Gillin, EJ orcid.org/0000-0001-9449-9292 (2017) The Victorian Palace of Science: Scientific Knowledge and the Building of the Houses of Parliament. Science in History . Cambridge University Press , Cambridge ISBN 9781108419666
Abstract
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.
Metadata
Item Type: | Book |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Edward J. Gillin 2017. This is an author-accepted version of a book chapter, uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 22 Jul 2020 13:56 |
Last Modified: | 22 Apr 2021 10:46 |
Published Version: | https://www.cambridge.org/gb/academic/subjects/his... |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
Series Name: | Science in History |
Identification Number: | 10.1017/9781108303873 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:163487 |