The Haunted Palace Blog

Rev. James Pound: The Inspiration Behind James Bradley, the 3rd Astronomer Royal

2025 marks 350 years of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. While Halley, Bradley, Flamsteed, and Dyson are famous, many contributors like Rev. James Pound remain forgotten. Yet their work was vital, accelerating discoveries in astronomy. Honouring these overlooked figures reminds us that great achievements rely on many unsung heroes.

Miss_Jessel

August 16, 2025

6–10 minutes

350th Anniversary, Aberration of Light, Astronomer Royal, Astronomy, Greenwich, James Bradley, James Pound, Nutation, Royal Observatory, Wanstead

Today, few people remember who Rev. James Pound was or his contribution to the field of astronomy. However, in his day, Pound was respected by some of astronomy’s most brilliant minds as one of the best observational astronomers. His studies gained him entry into the Royal Society and the friendships of Isaac Newton and Edmund Halley. He also inspired a man who helped change the way we think of the heavenly bodies: the sun, the moon and the stars.

A Lifelong Passion

James Pound, the son of John and Mary Pound was born in Bishops Canning in Wiltshire in 1669¹.

Church of St Mary’s the Virgin, Bshops Canning – ©ChurchCrawler / CC BY-SA

He was accepted to St. Mary’s Hall, Oxford in 1687, at the age of 18 to study for his BA. After his BA, he moved to Gloucester Hall, an annexe of St John’s College, where he continued his studies. He completed both his MA in 1694. He then went on to study for his medical diploma, which he passed in 1697². After graduating, he entered the Church. In 1699, he sailed on behalf of the East India Company to Madras, as chaplain to the merchants of the doomed British colony of Pulo Condor, an island off the coast of Vietnam.

Baugrand, “Plan de Lisle de Pulo Condore ou Lisle d’Orléans” (1720), Bibliothèque nationale de France, public domain.

In 1705, the colony’s settlers were tragically massacred by the Malay mercenaries that had been hired to protect them. Pound was one of only 11 English residents who survived, escaping through pirate infested waters on the sloop Rose to Malacca³. Not surprisingly, soon after, he decided to return to England. In July 1707, a year after his return, Sir Richard Child, presented Pound with the living of the parish of Wanstead⁴.

Despite the other pressures on his time, Pound took every opportunity to indulge in his passon for astronomy. Even during his voyage to the East, he took inclinations readings to measure the tilt of orbit of celestial bodies. His data was published in Philosophical Transactions and was later used by scientists to create a useful aid to help seafarers navigate without the need of the stars, sun and other heavenly bodies⁵.

The accuracy of Pound’s measurements is also shown by the fact that both Newton and Halley used his calculations and observations of Saturn’s five known satellites, disc and rings to correct their research into Halley’s comet.

Saturn with satellites: NASA/JPL, PIA01482, November 1980, public domain

Pound’s research into lunar eclipses and Jupiter was further aided when in 1717, the Royal Society lent him Huygens’ 123-foot focal-length object glass. Pound mounted the instrument on a maypole in the grounds of Wanstead House⁶.

Huygens’ tubeless aerial telescope, 1684, public domain

The esteem that Pound was held in by his peers was also shown when the Royal Society asked him to test John Hadley’s reflecting telescope⁷. The honour of which would not have been lost on him

The year, 1719, was a successful year for Pound. His observations of Jupiter, using a 37.5 meter long telescope and micrometer confirmed the work of the Italian astronomer, Giovanni Cassini. Cassini had in 1691, discovered that the polar diameter of the planet was shorter by ‘a fifteenth part’ than the equatorial diameter⁸. He also, with his nephew, James Bradley, calculated the distance of the Earth from the sun by observing Mars when in opposition. From this information, they surmised that the sun’s distance was not greater than 125 million miles and no less than about 94 million miles⁹. Remarkably accurate since modern calculations have put the distance at 93 million miles!

