Irving, Horace N 1877 - 1942

(1877-1942), telescope maker

Horace Irving was born in Mortlake and prior to the Boer War was employed as a plant engineer, responsible for maintaining the generator sets used at the time to supply electricity in large country houses. In 1905 he began making his own silvered-glass mirrors and telescopes and mountings. In 1915 he moved to Roehampton, and in 1918 to Cambridge House, Teddington. After a short interegnum between 1925 & 1927 when he transferred his business to Hitcham in Suffolk, he returned to Teddington before finally moving to 258 Kingston Road in 1930, where the business continued until August 2005. Horace Irving used the services of three different foundries; Tough Bros. and Moyles, both open caste iron founders at Pier Lane, Hampton Wick, and Bullen's for the non-ferrous castings. Horace Irving died on Dec. 7th. 1942, leaving the business to his youngest son, Ronald N. Irving (1915 - 2005). Although by no means as prodigious a telescope maker as Calver, Horace Irving made several hundred mirrors, and there are numerous Horace Irving telescopes and mountings still surviving, of comparable quality and robustness.