Remains of Red Scar Observatory
Remains of Red Scar Observatory
William Cross was a prominent Preston lawyer. In 1803 he purchased a cottage and surrounding land at Red Scar. He subsequently expanded the cottage into a Jacobean-style mansion known as Red Scar House, incorporating the original structure into the new design. The Cross family resided there until the mid twentieth century.
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| A photograph of Red Scar House circa 1920 from the Preston Digital Archive |
The remains of the observatory can be accessed just off the Guild Wheel. It once belonged to Colonel William Assheton Cross of Red Scar House, which was demolished in 1939, partly to make way for Courtauld's works. The house was located in what is now the garden of remembrance of Preston Crematorium, south of Longridge Road. A large part of the former wooded grounds became the Red Scar Industrial Estate. As was relatively common amongst wealthy landowners at the time, he had an interest in astronomy and had access to his own telescope.
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| The remains of the observatory that once belonged to Red Scar House |
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| The remains of the observatory once of Red Scar House |
William Assheton Cross was born on 19 May 1818 and died in Preston in 1883. William became head of the family home following the death of his mother Ellen in 1849. The 1871 Census, for example, finds him as a ‘Magistrate and Landowner’ living at Red Scar with his wife Katherine and six daughters. In the 1881 Census he is a widower, living at Red Scar with a son, three daughters and ten staff working in the property. One of his occupations is given as Honorary Colonel of the Militia. In contemporary accounts he is often referred to as ‘Colonel Cross’.
He held the office of Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for Lancashire and he also held the office of Deputy Lieutenant (D.L.) of Lancashire.
William Assheton Cross' father was William Cross, a landed gentleman and distinguished lawyer. William Cross was the driving force behind the development of Winckley Square. His vision of a Georgian square in Preston was inspired by the Georgian squares he had seen in London.
William Assheton Cross' mother was Ellen Cross (nee Chaffers), a remarkable woman. She was widowed at the age of 44 with six children, the eldest being 11. She had been married for 14 years to William Cross, an attorney and Deputy Prothonotary.
The name 'Red Scar' perhaps seems to be an odd name for a house. It seems likely that it took its name from an area, which in turn took its name from a geographical feature. The area around where Tun Brook meets the River Ribble has earth that is very red in colour. When viewed from the south, in places such as Samlesbury, it would have looked like a 'Red Scar' in the landscape.
In this context, "Scar" is derived from the Old Norse word "sker," meaning a rocky outcrop or cliff. The "Red" descriptor likely pertains to the reddish hue of the exposed soil or rock in the area. This etymology is consistent with other English place names where "scar" denotes a steep rock face, especially those with visible coloration.
Historically, Red Scar has been recognized for its natural beauty. In 1857, historian Charles Hardwick described Red Scar Wood, located on the banks of the River Ribble, as a scene of unrivalled beauty, noting how the trees 'cling tenaciously to the crumbling earth.'
While specific documentation detailing the exact origin of the name "Red Scar" is limited, the combination of the Old Norse "sker" and the area's distinctive reddish geological features provides a plausible explanation for the name's origin.
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| 'View from Red Scar' illustration from the Preston Digital Archive |
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This JOURNAL ARTICLE about Colonel William Assheton Cross comes from the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 44, Issue 4, February 1884, Pages 131–132, published on 8th February 1884.
Colonel WILLIAM ASSHETON CROSS, of Red Scar, near Preston, was educated at Rugby, and Trinity College, Cambridge. He devoted himself from an early age to scientific pursuits, and had constructed a well-appointed Observatory at his residence even in his college days. Here he had mounted equatorially a celebrated 5-foot refractor by Dollond [Peter Dollond 1731 - 1820 : Astronomical instrument maker, Mathematical instrument maker, Optical instrument maker, Optician, Philosophical instrument maker], once the property of the Rev. W. R. Dawes, with which many of that well-known observer's early observations had been made. Later in life Colonel Cross became the friend and disciple of the late Mr. Lassell, and under his guidance succeeded admirably in grinding and polishing very excellent specula, one of which, a Newtonian of 15 in. diameter, he mounted equatorially, with all the best appliances, in a second Observatory with hemispherical dome. The figure of this speculum was wonderfully perfect, and elicited the warmest approval from Mr. Lassell. By a rude stroke of fate, one which denotes the rapid strides that have been made in the size of astronomical instruments in the course of one generation, Dawes's refractor mentioned above was degraded to become the finder of the new reflector. An excellent eye and remarkable mechanical skill were conspicuous in Col. Cross, and had not his time and powers been occupied by other matters, he would have earned for himself a high place among amateur astronomers.
He died suddenly at the age of 64. He was elected a Fellow of the Society on April 14, 1848.
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| Colonel William Assheton Cross - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
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Further reading and sources of information
Colonel William Assheton Cross from the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
Volume 44, Issue 4, February 1884, Pages 131–132, published on 8th February 1884
https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/44/4/131/1030609
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William Cross - 1771 to 1827 | 7 & 11 Winckley Street, by Friends of Winckley Square
https://www.winckleysquarepreston.org/heritage/william-cross/
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Ellen Cross - 1783 - 1849 | 7, 11 Winckley Street, by Friends of Winckley Square
https://www.winckleysquarepreston.org/heritage/ellen-cross/
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The 'View from Red Scar' illustration & the photograph of Red Scar House circa 1920
from the Preston Digital Archive
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