Mark II (radio telescope)

Jodrell Bank Observatory ( JOD-rəl) in Cheshire, England, hosts a number of radio telescopes as part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. The observatory was established in 1945 by Bernard Lovell, a radio astronomer at the university, to investigate cosmic rays after his work on radar in the Second World War. It has since played an important role in the research of meteoroids, quasars, pulsars, masers and gravitational lenses, and was heavily involved with the tracking of space probes at the start of the Space Age. The main telescope at the observatory is the Lovell Telescope. Its diameter of 250 ft (76 m) makes it the third largest steerable radio telescope in the world. There are three other active telescopes at the observatory; the Mark II, and 42 ft (13 m) and 7 m diameter radio telescopes. Jodrell Bank Observatory is the base of the Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN), a National Facility run by the University of Manchester on behalf of the Science and Technology Facilities Council. The Jodrell Bank Visitor Centre and an arboretum are in Lower Withington, and the Lovell Telescope and the observatory near Goostrey and Holmes Chapel. The observatory is reached from the A535. The Crewe to Manchester Line passes by the site, and Goostrey station is a short distance away. In 2019, the observatory became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Lovell Telescope ( LUV-əl) is a radio telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory, near Goostrey, Cheshire in the north-west of England. When construction was finished in 1957, the telescope was the largest steerable dish radio telescope in the world at 76.2 m (250 ft) in diameter; it is now the third-largest, after the Green Bank telescope in West Virginia, United States, and the Effelsberg telescope in Germany. It was originally known as the "250 ft telescope" or the Radio Telescope at Jodrell Bank, before becoming the Mark I telescope around 1961 when future telescopes (the Mark II, III, and IV) were being discussed. It was renamed to the Lovell Telescope in 1987 after Sir Bernard Lovell, and became a Grade I listed building in 1988. The telescope forms part of the MERLIN and European VLBI Network arrays of radio telescopes. Both Bernard Lovell and Charles Husband were knighted for their roles in creating the telescope. In September 2006, the telescope won the BBC's online competition to find the UK's greatest "Unsung Landmark". 2007 marked the 50th anniversary of the telescope. If the air is clear enough, the Mark I telescope can be seen from high-rise buildings in Manchester such as the Beetham Tower, and from as far away as the Pennines, Winter Hill in Lancashire, Snowdonia, Beeston Castle in Cheshire, and the Peak District. It can also be seen from south-facing windows of the Terminal 1 restaurant area and departure lounges of Manchester Airport.

Terra Nova School is a prep school in Cheshire, England for children from two and a half to thirteen years of age. It began as a school for boys in 1897, and today educates boys and girls. Children aged two and a half to seven attend the pre-prep school, and pupils aged eight to thirteen attend the prep school. A charitable trust since 1955, the life and work of the school are overseen by a distinguished governing body. Since 1939 the school has occupied a site of just over 36 acres (15 ha) including extensive playing fields, in a rural area within the bounds of Holmes Chapel. At the core of the site is Jodrell Hall, a country house begun in 1779 with additions in 1835.

Jodrell Hall is a country house near Jodrell Bank in the parish of Twemlow, in the county of Cheshire, England. Requisitioned during World War II, the building later became an educational establishment, now known as Terra Nova School. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

Blackden Hall is a country house to the northeast of the village of Goostrey, Cheshire, England. It dates from the later part of the 16th century, and there have been later alterations. It is constructed in timber framing and brick with plastered panels. The house is in two storeys with an attic, and has an L-shaped plan. Its main front has three bays and is gabled. The central bay of the first floor is jettied. The timber framing is close studded, and decorated with roundels and chevrons. Most of the windows are mullioned with three lights. The authors of the Buildings of England series describe it as a "charming C17 timber-framed house". The house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building.

Blackden Manor is a former manor house to the southeast of the village of Goostrey, Cheshire, England. It is a timber-framed building that was re-cased in brick in the late 19th century. The house was restored in 1920 by the architect James Henry Sellers. He added new wings to the rear of the house, forming a courtyard. The house is constructed in sandstone with a slate roof; it has two storeys and an attic. The house is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. Also listed at Grade II is a two-storey brick farm building to the southeast of the house, dating from 1709.

Goostrey railway station serves the village of Goostrey in Cheshire, England. The station is on the Crewe to Manchester Line 10½ miles (16 km) north east of Crewe.

Lower Withington is a civil parish and village in Cheshire, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 492. Jodrell Bank Observatory lies mostly within the parish. It is on the B5392 near the A535 road, 11 kilometres (7 mi) south-west of Macclesfield and 29 kilometres (18 mi) south of Manchester.

St Luke's Church is in the village of Goostrey, Cheshire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building. It is an active Anglican parish church in the diocese of Chester, the archdeaconry of Macclesfield and the deanery of Congleton. Its benefice is combined with that of St Peter, Swettenham.

Swettenham Meadows is a nature reserve in Cheshire, England, on the north bank of Swettenham Brook, a short distance north east of Swettenham village and 2.5 miles (4 km) east of Holmes Chapel village (grid reference SJ804675).The Swettenham Meadows reserve is managed by Cheshire Wildlife Trust. It covers an area of 21.5 acres (8.6 ha) and its species-rich grassland is particularly ecologically important as this type of habitat represents only 0.15% of the total land area of Cheshire. Common spotted orchid and marsh orchid thrive in the wet flushes of this highly variable grassland. Other important species include small skipper, common blue, small copper and orange tip butterflies, kingfishers, amphibians, and various Odonata.The reserve has great ecological, recreational and historical importance to local people and is also regularly used as a centre for conservation training. On 26 April 1972 Thomas Clyde Hewlett, who was a regular visitor to, and supporter of, the Meadows, was made Baron Hewlett of Swettenham in the County of Cheshire.

Twemlow is a civil parish, containing the village of Twemlow Green in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2011 Official UK Census, the population of the entire civil parish was 192. Twemlow lies on the A535 road and the West Coast Mainline, which crosses the River Dane via the Grade-II-listed Twemlow Viaduct, built in brick by G. W. Buck, Engineer to Manchester and Birmingham Railway Company, in 1841.From the 16th to the 18th century, the Booth family were the major landowners. Twemlow is divided by the Dane from the adjoining parishes of Holmes Chapel and Brereton to the south. The parish is also bounded by Goostrey to the north, Lower Withington and Swettenham to the east, and Cranage to the west. The Dane Valley Way long-distance footpath passes through the parish on its route from Buxton to Northwich.

Snelson is a civil parish in the Borough of Cheshire East and ceremonial county of Cheshire in England. It has a population of 157, rising marginally to 161 at the 2011 Census.