having been painted over in the 1960s due to deterioration. At the same time, the interior walls were redecorated and the stonework cleaned. The chapel is home to Bedford School's chapel choir and houses a fine two-manual Hill, Norman & Beard organ. The specification of this instrument can be found in the National Pipe Organ Register. Observatory and planetarium The Charles Piazzi Smyth Observatory and the Wolfson Planetarium were opened in May 2002 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Situated on the Bedford School estate, the facility is operated by the school's astronomer in conjunction with members of the Bedford Astronomical Society. The observatory was named after an Old Bedfordian who went on to become the Astronomer Royal for Scotland. It boasts a custom-designed GRP dome and a computer-controlled twelve-inch (305mm) telescope. The telescope has a hydrogen alpha filter, which enables the observer to view the magnetic plasma flow around the sun. The adjacent Planetarium was named after the Wolfson Foundation. Music school Bedford School Music Department is housed in the new purpose-built Music School, designed by Eric Parry, and completed in November 2005. The building houses a large recital hall with recording facilities, a recording studio, individual specialised teaching and practice rooms, and a rock music studio. The building was officially opened by Peter Maxwell Davies, Master of the Queen's Music, in March 2006, and the recording facilities were officially opened by David Arnold on 20 May 2013. Cricket ground The first recorded match on the Bedford School cricket ground was played in 1876, between Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire. Bedfordshire played its first Minor Counties Championship match on the ground in 1895, against Hertfordshire. Since 1895, the ground has been host to 181 Minor Counties Championship matches. In addition, the ground has been host to five MCCA Knockout Trophy matches for Bedfordshire, the first played in 1993 between Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. The ground has been host to two List-A matches for Northamptonshire: the first was played in the 1971 John Player League, between Northamptonshire and Lancashire; and the second was played in 1982, in the same competition and between the same two sides. It has also been host to twenty-five Second XI fixtures for the Northamptonshire Second XI in the Second XI Championship for the Second XI Trophy. Prep school Bedford Preparatory School is located within the estate of Bedford School. It caters for 450 boys aged 7 to 13,