BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Newcomen.com - ECPv6.17.5.1//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:20260513T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260513T193000 DTSTAMP:20260428T131342Z CREATED:20260209T142551Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260428T131342Z UID:16777-1778695200-1778700600@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'The Dickinson Memorial Lecture' by Bridget Eickhoff DESCRIPTION:Photo Credit: Image courtesy of the Julia Elton Collection \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. \n The Historical & Current Challenges of Gauging & their Impact on the Operations of Railways & Canals \nBridget Eickhoff will start this presentation with some of the concerns regarding tunnels for the early railway builders and look at some of the magnificent structures that these engineers produced. \nShe will then consider the challenges that have emerged in more recent times\, from 1970s to the present day\, both in Great Britain and internationally\, and how railway gauging engineers have been continually innovating to rise to these challenges. \nBridget will also look briefly at the different but related issues with gauging of canals. \nAbout the Speaker\nBridget Eickhoff is Principal Infrastructure Engineer at Rail Safety and Standards Board and Honorary Professor of Railway Interface Engineering at the University of Birmingham (Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education) where she supports the MSc programmes. \nShe has extensive experience in railway vehicle-track interaction and wheel-rail contact\, including the study of derailment mechanisms\, track forces and deterioration\, gauge clearance methods\, related standards and approval processes. \nBridget has been involved in the development of GB and international standards in associated areas as well as supporting a number of research and innovation projects. She is also a past Chair of the IMechE Railway Division. URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/the-dickinson-memorial-lecture-the-historical-current-challenges-of-gauging-their-impact-on-the-operations-of-railways-canals-by-bridget-eickhoff/ 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/2026/02/26-05-13_HistoricalAndCurrentChallengesofGauging_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - London Branch":MAILTO:office@newcomen.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260711T103000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260711T153000 DTSTAMP:20260518T161956Z CREATED:20260518T161803Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260518T161956Z UID:16910-1783765800-1783783800@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'Industry and Innovation in Oxford' DESCRIPTION:An in-person only event – tickets available via Eventbrite \nLunch included: Members £25\, Non-members £30\, Students £15 \nThis day of talks delves into some of the fascinating technical and engineering history of Oxford and its region: \n\nDetroit-on-Thames: the origins of car making in Oxford and the rise of the Cowley factory (Maurice East)\nCombe Mill: a workshop for the Blenheim Estate (Richard Stone)\nMechanicks in the universitie: how engineering came to Oxford (Richard Darton)\nA brief history of printing in Oxfordshire (Richard Lawrence)\nAllen’s of Oxford: from steam ploughs to motor mowers (Jonathan Brown)\nWatermills of the Oxfordshire Thames (Brian Eade) URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/industry-and-innovation-in-oxford/ LOCATION:OXFORD Thom Building\, University of Oxford\, Parks Road\, Oxford\, Oxfordshire\, OX1 3PJ\, United Kingdom CATEGORIES:UK - Newcomen ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.newcomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/26-07-11_IndustryInnovationInOxford_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen (UK)":MAILTO:colin.axon@brunel.ac.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20260922T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20260922T200000 DTSTAMP:20260907T132943Z CREATED:20260902T102727Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260907T132943Z UID:16966-1790101800-1790107200@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'John Smeaton 1724-1792: The Making of an Engineering Genius' by Dr. Julia Elton\, FSA DESCRIPTION:Image Credit: Magnus Manske\, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons \nAn in-person only event. No need to sign up\, just come along – all are welcome. \nJohn Smeaton was the founder of the British engineering profession\, conferring upon a hitherto disparate group of practitioners an identity and a status which has lasted to this day. \nHis career covered an extraordinarily wide range of projects\, greater than any of his contemporaries\, and included lighthouses\, canals and river training\, docks and harbours\, fen drainage and bridge building. In all these fields he advanced the understanding of technical issues\, moving towards