BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Newcomen.com - ECPv6.18.2//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.newcomen.com X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Newcomen.com REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20250330T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20251026T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20260329T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20261025T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20270328T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20271031T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20280326T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20281029T010000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261123T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261123T201500 DTSTAMP:20261021T160823Z CREATED:20260902T114512Z LAST-MODIFIED:20261021T160823Z UID:16955-1795458600-1795464900@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'The Sheffield Heavy Spring Trade 1829 – 2025' by John Austin DESCRIPTION:Photo Credit: \nJoining us IN PERSON – just turn up\, there’s no need to register\nJoining us ON-Line – click this zoom link \nFor 150 years\, Sheffield dominated the domestic production of heavy springs for railway and\, later\, heavy road vehicles. It employed thousands of craft workers\, and engaged the attention of dozens of local companies\, large and small. It served markets across the world\, especially in India\, the colonies and dominions and South America\, as well as supplying over 70% of domestic demand. \nThe talk explains how Sheffield established a foothold in this sector\, how it came to achieve domination and the factors\, internal and external\, that led to its eventual demise.  In so doing\, it considers various aspects of the story\, social\, commercial and technical\, incorporating the perspective of makers\, workers and clients. \nAbout the Speaker\nJohn Austin URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/the-sheffield-heavy-spring-trade-1829-2025-by-john-austin/ LOCATION:SHEFFIELD Crowne Plaza Royal Victoria\, Victoria Station Road\, Sheffield\, South Yorkshire\, S4 7YE CATEGORIES:Shed Talks (Newcomen Online),UK - South Yorkshire Branch ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - South Yorkshire Branch":MAILTO:meetings.syorks@newcomen.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261208T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261208T193000 DTSTAMP:20261019T090010Z CREATED:20260820T112830Z LAST-MODIFIED:20261019T090010Z UID:16946-1796752800-1796758200@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'Metroland - Engineering\, Economy & Social Change 1863-2026' by Dr Mark Pegg DESCRIPTION:Image Credit: Lecturer’s copyright \nThis event is both an in-person and on-line event. No need to register – just come along or click this zoom link to join on-line. \nDr Mark Pegg discusses how one railway line changed London social and economic life by connecting city workers with the Chiltern Hills and beyond. The talk explores the civil\, mechanical and electrical engineering challenges of the steam powered and electric rolling stock\, that enabled trains to carry passengers and goods on steep gradients from London to Buckinghamshire while supplying the rapidly growing London market with coal\, fresh food and dry goods. \nMetroland was made more famous by Sir John Betjeman who wittily observed the change the railway brought to new London suburbs that grew up to provide homes in a rural environment with smoke-free air for London’s rapidly growing population\, particularly the workers who commuted daily into the heart of the City.\nThe phrase ‘Live in Metroland’ was coined by the Metropolitan Railway to promote the line in 1915 used until it became part of the London Transport Board in 1933. \nOpened in 1863\, the Metropolitan Line from Baker Street to Farringdon was the first underground railway in the world\, extending to Aldgate in 1876. At first\, it was strictly an inner-city line\, extension to Aylesbury in 1898 transformed the line into rural Buckinghamshire\, also sharing tracks with the Great Central’s ‘London Extension’ which ran into London Marylebone. Electrification went live to Rickmansworth in 1925 and later to Amersham and Chesham in 1961. Metroland is still changing today with more homes and the construction of HS2 and East-West the revival of the old Oxford to Cambridge ‘Varsity’ line. \nAbout the Speaker\nDr Mark Pegg read history at Oxford University where his published doctoral thesis was British Broadcasting and Society 1918-1939. \nHe worked in the UK coal mining industry in deep mines and headquarters where he was the Chairman’s personal assistant and also researched the modern coal mining history. After working as a management consultant\, Mark