My last Saturday outing with my camera was to South Kilworth in November 2019. It seemed a good idea to go back there today, because I had managed to miss the two most remarkable buildings in the village.
The first of these was the observatory built by the Revd Dr William Pearson (1767-1847), the village's rector for 30 years and a leading astronomer of the day.
At first he made his observations from the Rectory - inevitably now The Old Rectory - where he is remembered by a plaque, but the smoke from the fires of neighbouring cottages led him to build a separate observatory nearby.
And it is still there today - a fascinating looking building converted into a private house. If you google it you will be able to see its interior, as it was recently sold.
The observatory has had an eventful history: an article on Pearson and South Kilworth in the Society for the History of Astronomy Newsletter (Issue 11 - July 2006) records that after his death it was converted into a granary, then a cowshed and then in 1960 a private house.
Back at the church you will find a tablet in Pearson's memory - "Universally Beloved and Regretted" - and his grave.
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