The Greenwich Meridian

Currently viewing images from 03 Aug 2016

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Picture credits

Many thanks to Tim Pike who as well as the images was able to provide much of the information on which the following is based.

In 2002, a local retried military doctor, André Stanghellini formed an association, known as ‘Greenwich 45’ whose aim was to create a fully-fledged visitors’ area focused on the convergence of the 45 parallel with the Greenwich Meridian. It was proposed to mark the intersection between the two imaginary lines with rows of stones supported by explanatory panels introducing the origins of the measurement of time and the development of cartography. This has yet to happen

In about 2010, a temporary marking in the form of a pipe sculpture designed to represent the intersection of the Greenwich Meridian with the 45th parallel was set up around 150 m to the south east on land owned by a friend of Stanghellini (see next mark north).

On discovering the original intention to mark the actual intersection, Pike and his friends, who were visiting the site of the intersection on a rainy day at the start of November 2014, took it upon themselves to erect a home-made sign at the spot, with the expectation that it would quickly disappear. The 2014 image has some images (extracted from a video) showing the sign being erected. Since its erection, the stuck on labels have been replaced at least twice, each time with ones carrying a different form of words. Images on the degree confluence website (link below) suggest that a temporary mark was also in existence in 2004.