became a Director of a Business School and CEO of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education. He has extensive experience in the UK\, Europe\, Middle East\, Far East and Africa with clients including central governments\, Rolls-Royce plc and the UK Senior Civil Service. \nMark is a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/metroland-engineering-economy-social-change-1863-2026-by-dr-mark-pegg/ LOCATION:LONDON Alan Baxter Gallery\, 75 Cowcross St\, Clerkenwell\, London\, EC1M 6EL CATEGORIES:Shed Talks (Newcomen Online),UK - London Branch ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.newcomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/26-12-08_MetrolandEngineeringEconomySocial-Change_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - London Branch":MAILTO:office@newcomen.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261214T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261214T210000 DTSTAMP:20261021T161202Z CREATED:20260902T114612Z LAST-MODIFIED:20261021T161202Z UID:16957-1797274800-1797282000@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'The Early Years of Newton Chambers: A new look at an old Ironworks' by Phillip Riden DESCRIPTION:Photo Credit: \nJoining us IN PERSON – just turn up\, there’s no need to register\nJoining us ON-Line – click this zoom link \nThis is a joint meeting with the South Yorkshire Industrial History Society \nThe company\, known for most of its life as Newton Chambers\, has the best-preserved records of any of the first generation of coke-fired ironworks anywhere in Britain. They have been used for short accounts of the company’s history for over a century\, but their wealth has never been fully exploited. \nThis talk\, based on several years’ work on the records\, will look afresh at the company between about 1790 and 1830\, concentrating especially on its products and on sales and marketing\, including the difficulties of distribution for an ironworks some distance from the nearest canal\, the challenge of establishing a presence in the London market\, working with other companies to regulate prices\, and striking a balance between offering extended credit and getting paid. \nMost of these problems will have a familiar ring to anyone who has worked in heavy industry in recent decades. \nAbout the Speaker\nPhillip Riden URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/the-early-years-of-newton-chambers-a-new-look-at-an-old-ironworks-by-phillip-riden/ LOCATION:SHEFFIELD Crowne Plaza Royal Victoria\, Victoria Station Road\, Sheffield\, South Yorkshire\, S4 7YE CATEGORIES:Shed Talks (Newcomen Online),UK - South Yorkshire Branch ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - South Yorkshire Branch":MAILTO:meetings.syorks@newcomen.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20270113T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20270113T193000 DTSTAMP:20261019T090513Z CREATED:20260911T134906Z LAST-MODIFIED:20261019T090513Z UID:17016-1799863200-1799868600@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'Detroit on Thames – How William Morris built a car factory & changed Oxford forever' by Maurice East DESCRIPTION:Image Credit: By kind permission of Maurice East \nThis event is both an in-person and on-line event. No need to register – just come along or click this zoom link to join on-line. \nBorn in 1877 at the height of the British Empire\, William Morris grew up in the villages of Cowley on the rural fringes of east Oxford. He left school at the age of 14 with no formal qualifications\, but it was soon evident that Morris was a natural mechanic and instinctive businessman. \nMorris became a teenage entrepreneur\, progressing from repairing bicycles in his parents front room\, to building his own motor garage and developing a prototype for the Morris Oxford and Morris Cowley cars. These vehicles which would earn him a vast personal fortune and result in the construction of a giant assembly plant at Cowley.\n \nWith collaborations with industries in the Midlands and America\, the new factory employed cutting edge technologies and offered higher wages to local people. The rapid growth of the business in the 1920s and 30s would attract tens of thousands of migrant workers from across the UK. The social and economic changes which followed transformed Oxford into a blue collar boom town with sprawling housing estates and a fierce reputation for union militancy.\n \nThis twentieth century industrialisation challenged the centuries old power balance between gown and town. For a few decades it appeared that the future of Oxford lay in chimney stacks not dreaming spires.