All Things Georgian by Joanne Major & Sarah

Author:Joanne Major & Sarah
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY/Modern/18th Century
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books
Published: 2019-04-29T00:00:00+00:00

Sir William Herschel exhibiting his 20ft telescope to George III at Datchet or Clay Hall, John Inigo Richards. (Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University)

On the Road to Datchet, after Thomas Sandby. (Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection)

In honour of the king, and with the agreement of Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society, William named his discovery ‘the Georgium Sidus’ (the Georgian Planet) but this was soon vetoed and changed to one from classic mythology to conform with the other planetary names: Uranus was chosen, the name of the Greek god of the heavens.

A relocation to the village of Datchet near Slough and – more importantly – Windsor Castle took place the following year. William had promised Caroline that one day she would be an independent woman, earning a living as a successful concert singer; however, Caroline sacrificed her dream to move to the quiet backwater that was Datchet and help her brother achieve his ambition. The royal family were frequent visitors, observing the heavens through a newly-built 20ft telescope in the grounds of the Herschels’ home, a wing of a substantial house known as The Lawns.

At Datchet, as well as running the household, Caroline was officially named William’s assistant astronomer, a ‘Heavenly Hausfrau’ who swept the night skies for comets with her own telescope. Dressed in layers of woollen petticoats to keep warm, initially she hated spending cold dark nights outside observing the skies, but once she had more specialized equipment she began to discover comets herself and to enjoy her new career, even if she did find Datchet remote after the bustling life she had enjoyed in Bath. Still, a steady flow of interested visitors made their way to the observatory at Datchet.

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