improved manufacturing skills\, well thought-out project management and economy of materials. These remain necessary attributes for engineers today. \nUniquely\, Smeaton was also an engineering scientist of great distinction and his work had a practical application\, leading to considerable improvements in the efficiency of machines. \nThis lecture considers the reasons for his pre-eminence and highlights some of his achievements. \nAbout the Speaker\nJulia Elton has spent a lifetime immersed in the literature of engineering and the images of the industrial revolution first as an antiquarian bookdealer and later as an independent engineering historian writing and lecturing widely on all aspects of this endlessly fascinating subject. She contributed a number of entries on gas and lighthouse engineers to the Institution of Civil Engineer’s Biographical Dictionary. \nJulia recently gained a PhD in the history of lighthouse illumination. She is a Past President of the Newcomen Society. URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/john-smeaton-1724-1792-the-making-of-an-engineering-genius-by-dr-julia-elton-fsa/ LOCATION:MANCHESTER International Anthony Burgess Foundation\, Engine House\, Chorlton Mill\, 3 Cambridge Street\,\, Manchester\, M1 5BY CATEGORIES:UK - North Western Branch ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.newcomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/26-09-22_JohnSmeaton_EngineeringGenius_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - North Western Branch":MAILTO:catherine.casson@manchester.ac.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261014T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261014T193000 DTSTAMP:20260820T103940Z CREATED:20260820T103257Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T103940Z UID:16933-1792000800-1792006200@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'An Extraordinary 250 Years of Waterpower at the Strutts’ Belper Mills' by Ian Jackson DESCRIPTION:Image Credit: Reproduced with permission of Jim Bell \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. \nFamed for its innovative ‘fire-proof’ iron-framed cotton mill\, the Belper Mill complex in Derbyshire also incorporated innovative developments in waterpower. \nWilliam Strutt’s improvements of the waterwheel\, waterpower control and management of the River Derwent\, enabled the mass manufacturing of textile thread at the complex\, which today sits at the heart of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. Recent\, award-winning research has uncovered examples of responsible stewardship of the rivers by Georgian proprietors of the mills along Britain’s waterways\, including the management of floods and distribution of salmon.\n \nThe use of water to generate hydroelectric power\, c.1900\, encouraged the new owners of the Belper Mills\, the Lancashire based English Sewing Cotton Company\, to invest in their Derbyshire Derwent Valley businesses. Whilst most industrial sites on the Derwent stopped producing hydroelectric power in the mid-20th century\, choosing instead to connect to the coal-fired national grid\, the Belper site continued to invest in new hydro turbines. \nThe 18th century weir\, mill leats and wheel pits are still in use today (harnessing the power of the river\, almost continuously\, for 250 years)\, supplying the national grid with renewable energy.\n \nOther sites across Britain offer similar opportunities\, not only to generate renewable energy\, but with reinstatement of floodgates and sluices\, to improve our stewardship of our waterways. \nAbout the Speaker\nIan Jackson is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer who has worked in multinational manufacturing businesses for 35 years\, latterly as an independent ESOS Lead Assessor\, and now as a waterpower researcher.\n \nIn 2012\, he set up Amber and Derwent Valley Community Energy to try to reinstate Hydroelectric Power (HEP) at a former industrial site\, at the heart of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. In 2014\, it was a feasible project but changes in government support and EA requirements halted the project in 2018.\n \nLiving in the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site and trying to identify HEP opportunities\, led to his research into the historic use of waterpower\, the primary energy source for the early industrial revolution. Seeing the untapped HEP resource in the valley\, and his role on the strategy board of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site\, led to an approach to the University of Nottingham. \nIan started a full time PhD in 2020\, titled ‘Climate Change mitigation: Learning from the past to unlock the hydropower potential of the Derbyshire Derwent catchment’\, graduating in July 2025. The award-winning thesis (Association for Industrial Archaeology dissertation award) is available for download on the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/an-extraordinary-250-years-of-waterpower-at-the-strutts-belper-mills-by-ian-jackson/ 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/2026/08/26-10-14_WaterPowerAtTheStruttsBelperMills_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - London Branch":MAILTO:office@newcomen.