\n \nAbout the Speaker\nMaurice East is a local historian who was born and raised in Oxford. He interprets the history of the city through the lens of growing up as a ‘townie’ and shines a spotlight on stories located off the usual tourist trail. His main area of research is the history of car making at Cowley and how the arrival of industry\, cars and blue collar workers changed Oxford in the early twentieth century. \nAlong with public speaking\, Maurice devises and leads unique walking tours around the city. He has worked on projects with the Museum of Oxford and the Oxford Preservation Trust. \nMaurice is also employed as a consultant at the History Faculty at Oxford University for the Making Cars project – The Cowley Car History Project | Community History. URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/detroit-on-thames-how-william-morris-built-a-car-factory-changed-oxford-forever-by-maurice-east/ LOCATION:LONDON Alan Baxter Gallery\, 75 Cowcross St\, Clerkenwell\, London\, EC1M 6EL CATEGORIES:Shed Talks (Newcomen Online),UK - London Branch ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.newcomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/27-01-13_DetroitOnThames_William-Morris_Oxford_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - London Branch":MAILTO:office@newcomen.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20270210T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20270210T193000 DTSTAMP:20261019T090745Z CREATED:20260911T142126Z LAST-MODIFIED:20261019T090745Z UID:17019-1802282400-1802287800@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'Power In Trust: A long view of Coal-Fired Power\, fm Thomas Newcomen to Christopher Hinton' by Ben Russell DESCRIPTION:Image Credit: The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum\, London \nThis event is both an in-person and on-line event. No need to register – just come along or click this zoom link to join on-line. \nThe closure of the coal-fired power station at Ratcliffe-on-Soar on September 30th 2024 quietly brought an end to the era of coal-fired power generation tracing back to Thomas Newcomen more than three centuries earlier. \nIn this paper\, Ben Russell will trace the history of the Central Electricity Board’s coal-fired power stations\, explore how they are being represented in the UK’s museum collections\, and place them within the context both of earlier developments and of what might replace them in future. \nAbout the Speaker\nBen Russell is Curator of Mechanical Engineering at the Science Museum\, London. He has curated nine permanent galleries and temporary exhibitions at the museum\, including Engineers (2023)\, Robots (2017) and James Watt’s Workshop (2011)\, as well as Cosmonauts (2015). \nBen is the author of James Watt: Making the World Anew\, (Reaktion Books\, 2014)\, and editor of Robots (Scala\, 2017)\, as well as a wide range of published and conference papers. URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/power-in-trust-a-long-view-of-coal-fired-power-fm-thomas-newcomen-to-christopher-hinton-by-ben-russell/ LOCATION:LONDON Alan Baxter Gallery\, 75 Cowcross St\, Clerkenwell\, London\, EC1M 6EL CATEGORIES:Shed Talks (Newcomen Online),UK - London Branch ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.newcomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/27-02-10_PowerInTrust_CoalFiredPower_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - London Branch":MAILTO:office@newcomen.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20270222T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20270222T201500 DTSTAMP:20261021T161653Z CREATED:20260902T114742Z LAST-MODIFIED:20261021T161653Z UID:16959-1803321000-1803327300@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'Sheffield’s Two Unique Companies' by Christopher Jewitt DESCRIPTION:Image Credit: Terry Robinson\, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons \nJoining us IN PERSON – just turn up\, there’s no need to register\nJoining us ON-Line – click this zoom link \nThe Cutlers’ Company & Sheffield Assay Office \nChristopher Jewitt\, Chairman of Footprint Tools\, one of Sheffield’s last forges producing quality hand tools\, will trace the history\, development and present position of two companies which are unique in Sheffield. Both were established by their own Acts of Parliament: The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire in 1624 and The Guardians of the Standard or Wrought Plate in 1773. \nWhy were Acts of Parliament used as the means by which they were created rather than Royal Charters\, as were Livery Companies and two of the other Assay Offices? Whilst there is no definitive answer recorded\, a number of possible ones will be put forward. \nAbout the Speaker\nChristopher Jewitt URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/sheffields-two-unique-companies-by-christopher-jewitt/ LOCATION:SHEFFIELD Crowne Plaza Royal Victoria\, Victoria Station Road\, Sheffield\, South Yorkshire\, S4 7YE CATEGORIES:Shed Talks (Newcomen Online),UK - South Yorkshire Branch ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.newcomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/27-02-22_TheCutlersCompany_SheffieldAssayOffice_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - South Yorkshire Branch":MAILTO:meetings.syorks@newcomen.