43 am