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Sir Howard Grubb, Parsons and Co. Ltd. was a
The company was founded in
Thomas Grubb was joined in 1864 by his son
Durham University Grubb Parson Lectures
Grubb and Parsons: Optical and engineering giants
Grubb Parsons telescope construction photos
compiled by I.S. Glass
The 36-inch telescope at Cambridge University
* Tyne & Wear Archives: Location of surviving records of Grubb Parsons {{Authority control Telescope manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Newcastle upon Tyne British companies established in 1833 British companies disestablished in 1985 1833 establishments in England 1985 disestablishments in England
Sir Howard Grubb, Parsons and Co. Ltd. was a telescope
A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...
manufacturer, more commonly known as Grubb Parsons. It was based in Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
, in England.
They were a noted telescope maker throughout the 19th and 20th century, making telescope throughout the World and some of the largest British telescopes, including one of their final projects, the William Herschel Telescope
The William Herschel Telescope (WHT) is a optical/near-infrared reflecting telescope located at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain. The telescope, which is named after William Herschel, ...
in the 1980s.
In the late 1800s they were one of the few companies that could make large doublet objective lenses.
History
The company was founded in Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
by Thomas Grubb
Thomas Grubb (4 August 1800 – 19 September 1878) was an Irish optician and founder of the Grubb Telescope Company.
He was born near Portlaw, County Waterford, Ireland, the son of William Grubb Junior, a prosperous Quaker farmer and his secon ...
as the Grubb Telescope Company in 1833.Backyard Voyager Page 1Thomas Grubb was joined in 1864 by his son
Howard
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
who built on the company's reputation for quality optical instrument
An optical instrument (or "optic" for short) is a device that processes light waves (or photons), either to enhance an image for viewing or to analyze and determine their characteristic properties. Common examples include periscopes, microscopes ...
s. Grubb was also known for building accurate electrically driven clock drive
In astronomy, a clock drive (also known as a field rotator) is a motor-controlled mechanism used to move an equatorial mounted telescope along one axis to keep the aim in exact sync with the apparent motion of the fixed stars on the celestial s ...
s for equatorial mount
An equatorial mount is a mount for instruments that compensates for Earth's rotation by having one rotational axis, the polar axis, parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation. This type of mount is used for astronomical telescopes and cameras. The ...
ed telescopes.
The technology for doublets was not so easy to come by, Grubb purchased this technology from the maker Guinand in 1838, who ten years later would go to work from Grubb during the 1848 revolution
The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
, according to ''History of Astronomy: An Encyclopedia''.
Some of the telescopes produced in the 19th century include the Great Melbourne Telescope
The Great Melbourne Telescope was built by Thomas Grubb in Dublin, Ireland in 1868, and installed at the Melbourne Observatory in Melbourne, Australia in 1869. In 1945 that Observatory closed and the telescope was sold and moved to the Mount Strom ...
, a 48-inch-diameter (1.2 m) reflecting telescope
A reflecting telescope (also called a reflector) is a telescope that uses a single or a combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image. The reflecting telescope was invented in the 17th century by Isaac Newton as an alternati ...
with speculum primary mirror, the 27-inch refractor for the Vienna Observatory
The Vienna Observatory (german: Universitätssternwarte Wien) is an astronomical observatory in Vienna, Austria. It is part of the University of Vienna. The first observatory was built in 1753–1754 on the roof of one of the university buildings ...
(1878), the 10-inch refractor at Armagh Observatory
Armagh Observatory is an astronomical research institute in Armagh, Northern Ireland. Around 25 astronomers are based at the observatory, studying stellar astrophysics, the Sun, Solar System astronomy and Earth's climate.
In 2018, Armagh Obse ...
(1882), the 28-inch refractor at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (ROG; known as the Old Royal Observatory from 1957 to 1998, when the working Royal Greenwich Observatory, RGO, temporarily moved south from Greenwich to Herstmonceux) is an observatory situated on a hill in ...
(1893), which is the UK's largest refractor, and the 10-inch refractor at Coats Observatory, Paisley
Coats Observatory is Scotland's oldest public observatory. It is currently closed for refurbishment as part of a 4-year long £42m transformation of the observatory and museum buildings. Located in Oakshaw Street West, Paisley, Renfrewshire, the o ...
(1898). In 1887 Grubb's firm built seven normal astrograph
An astrograph (or astrographic camera) is a telescope designed for the sole purpose of astrophotography. Astrographs are mostly used in wide-field astronomical surveys of the sky and for detection of objects such as asteroids, meteors, a ...
s for the Carte du Ciel
The Carte du Ciel (literally, 'Map of the Sky') and the Astrographic Catalogue (or Astrographic Chart) were two distinct but connected components of a massive international astronomical project, initiated in the late 19th century, to catalogue an ...
international photographic star catalogue project, 13 inch refracting telescope
A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens (optics), lens as its objective (optics), objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptrics, dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope d ...
s all designed to produce uniform photographic plates.
In 1925 the company was acquired by Sir Charles Parsons
Sir Charles Algernon Parsons, (13 June 1854 – 11 February 1931) was an Anglo-Irish engineer, best known for his invention of the compound steam turbine, and as the eponym of C. A. Parsons and Company. He worked as an engineer on dy ...
and renamed. The company traded until 1985, designing and building the optical components for telescopes such as the Anglo-Australian Telescope
The Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) is a 3.9-metre equatorially mounted telescope operated by the Australian Astronomical Observatory and situated at the Siding Spring Observatory, Australia, at an altitude of a little over 1,100 m. In 20 ...
, UK Infrared Telescope
The United Kingdom Infra-Red Telescope (UKIRT) is a 3.8 metre (150 inch) infrared reflecting telescope, the second largest dedicated infrared (1 to 30 micrometres) telescope in the world. It is located on Mauna Kea, Hawai'i as part of Mauna ...
, Isaac Newton Telescope
The Isaac Newton Telescope or INT is a 2.54 m (100 in) optical telescope run by the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes at Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on La Palma in the Canary Islands since 1984.
Originally the INT was situated at Her ...
and the William Herschel Telescope
The William Herschel Telescope (WHT) is a optical/near-infrared reflecting telescope located at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, Spain. The telescope, which is named after William Herschel, ...
, all of which are important astronomical instruments currently in use.
A partial history of the company was written by its last managing director, George M. Sisson.
See also
*List of largest optical telescopes in the 19th century
List of largest optical telescopes in the 19th century, are listings of what were, for the time period of the 19th century large optical telescopes. See List of largest optical telescopes in the 20th century for the 1900s. The list includes various ...
*List of largest optical telescopes in the 20th century
The following is a list of the largest optical telescopes in the 20th century, paying special attention to the diameter of the mirror or lens of the telescope's objective, or aperture. Aperture rank currently goes approximately by the usable physi ...
References
External links
Durham University Grubb Parson Lectures
Grubb and Parsons: Optical and engineering giants
Grubb Parsons telescope construction photos
compiled by I.S. Glass
The 36-inch telescope at Cambridge University
* Tyne & Wear Archives: Location of surviving records of Grubb Parsons {{Authority control Telescope manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Newcastle upon Tyne British companies established in 1833 British companies disestablished in 1985 1833 establishments in England 1985 disestablishments in England