Kew Observatory. Kew Observatory was built by Sir William Chambers for King George III to watch the transit of Venus (when Venus crosses the Sun's face as seen from Earth) in 1769. In 1841 Kew Observatory was no longer royal property and was controlled by the British Association from 1842 until 1871, in which year it was handed to the Royal Society. In 1900, the National Physical Laboratory took over the management, followed by the Meteorological Office in 1910. Because the Meteorological Office still manages the observatory today, it is primarily used for weather observations.