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261026T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261026T201500 DTSTAMP:20260925T103232Z CREATED:20260902T114356Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260925T103232Z UID:16953-1793039400-1793045700@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'Joseph Bramah (1748/9 - 1814)' by Tim Brown DESCRIPTION:Image Credit: Public domain via Wikimedia Commons (US public domain tag) \nJoining us IN PERSON – just turn up\, there’s no need to register\nJoining us ON-Line – click this zoom link \nDETAILS TO FOLLOW \nAbout the Speaker\nDETAILS TO FOLLOW URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/joseph-bramah-1748-9-18114-by-tim-brown/ 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/2026/09/26-10-26_JosephBramah_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - South Yorkshire Branch":MAILTO:meetings.syorks@newcomen.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261027T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261027T200000 DTSTAMP:20260907T134258Z CREATED:20260902T103728Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260907T134258Z UID:16968-1793125800-1793131200@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'The Springfields Nuclear Fuel Site - 80 years of Atomic Achievement' by Fergus Munro DESCRIPTION:Image Credit: Ian S\, Westinghouse Factory (BNF) on Deepdale Lane \nAn in-person only event. No need to sign up\, just come along – all are welcome. \nSpringfields\, near Preston\, is celebrating its 80th birthday since its establishment in 1946 as the UK’s production site for uranium fuel. It is the oldest manufacturer of commercial nuclear fuel in the world. \nThis talk explains the origin of the site in World War II as a munitions factory and tracks its evolution through the atomic age\, alongside the UK’s nuclear programmes\, from its role in the UK’s nuclear deterrent to source of over 20% of the UK’s electricity supply. \nAt a time when energy security and fighting climate change are valued\, Springfields is well placed for fuelling the future. \nAbout the Speaker\nFergus Munro joined British Nuclear Fuels at Springfields in 1986 after completing a maths degree at the University of Strathclyde. \nHis career spanned from technical and operations positions at Springfields to spending 12 years at the company head office near Warrington\, working on Sellafield related spent fuel reprocessing and plutonium fuels contracts\, before returning home to Springfields in 2006. \nNostalgic at heart\, leading up to his 2018 retirement\, he presented a historical review of the origin and early life of Springfields Works to employees and this interest continued and expanded to broader nuclear history over the last 8 years. URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/the-springfields-nuclear-fuel-site-80-years-of-atomic-achievement-by-fergus-munro/ LOCATION:MANCHESTER International Anthony Burgess Foundation\, Engine House\, Chorlton Mill\, 3 Cambridge Street\,\, Manchester\, M1 5BY CATEGORIES:UK - North Western Branch ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.newcomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/26-10-27_SpringfieldsNuclearFuelSite_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - North Western Branch":MAILTO:catherine.casson@manchester.ac.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261118T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261118T193000 DTSTAMP:20260820T110605Z CREATED:20260820T110605Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T110605Z UID:16942-1795024800-1795030200@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'Better than Steam? Davy\, Faraday\, the Brunels & the Gaz Engine\, 1823-1833' by Professor Frank James DESCRIPTION:Image Credit: Crown copyright\, photograph by Frank James \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. \nIn early March 1823\, laboratory assistant Michael Faraday\, at the Royal Institution\, unintentionally subjected chlorine to a very high pressure and\, much to his surprise\, found that it turned into a liquid – the first time that a gas had been liquefied. \nAside from the scientific achievement\, very quickly this phenomenon came to be seen as having the potential to be a new source of power. Steam-power was not necessarily seen as inevitably replacing wind or water-power. This is illustrated by the large amount of effort devoted by savants\, including Faraday and Davy\, during the 1820s to exploit gas liquefaction practically in what was termed the ‘gaz engine’. Furthermore\, the engineers Marc Brunel and his son Isambard Brunel also devoted considerable effort to render gaz engines feasible. The Admiralty\, then beginning to use steam-powered vessels\, was also very interested