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20270310T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20270310T193000 DTSTAMP:20261019T091154Z CREATED:20260911T144839Z LAST-MODIFIED:20261019T091154Z UID:17023-1804701600-1804707000@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'Exploring Victorian Railway Uniform: Garments\, Archives & Re-enactment' by Anthony Dawson DESCRIPTION:Image Credit: By kind permission of Andrew S Mason \nThis event is both an in-person and on-line event. No need to register – just come along or click this zoom link to join on-line. \nThis talk will explore the clothing worn by Railway Workers 1830-1910: what the garments were\, how they were made\, how they were issued and how they performed. \nBased on archival study\, examination of surviving garments and experimental archaeology\, it will show that these garments were made as cheaply as possible with little thought for comfort of the wearer or their safety. \nThere will be a chance to handle original uniform and accoutrements as well dress up in replica garments. \nAbout the Speaker\nAnthony Dawson is a railway historian and archaeologist\, and increasingly experimental archaeologist involved in excavating and reconstructing early wooden railways. \nHis interest in recreating and wearing 19th century railway uniform stems from operating the replica Planet locomotive at the Science & Industry Museum in Manchester. \nA graduate of the University of Bradford and the University of Leeds\, Anthony is a freelance heritage consultant and writer. In his spare time he plays the organ. URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/exploring-victorian-railway-uniform-garments-archives-re-enactment-by-anthony-dawson/ LOCATION:LONDON Alan Baxter Gallery\, 75 Cowcross St\, Clerkenwell\, London\, EC1M 6EL CATEGORIES:Shed Talks (Newcomen Online),UK - London Branch ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.newcomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/27-03-10_ExploringVictorianRailwayUniform_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - London Branch":MAILTO:office@newcomen.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20270315T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20270315T201500 DTSTAMP:20261021T161939Z CREATED:20260902T114912Z LAST-MODIFIED:20261021T161939Z UID:16961-1805135400-1805141700@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'Tales of Tackling Troubled Times' by Dr Jenny Stephenson DESCRIPTION:Photo Credit: \nJoining us IN PERSON – just turn up\, there’s no need to register\nJoining us ON-Line – click this zoom link \nHow Two Cities & A Brave Little Village Dealt With Plague \nDr Jenny Stephenson makes a comparison between London and Venice in how they dealt with the plague (Black Death) pandemics of 1348 and 1665. The outcomes were very different. The selfless action of Eyam is studied and compared with pandemic principles of today. \nAbout the Speaker\nDr Jenny Stephenson URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/tales-of-tackling-troubled-times-by-dr-jenny-stephenson/ LOCATION:SHEFFIELD Crowne Plaza Royal Victoria\, Victoria Station Road\, Sheffield\, South Yorkshire\, S4 7YE CATEGORIES:Shed Talks (Newcomen Online),UK - South Yorkshire Branch ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - South Yorkshire Branch":MAILTO:meetings.syorks@newcomen.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20270414T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20270414T193000 DTSTAMP:20261019T091603Z CREATED:20260911T151410Z LAST-MODIFIED:20261019T091603Z UID:17026-1807725600-1807731000@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'Governor-General Dalhousie & the early development of railways in India' by Diana Drummond DESCRIPTION:Image Credit: 1868 Postcard supplied by Dr D K Drummond \nThis event is both an in-person and on-line event. No need to register – just come along or click this zoom link to join on-line. \nGovernor-General James Andrew Broun\, Marquess of Dalhousie\, is often referred to as the ‘Father of Railways in India.’ Through his Minutes of 1850 and 1853\, Dalhousie argued that ‘he alone’ was responsible for determining early railway development there. A further important idea\, that Dalhousie and his Minutes ‘established the basic blue print that was to guide the early decades of railway development in India’\, is also argued. (Ian J Kerr\, Building the Railways of the Raj\, OUP\, New Delhi\, p.26.)