Nithsdale District Council, Dumfries Museum, 
The Observatory
Dumfries
DG2 7SW
United Kingdom

Tel: 01387 253374

This camera obscura is in a converted windmill and was opened in 1836 by the 'Dumfries & Maxelltown Astronomical Society' apparently for the observation of sunspots. It was made by Morton of Kilmarnock. (A very detailed history of its construction is available from the above address).

The lens is 9" in diameter (although the original specification seems to suggest it was to be 7 1/2"!) It has a focal ratio of about F16 with a dished plaster screen 12' from the lens. It is in a wooden revolving turret. On a very clear day the view stretches from Ayrshire to the Lakeland Fells which are over 80 miles apart.