Description:This pencil drawing by John Phillp shows the building described by the astronomer Alexander Aubert in 1778 in a letter to Matthew Boulton. This small building housed a telescope of 'Large aperture' and was most likely the building described in one of Matthew Boulton's notebooks as an Observatory. In 1778 the roof which was originally made of brown paper or 'tin foyl' was in a poor state, by 1786 the roof had been repaired and the building most likely put to other usage. The design of the building to house a telescope is the first example of a single storey octagonal observatory, the second example of such an observatory was constructed in Copenhagen in around 1778. It is likely that by the time Phillp did this sketch in 1796 he was not aware of the original use of the building, hence his misleading indication of smoke emerging from the top.
This image is from the Phillp album, a collection of watercolours and sketches by John Phillp (c.1778-1815). Phillp may have been Matthew Boulton's son but the evidence is inconclusive. He was born in Falmouth, Cornwall and came to Soho in 1793. Boulton paid for William Hollins to teach him architectural drawing in 1795. During his time at Soho he produced designs for silver, plate, medals and tokens.
Conservation and cleaning had to be undertaken on the album before it could be scanned and this was carried out as part of the Digital Handsworth Project.
With thanks to Andy Lound of the Planetary Society for assistance on this caption.