in gaz engines and provided limited support for later stages of the research. \nFollowing repeated failures to develop a practical engine\, at the start of the 1830s work ceased on the project. In modern terms\, what was being attempted of course was to obtain more energy from a gaz engine than was required to liquefy the gas in the first place\, that is a form of perpetual motion. Once the laws of thermodynamics had been formulated during the 1840s\, the pursuit of such a source of power was seen as clearly impossible. Before then it was not clear\, even to leading savants and engineers\, that what they were doing was seeking to build a perpetual motion machine. \nThe story illustrates just how invisible perpetual motion could be. \nAbout the Speaker\nProfessor Frank James\, a former President of the Newcomen Society\, is Professor of the History of Science at University College London. His main research centres on the physical sciences in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and how they relate to other areas of society and culture\, for example art\, literature\, business\, media\, religion\, engineering and the military. \nFrank edited the Correspondence of Michael Faraday\, published in six volumes between 1991 and 2012\, served as an advisory editor for the four volume Collected Letters of Humphry Davy (2020) and was a Co-I on the AHRC funded Humphry Davy Notebooks Project. His Michael Faraday: A Very Short Introduction was published in 2010 by OUP who the following year also published his sesquicentenary edition of Faraday’s Chemical History of a Candle. \nHis current research concentrates on writing and researching a biographical study of Humphry Davy focussing on his practical work including nitrous oxide\, agricultural chemistry\, mineralogy\, the miners’ safety lamp\, analysis of ancient Roman pigments and his attempts to unroll chemically the papyri excavated from Herculaneum. URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/better-than-steam-davy-faraday-the-brunels-the-gaz-engine-1823-1833-by-professor-frank-james/ 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/2026/08/26-11-18_BetterThanSteamDavyFaradayBrunelsGazEngine_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - London Branch":MAILTO:office@newcomen.com END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261123T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261123T201500 DTSTAMP:20260902T114512Z CREATED:20260902T114512Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260902T114512Z 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 \nDETAILS TO FOLLOW \nAbout the Speaker\nDETAILS TO FOLLOW 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:20261124T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261124T200000 DTSTAMP:20260908T093814Z CREATED:20260902T105011Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260908T093814Z UID:16970-1795545000-1795550400@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'F-111K: Britain's Lost Bomber' by Dr. Richard Moore DESCRIPTION:Image Credit: USAF\, Public domain (see Wikipedia) \nAn in-person only event. No need to sign up\, just come along – all are welcome. \nFor several years in the mid-1960s\, the US-built F-111K strike/reconnaissance aircraft was the RAF’s future “spearhead”. It was intended to replace the TSR.2\, an equivalent all-British aircraft beloved of test pilots and aircraft industry executives\, notoriously cancelled by the Labour government in 1965 and now the focus of much nostalgia. \nFollowing a bitter political battle\, the F-111K also saw off a new generation of Royal Navy aircraft carriers. \nThis paper explores the technical\, military and political history of the F-111K up to and including its own dramatic cancellation in 1968. It also sheds a little light on the RAF’s jaundiced view of the TSR.2. \nAbout the Speaker\nDr Richard Moore is a visiting senior research fellow at the Department of War Studies\, King’s College London\, working mainly on the history of the British nuclear weapons programme. \nHis second book Nuclear Illusion\, Nuclear Reality: Britain\, the United States and Nuclear Weapons 1958-64 was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2010 and his journal articles include ‘We are a modern Navy: abolishing the Royal Navy’s rum ration‘ in the Mariner’s Mirror and ‘The British government\, nuclear testing\, and the arms race 1961-62‘ in the Historical Journal. URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/f-111k-britains-lost-bomber-by-dr-richard-moore/ LOCATION:MANCHESTER International Anthony Burgess Foundation\, Engine House\, Chorlton Mill\, 3 Cambridge Street\,\, Manchester\, M1 5BY CATEGORIES:UK - North Western Branch ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.newcomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/26-11-24_F111K_BritainsLostBomber_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - North Western Branch":MAILTO:catherine.casson@manchester.ac.