It has been said that Fuller's inspiration for building the Observatory came from his friend noted astronomer Sir William Herschel (1728-1822). Born Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel in Hanover, Germany, Herschel is perhaps best known for his discovery of the planet Uranus in 1781. He was appointed private astronomer to the king the following year. He subsequently discovered the Uranian satellites Titania and Oberon in 1787 and Mimas and Enceladus, two of the moons of Saturn, in 1789.
It is possible however, that it was this renowned stargazer's son John Herschel (1792-1871) who was more of a direct influence on Fuller's interest in astronomy.
Designed by Sir Robert Smirke for Jack Fuller in 1810, the Brightling Observatory was completed in 1818. It is located on the Brightling-Burwash road, at latitude 50 57 44 and in longitude 0 22 42E, and is now a private residence.
The Observatory was furnished with expensive equipment including a Camera Obscura and high powered telescope. During the 19th century, room Camera Obscuras became very popular across Europe. Originating from the Latin meaning " dark room " the Camera Obscura is considered the forerunner of the modern portable camera. Through a tiny hole in one wall, replaced in later models by a lens, an image was projected onto the opposite wall. Artists used different types of Camera Obscura to trace accurate images from nature and incorporate these images into their drawings and paintings. With this in mind, one wonders if frequent visitor to Rose Hill, J M W Turner may have made use of the Camera Obscura while there.
Brightling Observatory
In the autumn of 1964 John Vetterlein was engaged by Commander Hugh Malleson (Royal Navy retired), then owner of the observatory, to assess its viability. Installation of a Cassegrain type telescope of 8.5 inches (22 cm) aperture was proposed. However, the aperture of the original dome was deemed too narrow for a telescope of this aperture to function effectively. Vetterlein was commissioned to design a new dome which he constructed at R N Irving & son.
