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Posted by Martin Mobberley at 16:34 on 2013 May 07
BAA Gallery visitors might have noticed three pictures taken by Mark Stuckey showing his remarkable restoration job on Horace Dall’sobservatory which has been unused since Horace died in 1986. The buildingwas originally built around 1937 with help from Eric Perry (Dall’s Lutonneighbour) and was acquired by Jim Hysom (the optics man of AE Optics) before Mark finally acquired it in 2012. When Mark acquired the observatoryit was in a truly appalling state and looked almost beyond salvage![The BAA gallery pics are stored under Meetings,People,Places]Mark’s ultimate aim is to restore and install Horace’s original 15.5"DK Cass inside Horace’s dome, but in the interim he has a numberof old AE telescopes to use which he has also restored to a pristinecondition. One of these is my old 14 inch AE Cass/Newt which was mymain instrument from 1980 to 2003 (I also had another AE instrument, a19.3 inch Newt, which I gave to Glyn Marsh in 2008). Anyway, I gavemy 14 inch Cass/Newt to Mark in 2009 and he has also restoredthat to an amazing condition……it currently sits inside HoraceDall’s old dome! Given the connection between Horace and the Hysom brothersthis is not inappropriate! Mark sent me some pics of my gleaming 1980 vintage 14" inside the Horace Dall dome (now in Norfolk) and I have uploadedone to my website for perusal at this link:http://martinmobberley.co.uk/images/14inch_in_Dall_Dome_MarkStuckey.jpgAll in all a magnificent double restoration job…..My old 14 inch looked nothing like that when Mark acquired it and Iam amazed at the incredibly shiny and new looking telescope that hasemerged from under the rust and cobwebs and corpses of tarantulas andgrime!Regards,Martin
Posted by Jeremy at 18:41 on 2013 May 07
Amazing stuff – thanks for pointing us in the right direction, Martin. And well done Mark, for such cracking restorations. Truly wonderful to see.Go well!Jeremy
Posted by Gary Poyner at 08:57 on 2013 May 08
I bet there are some nice vibes to be had just being in that observatory. I can almost feel them from the photo’s! Well done Mark on both observatory and Martin’s ‘old scope’!Gary
Posted by Paul A Brierley at 20:56 on 2013 May 11
That is very nice.I think Mark has done a wonderful job. And thank you Martin for sharingI had heard off the great Horace Dall, but I didn’t know too much about the man. Thanks to the latest IIS newsletter. I’m getting to know more about him.
Posted by Mark Stuckey at 11:09 on 2013 May 13
Thank you to all the kind comments from the memebers, I hope that when the original telescope is installed that some members on holiday in Norfolk will be able to pop over to take a look. Regards Mark
Posted by Martin Mobberley at 15:41 on 2014 Jan 10
I’ve been meaning to upload some recent pics sent to me via Mark Stuckey. Last year Mark resurrected my old 14 inch AE ‘scope, which I gave him some years ago, and he installed it in Horace Dall’s old dome, hence this thread. However, Mark has now completely and magnificently restored Horace’s 15.5-inch Dall Kirkham too, first built in 1938, and kept from 1986 to 2013 by Luton A.S. So Horace’s famous old telescope and its dome are now re-united and both are in absolutely pristine and fully working condition, thanks to Mark. From the late 1930s to the early 1980s this telescope took most of the best lunar & planetary photographs taken from the UK.The latest pictures are here:http://martinmobberley.co.uk/images/IMG_3479.jpghttp://martinmobberley.co.uk/images/IMG_3480.jpghttp://martinmobberley.co.uk/images/IMG_3482.jpghttp://martinmobberley.co.uk/images/IMG_3483.jpghttp://martinmobberley.co.uk/images/IMG_3484.jpgQuite a staggering double restoration job by Mark I think!!Martin
Posted by Americo Watkins at 19:32 on 2014 Jan 10
Martin,I think it would be interesting to see some lunar/planetary images taken with modern equipment using the restored telescope.Eric
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