The Victorian Palace of Science
Scientific Knowledge and the Building of the Houses of Parliament
Part of Science in History
- Author: Edward J. Gillin, University of Cambridge
- Date Published: June 2019
- availability: Available
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781108411615
Paperback
Other available formats:
Hardback, eBook
Looking for an inspection copy?
This title is not currently available on inspection
-
The Palace of Westminster, home to Britain's Houses of Parliament, is one of the most studied buildings in the world. What is less well known is that while Parliament was primarily a political building, when built between 1834 and 1860, it was also a place of scientific activity. The construction of Britain's legislature presents an extraordinary story in which politicians and officials laboured to make their new Parliament the most radical, modern building of its time by using the very latest scientific knowledge. Experimentalists employed the House of Commons as a chemistry laboratory, geologists argued over the Palace's stone, natural philosophers hung meat around the building to measure air purity, and mathematicians schemed to make Parliament the first public space where every room would have electrically-controlled time. Through such dramatic projects, Edward J. Gillin redefines our understanding of the Palace of Westminster and explores the politically troublesome character of Victorian science.
Read more- Provides a dramatic new interpretation of the Palace of Westminster, probably the most studied Victorian building in architectural history
- Makes an original case for the role of science in politics in Victorian Britain
- Presents a unique combination of the histories of science, architecture, and politics
Reviews & endorsements
'This is in an important intervention in architectural history, and a successful challenge to histories of the Palace of Westminster, and architectural histories more generally, that are preoccupied with aesthetics and style. It is also a significant contribution to the history of science, not just because of the new story it tells, but in the way it expands on the work of Joe Bord to show how contested notions of science permeated governing approaches during the age of reform.' Martin Spychal, Parliamentary History
Customer reviews
Not yet reviewed
Be the first to review
Review was not posted due to profanity
×Product details
- Date Published: June 2019
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781108411615
- length: 341 pages
- dimensions: 229 x 151 x 17 mm
- weight: 0.4kg
- contains: 39 b/w illus.
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. A radical building: the science of politics and the new Palace of Westminster
2. Architecture and knowledge: Charles Barry and the world of mid-nineteenth-century science
3. 'The Science of Architecture': making geological knowledge for the Houses of Parliament
4. Chemistry in the Commons: Edinburgh science and David Boswell Reid's ventilating of Parliament, 1834–1854
5. Enlightening Parliament: the Bude Light in the House of Commons and the illumination of politics
6. Order in Parliament: George Biddell Airy and the construction of time at Westminster
Conclusion: the house of experiment.
Sorry, this resource is locked
Please register or sign in to request access. If you are having problems accessing these resources please email lecturers@cambridge.org
Register Sign in» Proceed
You are now leaving the Cambridge University Press website. Your eBook purchase and download will be completed by our partner www.ebooks.com. Please see the permission section of the www.ebooks.com catalogue page for details of the print & copy limits on our eBooks.
Continue ×Are you sure you want to delete your account?
This cannot be undone.
Thank you for your feedback which will help us improve our service.
If you requested a response, we will make sure to get back to you shortly.
×