Pound married twice, first to Sarah, the widow of Edward Farmer with whom he had two children. A son who died at birth and a daughter, also named Sarah. Sarah, Pound’s wife died in 1715, and a few years later, he married Elizabeth Wymondesold. Elizabeth was from a wealthy family. Her brother, Matthew was a successful South Sea Stock speculator and proprietor of the Wanstead Estate¹⁰. In 1720, Pound received the living of Burstow in Surrey but died only four years later, on 16 November 1724, in Wanstead at the age of 55.

Despite Pound’s own achievements in the field of astronomy, possibly his greatest legacy was the love of astronomy and knowledge he passed onto his nephew, James Bradley, who lived for a number of years with him in Wanstead. Bradley went on to be one of the most celebrated astronomers of his day and according to Sir Richard Woolley (Astronomer Royal 1956–1971) ‘ … the greatest astronomer who has ever held the office of Astronomer Royal in nearly three centuries’.

James Bradley: One of the Greatest Astronomers of All Time

Benjamin Wilson, “*James Bradley*“, c. 1750, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, public domain

James Bradley was born in March 1693, in the village of Sherborne, Gloucestershire to William Bradley and Jane Pound. He spent a lot of his childhood with his maternal uncle, James Pound, who partially raised him and nursed him through an attack of smallpox. He also stayed with his uncle during and after his studies at Oxford. It was probably through his uncle that he was first introduced to astronomy.

Bradley was destined for the church and attended Balliol College in Oxford where he took both his BA in 1714, and MA in 1717¹¹. However, he still managed to devote time to astronomy and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1718. While spending time with his uncle in 1719, he was awarded the rectory of Bridstow in Herefordshire and later the sinecure of the rectory of Llanddewi-Velfry in Pembrokeshire¹². He resigned as vicar of Bridstow only a couple of years later when he was offered the post of Savilian Chair of Astronomy at Oxford¹³. He held this position until 1742, when he was appointed by King George II to succeed Edmond Halley as Astronomer Royal at the Greenwich Observatory.

Royal Observatory, Greenwich © 2025 Haunted Palace Blog. All rights reserved

Bradley was the third person to hold this position. A couple of years later in 1744, he married Susannah Peach. They had one daughter, also named Susannah¹⁴. Bradley died in 1762, and was succeeded as Astronomer Royal by Nathaniel Bliss.

Bradley greatest achievements were the discovery of aberration of light and nutation. The aberration of light is the ‘apparent slight change in the position of stars caused by the yearly motion of the Earth’¹⁵. This discovery was made while he was observing the position of Gamma Draconis. He realised that the star’s apparent shift in position over time was due to the movement of the Earth and the finite speed of light.

Stellar aberration diagram by TxAlien, via Wikipedia/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. No changes were made

This was the first evidence found that proved that the Earth orbited the Sun – the holy grail of astronomy. His second breakthrough was discovering that the Earth’s axis experiences small periodic shifts or a swaying motion, due to the gravitational influence of the moon. This motion he named nutation, a word he took from the Latin nutare which means to nod¹⁶.

Conclusion

This year, the Royal Observatory in Greenwich is celebrating its 350th anniversary and will rightly laud the achievements of the Observatory and it’s Astronomers Royal. However, it’s important not to forget about the many others, whose tireless efforts and passion for astronomy, contributed to the advancement of the field. Without these people, many of the Astronomers Royal’s discoveries might not have been possible.

This is as true for James Pound as for anyone. Pound was a remarkable figure, his love for astronomy was as much a part of him as his work in the Church. It’s to him, we owe thanks for James Bradley’s early interest in astronomy. Pound’s support and recognition of Bradley’s ability and talents must have been invaluable to Bradley growing up. It’s interesting to ponder on what would have been the effect on astronomy if Pound hadn’t been around to influence and encourage his nephew. Would Bradley have made the discoveries he did without his uncle and he hadn’t, who would have?

The Rev. James Pound was buried at St Mary the Virgin in Wanstead. In 1910, a stone was laid by the Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society to commemorate Pound’s ‘early instruction and fatherly care’ of Rev. James Bradley. Personally, I think a postcript should be added, something like ‘…and for his own contribution to the field of astronomy’.