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261208T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261208T193000 DTSTAMP:20260820T112830Z CREATED:20260820T112830Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T112830Z 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:20260902T114612Z CREATED:20260902T114612Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260902T114612Z 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 \nDETAILS TO FOLLOW \nAbout the Speaker\nDETAILS TO FOLLOW 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:20260911T140240Z CREATED:20260911T134906Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260911T140240Z 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:20270126T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20270126T200000 DTSTAMP:20260907T151727Z CREATED:20260902T105758Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260907T151727Z UID:16972-1800988200-1800993600@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'John Cooke Bourne & his Lithographs' by Prof. Felix Schmid DESCRIPTION:Image Credit: John Cooke Bourne – public domain (Wikipedia) \nAn in-person only event. No need to sign up\, just come along – all are welcome. \nJohn Cooke Bourne produced lithographs of the London and Birmingham Railway and the Great Western Railway\, along with other feats of engineering. \nThe talk will examine the information that his work\, produced during the nineteenth century\, sheds on the early stages of railway construction. \nAbout the Speaker\nFelix Schmid is Professor emeritus of Railway Systems Engineering at the University of Birmingham. \nFelix is neither a historian nor an archaeologist but a railway systems engineer who enjoys discussing the history of railways and its pioneers. He is a member of Newcomen Council\, and is currently President of the Society. URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/john-cooke-bourne-his-lithographs-by-prof-felix-schmid/ LOCATION:MANCHESTER International Anthony Burgess Foundation\, Engine House\, Chorlton Mill\, 3 Cambridge Street\,\, Manchester\, M1 5BY CATEGORIES:UK - North Western Branch ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.newcomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/24-03-06_JohnCookeBourne_LondontoBirminghamRailway_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - North Western Branch":MAILTO:catherine.casson@manchester.ac.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20270210T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20270210T193000 DTSTAMP:20260911T142126Z CREATED:20260911T142126Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260911T142126Z 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:20260908T132620Z CREATED:20260902T114742Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260908T132620Z 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 \nDETAILS TO FOLLOW \nAbout the Speaker\nDETAILS TO FOLLOW 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:20270223T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20270223T200000 DTSTAMP:20260908T092649Z CREATED:20260902T110929Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260908T092649Z UID:16975-1803407400-1803412800@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'Werner David & the Invention of a Dewatering Fluid in 1944' by Rob David & Stephen Richardson DESCRIPTION:Image Credit: Magnus Manske\, Public domain (see Wikipedia) \nAn in-person only event. No need to sign up\, just come along – all are welcome. \nWerner (Vernon) David (1920-2010) arrived in the UK as a Jewish child refugee from Germany in 1933. From 1938 to 1941 he read Chemistry at Manchester University although his studies were interrupted by internment. On graduating he was assigned to work for Shell and was involved in a project for the Ministry of Fuel and Power to identify a dewatering fluid which could protect the metals and electrics of military vehicles from the corrosive effect of sea-water. After 256 trials\, a fluid was invented which played a significant role in the invasion of Europe in June 1944. It was later marketed by Shell as Ensis 256. \nThe fluid was a unique combination of mineral oils and readily available natural products capable of not only protecting against metal corrosion\, but also penetrating the salt water which covered vehicle parts after amphibious landings. \nWerner David’s application for naturalisation in 1946 was enhanced by Shell’s ability to cite this research in their support for him.