PDF Date: 1 May 2017 Pavilion Tea House, Royal Greenwich … · 2019-06-16 · measurement of longitude was essential for accurate navigation and this seemingly impossible problem

Images & Text © Beryl L Pratt www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand-reading.org.uk

p1 of 9GREENWICH - PART 2

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PDF Date: 1 May 2017

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15. Opposite the South Building is the octagonalPavilion Tea House*, dating from 1906 anddesigned by Sir Henry Tanner. On its roof is adovecot, and above that a weather vane showingAdmiral Lord Nelson surveying the scene throughhis telescope. The ground floor part was built as anopen veranda but in 1967 it was enclosed and morerecently the interior has been opened up toimprove the use of space. It is surrounded by ahedged* garden where visitors can enjoy theirrefreshments at tables under large parasols,

providing a safe area for those with children, aswell as some peace and space away from thecrowds of tourists in and around the Observatorybuildings. The tea house is open all year round andtoilet facilities are available nearby behind theSouth Building, accessible from The Avenue.

* "Tea House" Insert the vowel in this and "out-house" in order to distinguish

* "hedged" Keep the halved J short, so it is notmisread as "huge"

Pavilion Tea House, Royal Greenwich Observatory, Meridian Line,Shepherd Gate Clock, Standard Measurements

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16. In 1675 King Charles II commissioned thebuilding of the Royal Observatory on thepromontory in Greenwich Park known as Castle Hill.John Flamsteed was appointed the first AstronomerRoyal, whose duties were to "apply himself with themost exact care and diligence to the rectifying ofthe tables of the motions of the heavens, and theplaces of the fixed stars, so as to find out the somuch desired longitude of places for the perfectingof the art of navigation." The octagonal building isnamed Flamsteed House and was built on thefoundations* of the previous structure, GreenwichCastle, and so is not exactly aligned with themeridian. The scientific work of the Royal

Greenwich Observatory moved to Herstmonceux*Castle in Sussex over the period 1947 to 1957 due tolight pollution in London, where it remained until1990. The buildings at Greenwich are nowadministered* by the National Maritime Museum. Theentry charge covers the Meridian Building, FlamsteedHouse and the Meridian Courtyard.

* "foundations" Using stroke Ish plus N Hook, not aShun Hook

* "Herstmonceux" Anglicised pronunciation

* "administered" Omits the R



17. In the rear of the Meridian Building there is anextensive collection of portable chronometers ondisplay, with the conservation laboratory in fullview behind, which will warm the heart of anyonewith this special interest, and is free to enter. Themeasurement of longitude was essential foraccurate navigation and this seemingly impossibleproblem was eventually solved by the ingenuity ofJohn Harrison, a Yorkshire carpenter and clock-maker. He spent 50 years inventing and working ona succession of accurate and reliable portable

chronometers that could be taken on sea voyages.This enabled the ship's captain* to compare local timewith the chronometer which would remain set at astandard time, such as that at Greenwich. In this wayhe could compute the distance travelled and, inconjunction with his other measurements, find theexact position of his ship.

* "captain" There is also an optional contraction"capt(ain)"

18. John Harrison eventually received a total of£23,000 (more than two million pounds* in today'svalues) for his contributions to solving thelongitude problem, although the actual prize*money itself was never paid out. Other smalleramounts were granted to other inventors for theircontributions. Four of Harrison's timepieces are ondisplay in the main museum, three of them in fullworking order, along with other historicalastronomical and scientific equipment. To see theseyou will have to enter the chargeable part of the

museum, but you can see, at no cost, a replica ofHarrison's first timekeeper, made by Leonard Salzerof Biggin Hill between 1970 and 1976, on display inthe National Maritime Museum building at the bottomof the hill.

* "pounds" Always insert the vowel, and also in"pence", and both vowels in "pennies"

* "prize" Same outline as "price". If necessary todifferentiate, use Z stroke for "prize" although this isnot part of strict theory.



19. Some time in the 1980's Sir Isaac Newtonappeared at the Observatory in the form of* thissnowman built in the Meridian Courtyard ofFlamsteed House. Unfortunately* he seems to havehis back to the view of the Thames and London, buthe is in just the right place to welcome visitors. Onthe same day the grassy slope beyond wastransformed* into a magnificent icy downhill ride,full of parents and children rolling and sliding downon anything they could find to sit on, including oneperson trying out his skis. This was all ratherreminiscent of the historical accounts of the gameof tumbling* which was a popular entertainment for

visitors to Greenwich Fair in past centuries, and mayaccount for Snowman Newton's amused* grin! Hisname appears amongst the other scientists on theSouth Building, over the terracotta figure ofAstronomia.

* Omission phrase "in the f(orm of)"

* "Unfortunately" "transformed" Optional contractions

* Description of tumbling in Part 3 Para 41

* "amused" Always insert the vowel in this and"amazed" and their derivatives

20. The time ball on top of Flamsteed House wasinstalled by the Astronomer Royal John Pond. Theexplanatory plaque on the gate reads, "The redTime Ball on top of Flamsteed House is one of theworld's first visual time signals. It was installed in1833 (though the present one dates to 1919) toenable navigators on ships in the Thames to checktheir marine chronometers. The Time Ball dropsdaily at 1300 hours (GMT in winter, BST insummer). It is raised halfway up the mast at 1255

hours as a preparatory signal and to the top 2minutes before it drops." The time is counted whenthe ball starts its descent, not when it reaches thebottom. The ball's descent is actually a statelylowering rather than a rapid drop. It would also havebeen of service to everyone within sight of it whoowned a timepiece, and especially clock and watchmakers, who could then provide the correct time totheir customers.



