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The Bidston ObservatoryBidston Observatory was originally built in 1866, with its distinctive white domes each housing a telescope (these can now be seen in Liverpool Museum). The building has a long and fascinating history involving work of groundbreaking international importance, as well as of local significance - for many years the observatory was connected by telegraphic line to the "One o'clock Gun", situated at Morpeth Dock in Birkenhead, which fired every day at 1:00pm to indicate the exact time to the citizens of Liverpool and Wirral.As well as astronomical observation, equipment was installed to measure seismic activity as early as 1897, when seismology was a relatively new science, followed by the arrival in the 1920's of the Liverpool Tidal Institute. The expertise of the the Institute grew to receive worldwide acclaim for its expertise in analysing and predicting tides. Now known as the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, you can find out a great deal more about their work at the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory website. In 2004/2005, POL moved to new purpose built premises on the main Liverpool University campus. At the moment, the observatory building is unused - we await news of any future developments with interest!
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