\n \nAbout the Speakers\nDr Rob David is an independent researcher who\, prior to retirement\, lectured in History and Education at colleges in Ambleside and Lancaster\, and was a Visiting Research Fellow in the History Department at Lancaster University. In the past few years\, inspired by his own family’s history\, he has been researching the history of refugee communities in Cumbria. His most recent books are A County of Refuge: Refugees in Cumbria 1933-1941 (Kendal\, 2020) and ‘Happy and Safe’: The Basque Child Refugees in Cumberland and Westmorland 1937-1939 (Carlisle\, 2023). He was President of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society from 2017-2020. \nStephen Richardson is a science researcher and lecturer at Kendal College. He graduated from Pembroke College\, Oxford\, in 1988 with a degree in Chemistry and the History and Philosophy of Science. From 1988 to 2006\, he held research and consultancy roles at Warren Spring Laboratory and AEA Technology\, specialising in volatile organic compounds and industrial waste management. Stephen completed a PGCE and an MA in Education at the University of Cumbria and is now a Director of DTM Research Ltd. URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/werner-david-the-invention-of-a-dewatering-fluid-in-1944-by-rob-david-stephen-richardson/ LOCATION:MANCHESTER International Anthony Burgess Foundation\, Engine House\, Chorlton Mill\, 3 Cambridge Street\,\, Manchester\, M1 5BY CATEGORIES:UK - North Western Branch ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.newcomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/27-02-23_WernerDavidInventionDewateringFluid_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - North Western Branch":MAILTO:catherine.casson@manchester.ac.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20270310T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20270310T193000 DTSTAMP:20260911T144839Z CREATED:20260911T144839Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260911T144839Z 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:20260902T114912Z CREATED:20260902T114912Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260902T114912Z 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 \nDETAILS TO FOLLOW \nAbout the Speaker\nDETAILS TO FOLLOW 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:20270316T183000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20270316T200000 DTSTAMP:20260907T154345Z CREATED:20260902T112257Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260907T154345Z UID:16977-1805221800-1805227200@www.newcomen.com SUMMARY:'Henry Maudslay – A Georgian Entrepreneur' by Ian Hoose DESCRIPTION:Image Credit: Keith Reginald Gilbert\, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons \nAn in-person only event. No need to sign up\, just come along – all are welcome. \nThe last Georgian monarch was William IV\, who reigned from 1765 to 1837\, and during his sovereignty witnessed an astounding change in the industrial landscape. A vast rise in activity increased the demand for men who could design machines and work iron\, resulting by 1800 in the start of the ‘Age of the Mechanist’. \nHenry Maudslay was one of the most significant of the early engineers and\, by the time he died in 1831\, had built a substantial business. Although many company records were destroyed in 1900\, it is possible to recreate an image of Maudslay’s enterprise at the time of his death. Using an examination of a marine side lever engine built for the Admiralty\, one of the last products that he would have been involved with\, together with other remaining records\, the presentation will illustrate his personal business achievement – a truly Georgian enterprise. \nAbout the Speaker\nIan Hoose\, after gaining an engineering degree at the University of Leeds\, followed a varied career path in what are best described as energy intensive industries. After starting work in the special steel industry\, employment in energy conservation consultancy\, refractory manufacturing and thermal process plant design and contracting followed\, together with obtaining an MBA at the University of Bradford. \nHis interest in industrial history\, shortly before retiring\, has led to independent researching of various subjects\, particularly those associated with marine steam engines\, including the use of animated 3D CAD to illustrate their design and manufacture. URL:https://www.newcomen.com/activity/henry-maudslay-a-georgian-entrepreneur-by-ian-hoose/ LOCATION:MANCHESTER International Anthony Burgess Foundation\, Engine House\, Chorlton Mill\, 3 Cambridge Street\,\, Manchester\, M1 5BY CATEGORIES:UK - North Western Branch ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.newcomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/27-03-16_HenryMaudslayAGeorgianEntrepreneur_1920x1280.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Newcomen - North Western Branch":MAILTO:catherine.casson@manchester.ac.uk END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20270414T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20270414T193000 DTSTAMP:20260911T151410Z CREATED:20260911T151410Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260911T151410Z 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:20260902T115149Z CREATED:20260902T115149Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260902T115149Z 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? \nDETAILS TO FOLLOW \nAbout the Speaker\nDETAILS TO FOLLOW 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