21. The red line above the door on the MeridianBuilding in the courtyard marks the Prime Meridian.The line is also marked in a double steel strip in thegranite surface on the right of the photo, which wastaken from the east side at the gates. The meridianline designates zero degrees longitude and marksthe boundary between the east and westhemispheres of the earth. The International

Meridian Conference held in Washington DC in theUnited States of America in 1884 chose Greenwich asthe location of the Prime Meridian. Greenwich wonthe vote because it was already being used as suchby two-thirds of shipping and it was felt that achange from the established usage would not bebeneficial.

22. The steel line continues across the courtyard,with this sculpture placed on it as a visualdescription of the line. This photo of the sculpturewas taken on the west side, within the courtyard.When the place is thronging with visitors, it can bedifficult to get a clear photo of the buildings as awhole. Cold or dull weather would seem to be themost likely* option to avoid the crowds, ashopefully the tourists would be warming

themselves in the museums and coffee shops. Earlyin the morning might also prove fruitful for yourphotographic endeavours. At peak visitor timesconsideration for others taking photos can result in ahalting and zigzag progress from one point toanother!

* Omission phrase "mos(t) likely"



23. Standing astride the Meridian Line seems to bethe favourite* place for tourists to have their*photos taken. An orderly queue is formed andeveryone takes their turn to stand on the line witha friend taking the picture. Most of them seem toprefer to have the sculpture and scenery in thebackground. There is a charge to enter thecourtyard and museums, but reasonable picturescan be taken from outside or through the railings.If the courtyard is too crowded or too expensive foryour liking, there are two free places nearby whereyou can have your photo taken astride a markedMeridian Line. Firstly*, just below the courtyardthrough the gate on the path that leads downbehind the buildings, where the line is marked in

brass on the wall and ground. Secondly on TheAvenue, immediately behind the South Building, justa little way past the public toilets, where the line ismarked by a row of granite setts in both pathwaysand in the road. At night the meridian line laser isbeamed northwards from the Meridian Building and isvisible for many miles. The park closes at dusk so theeasiest way to see it during the day is via theillustration on the park notice boards.

* "have their" Doubling to represent "their"

* "favourite" Note that "favoured" uses the normal Vrstroke

* "firstly" Omits the T



24. The Shepherd Gate Clock outside the courtyardwas originally an electric slave clock, reproducingthe time from the master clock within the building.The system was designed and built by CharlesShepherd Junior*, who was commissioned byAstronomer Royal George Airy in 1852 to provide amaster clock and three subsidiary clocks for theObservatory. The master clock also controlled thedropping of the time ball, and sent* time signals tothe London Bridge Terminus of the South EasternRailway, for onward transmission to receiversthroughout the country. Now the clock is quartz-

controlled, and the other clocks are displayed in themuseum. The face shows 24 hours, with midnight*marked at the top zero.

* "Junior" Note how the diphone is written throughthe stroke, as an intervening vowel sign

* "sent" Short form written above the line, todistinguish it from "send"

* "midnight" "Mid" and "night" are halved whenwritten separately



25. The standard measurements beneath the clockare one British yard, two feet, one foot, six inchesand three inches. The two pins near the ends ofeach measurement are to hold the measuring rodbeing tested. The measurements are accurate at anambient temperature of 60* degrees Fahrenheit*or 16* degrees Celsius. The explanatory plaquereads: "These British Imperial standards were firstmounted outside the Observatory main gates sometime before 1866, to enable the public to checkmeasures of length. The stated length is thedistance between the inner* faces of the two D-shaped studs." Brass yardsticks and brass ells werecommonly kept as standard measurements.Elizabeth I had a brass yard made and copies weredistributed to the principal market towns. A lesscommon measurement was the ell, the length of a

man's outstretched arms, and was used to measureout cloth. The English Ell was approximately 45inches. Standard weights and measures werestipulated in Clause 35 of Magna Carta in 1215,

"There shall be standard measures of wine, ale, andcorn (the London quarter), throughout the kingdom.There shall also be a standard width of dyed cloth ...weights are to be standardised similarly."

* "sixty, sixteen" Keep the hook clear on "sixteen"and it helps to also insert the thick dot

* "Fahrenheit" Alternative outline when pronouncingthe H sound is given at bottom right of the jpg

* "inner" Prudent to insert the vowel, as "near" couldalso make sense in some contexts



26. The second plaque shows the height above sealevel as 154.7 feet, compared with the benchmark*which is measured and maintained by the NationalTidal and Sea Level Facility at their tidalobservatory in Newlyn, Cornwall. This organisationis responsible for monitoring sea levels in the UK*to assist* with flood warnings, navigation andclimatology. As coincidence would have it, this is alittle more than the height of the main mast of theCutty Sark ship above her deck, at 146 feet, givingpause for thought as you look down the hill andimagine that the tiny figures on the grass below are

walking about on the ship's deck, with you perchedaloft!

* "benchmark" M can be intersected for "mark" or"market" whenever convenient

* For "United Kingdom" see www.long-live-pitmans-shorthand.org.uk/contractions-optional.htm#placenames

* "assist" Keep the Stee loop long, as "assess" couldalso make sense in some contexts

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PDF Date: 1 May 2017 Pavilion Tea House, Royal Greenwich … · 2019-06-16 · measurement of longitude was essential for accurate navigation and this seemingly impossible problem