Rooftop Astronomy in London
The astrologer and herbalist Nicholas Culpeper lends his name to this roof garden above a special pub in Spitalfields on Commercial Street in the heart of London.
In 2021 evening tours of the night sky with astronomers (not astrologers, but close) from Dark Sky Wales are on offer, watching for Saturn and Mars in the sky using professional high strength telescopic equipment, along with a delicious dinner prepared in The Culpeper Kitchen.
The ingredients are grown on the rooftop. Other workshops The Culpeper Kitchen are running at the moment/have organised previously include sunset rooftop yoga classes, macrame making and terrarium workshops.
The Culpeper is an interesting tribute to Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) whose Tower Hamlets Council plaque lists him as a physician, herbalist, astrologer and writer (the herbs on the roof are a nod to his work). The plaque is still there on the corner of Puma Court and Commercial Street and this is where the great man wrote his book The English Herbal.
J.K.Rowling used Culpeper to research her Harry Potter books. So, you might be in good company at the Culpeper stargazing nights. You just never know.