\n \nThis talk will ask if these claims are true. After first of all considering who Governor-General Dalhousie and his famous Minutes were\, it will turn to explore how the framing of these was influenced very significantly by railway promoters [e.g. Sir Rowland Macdonald Stephenson (1808-1895)]\, consulting civil engineers [E Baker\, the consulting engineer of the Government of India]\, resident engineers [George Turnbull\, Chief Engineer of the East Indian Railway Company]\, surveyors and contractors\, as they surveyed and constructed the earliest railways in India. Work on some of these rail lines commenced even before Dalhousie penned his Minutes. Dalhousie’s work therefore represents a synthesis of ideas drawn from his collaboration with many others. Even various groups in Indian society had some small influence on this future railway system. \nFinally\, how far the general plan of the trunk lines of India found in Dalhousie’s Minutes was redrawn in detail as pioneering engineers adapted this to the huge demands that the terrain and climate of the subcontinent placed upon them\, is examined.\n \nAbout the Speaker\nDi Drummond is best known for her book Crewe: Railway Town\, Company and People\, published by Scolar Press\, Aldershot\, 1995\, and for her contribution to The First Civic University: Birmingham 1880-1980: An Introductory History\, Eric Ives\, Diane Drummond and Leonard Schwarz\, The University of Birmingham Press\, 2000. \nDi researched\, gave international conference papers\, and published\, on railways of the British Empire while she was Senior Lecturer\, then Reader\, at the Leeds Centre for Victorian Studies\, Leeds Trinity University between 1995 and 2017. URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/governor-general-dalhousie-the-early-development-of-railways-in-india-by-diana-drummond/ LOCATION:LONDON Alan Baxter Gallery\, 75 Cowcross St\, Clerkenwell\, London\, EC1M 6EL CATEGORIES:Shed Talks (Newcomen Online),UK - London Branch ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.newcomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/27-04-14_GovernorGeneralDalhousie_RailwaysOfIndia_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - London Branch":MAILTO:office@newcomen.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20270426T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20270426T201500 DTSTAMP:20261021T162345Z CREATED:20260902T115149Z LAST-MODIFIED:20261021T162345Z UID:16963-1808764200-1808770500@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'Securing a Safe Climate' by Julian Allwood DESCRIPTION:Photo Credit: \nJoining us IN PERSON – just turn up\, there’s no need to register\nJoining us ON-Line – click this zoom link \nWill Government-led Climate-tech be sufficient\, or do we need something else? \nClimate policy to date has largely prioritised technology innovation\, supported by government funding for both development and deployment.  This has led to exciting developments at lab scale\, but insufficient progress: global emissions are still rising. A detailed survey of ten major engineering projects in the UK shows that the timelines of the required deployment projects are long\, not just because of complex construction\, but because the processes of pre-construction (planning\, stakeholder dialogue\, regulatory compliance\, public funding\, contracting\, etc.) usually take more than twice as long as construction. \nMeanwhile\, the most recent advice of the Climate Change Committee to the government recommends a tenfold expansion of spending on “Net Zero”\, to exceed the current defence budget\, and politically this looks extremely unlikely.  As a result\, it is now virtually certain that government-led innovation and deployment will not be enough to make a safe climate. \nThe talk will review this evidence in detail\, in order to examine the consequences: if the government cannot act sufficiently forcefully\, for example to reverse growth in demand for flying\, then we need other agents of change\, including all of us personally and at work; if new technologies cannot remove the problem of emissions\, then we must instead use existing technologies differently\, creating a different and exciting opportunity for entrepreneurship and innovation; if public support for more radical policy change or more participative solutions is insufficient\, then we need to make the harms of unmitigated climate change more visible. \nAbout the Speaker\nJulian Allwood URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/securing-a-safe-climate-by-julian-allwood/ LOCATION:SHEFFIELD Crowne Plaza Royal Victoria\, Victoria Station Road\, Sheffield\, South Yorkshire\, S4 7YE CATEGORIES:Shed Talks (Newcomen Online),UK - South Yorkshire Branch ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - South Yorkshire Branch":MAILTO:meetings.syorks@newcomen.com END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR