Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford

The Observatory was built at the suggestion of Dr Thomas Hornsby, the Savilian Professor of Astronomy, after he had used a room in the nearby Radcliffe Infirmary to observe the transit of Venus across the sun's disc in 1769. The transit was a notable event which helped to produce greatly improved measurements for nautical navigation."

On the top floor is the magnificent octagonal observing room... From this gallery the Observer had access to the roof where meteorological observations were carried out. Large windows lead from the observing room onto the balcony, making it possible to wheel observing instruments outdoors.

www.gtc.ox.ac.uk/about/history/radcliffe-observatory

The Radcliffe Infirmary closed in 2007, with the site purchased by Oxford University, and most of the former hospital buildings were demolished in 2008, save for the listed buildings fronting Woodstock Road. The site lies directly alongside the Observatory and is now being filled with unattractive modern blocks, the latest insult being the Blavatnik Monstrosity, a six-storey glass lump next to the old St Paul's Church (Freud) on Walton Street.