Swept under the Carpet the Forgotten story of Edward Crossley and Joseph Gledhill

Guest Speaker

Thursday, 26th November 2026 (19:45 - 22:00)

Venue: Hybrid

The West Yorkshire town of Halifax was dominated by textile mills in the 19th century. Crossley Carpets made carpets which were exported around the world. What is less well known is that Edward Crossley and his employed assistant astronomer Joseph Gledhill had an observatory with the largest reflecting telescope in England. The two astronomers made massive contributions to the study of astronomy and after their deaths, Crossley's two big telescopes, the 36 inch Common reflector and the 9.3 inch Cooke refractor, continued to be used in astronomical research.

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Speaker: Martin Lunn

In the 1970s, I worked as a guard on British Rail while studying for an astrophysics degree. I worked as the Curator of Astronomy at the Yorkshire Museum in York from 1989 to 2011, where I assisted in the organisation of significant educational activities for youngsters. In 1998, I was awarded an MBE for my contributions to astronomy and education. I had a mobile planetarium that I toured to hundreds of schools in the north of England prior to the epidemic.  am a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and currently sit on the council.

I give talks aboard cruise ships all over the world, as well as to numerous organisations and groups in Great Britain. On a community radio station called Drystone Radio, I have my own weekly Astronomy Show, which you may listen to online. I also provide a monthly 'What's in the Night Sky?' column to the Craven Herald, a Yorkshire Dales newspaper. In 2020, I appeared in an episode of the BBC's Antiques Road Trip to discuss Thomas Cooke, York's Instrument Maker. 

Learn more about Martin Lunn