'The life of L.T.C Rolt' by Dr Victoria Owens
2025-04-28 18:30 - 20:00 (Europe/London) | SHEFFIELD Kelham Island Museum, Alma Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S3 8RG
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In 1926, Tom Rolt who was then sixteen years old, abandoned his public school education. Having taken a job with a small firm of agricultural engineers, he realised that he had found his life’s calling. But the way ahead was neither smooth nor easy. Having secured a premium apprenticeship, the firm which took him on foundered and although he eventually qualified as a mechanical engineer, the 1930s depression made it almost impossible to find regular employment.
Nothing daunted, with the encouragement of his mysterious companion ‘Cara’, he turned to writing. His literary career flourished alongside his association with the Vintage Sports Car Club, the Inland Waterways Association and the Talyllyn Railway. Between his Inland Waterways Association and Talyllyn phases, Angela, his first wife, left him to join Billy Smart’s Circus, and Sonia –an actress-turned-boatwoman – would become his second wife. Over the course of his life, he produced over thirty books, their subject matters ranging from canals and railways to engineering biography; company histories; a collection of accomplished ghost stories and a topographical survey of Worcestershire. He also wrote polemics about the plight of the craftsman in a world which relied increasingly upon mass production.
In this book, the first full-length biography of Tom Rolt and a complement to his auto-biographical Landscape trilogy, Dr Victoria Owens draws upon his surviving letters and unpublished manuscripts to tell the story of the engineer-turned-writer who made Britain’s industrial past the stuff of enduring literature.
About the Speaker
A member of the Newcomen Society, Dr Victoria Owens has worked in local government and the book trade. Now an independent scholar, her book Lady Charlotte Guest – the exceptional life of a female industrialist was shortlisted for the 2021 Wales Book of the Year and won the non-fiction award. Her other publications include James Brindley and the Duke of Bridgewater: Canal Visionaries (Amberley Publishing 2015) and Aqueducts and Viaducts of Britain (Amberley Publishing 2019).
Victoria’s latest publication, The Life of L.T.C Tom Rolt, came out in 2024.

'From craftsman’s bench to factory floor: the Birmingham Rule Trade 1750-1920' by David Bryden
2025-05-07 19:00 - 21:00 | BIRMINGHAM Think Tank, Birmingham Science Museum,, Curzon Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B4 7XG
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During the 19th century, there was a marked change in the structure and form of the rule-making trade in Birmingham and Wolverhampton. Making rules for tradesmen across the UK and abroad to measure, lay-out and calculate, effectively vanished from Wolverhampton. Established craft skills, practiced in small Birmingham workshops by a skilled master, assisted by trained journeymen using techniques passed onto apprentices, were swept aside by mechanisation.
Despite the active opposition of time-served journeymen, unskilled young operatives of both genders came to dominate a growing workforce, along with a decline in the number of employers and the emergence of a few large manufacturing units – the rule factory. A leading activist in this change was the entrepreneurial John Rabone II (1820-1892).
Informal and formal records kept by the Rabone business and preserved in Sheffield and Birmingham, together with data drawn from Census returns, the local press, and publications by or for the rule manufacturers, have been examined for the first time.
About the Speaker
David J. Bryden BSc MA PhD FSA took a degree in engineering at Leicester in 1964 followed by a year taking a taught course in the history and philosophy of science at Oxford.
David was then employed for nearly four decades in various national and university museums. His PhD (Cambridge 1993) was awarded on the basis of publications on early scientific instruments and the British instrument making trade.
Retiring to the West Midlands, David has continued to research and publish.

'The Trinity House Story' by David Whitehead & Mike Hawthorne
2025-05-14 18:00 - 20:00 | LONDON Alan Baxter Gallery, 75 Cowcross St, Clerkenwell, London, EC1M 6EL
This 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.
Have you ever wondered who looks after the major lighthouses around England, Wales and the Channel Islands? How did they come to be there in the first place?
Incorporated by Royal Charter by Henry Vlll in 1514, Trinity House is today a vital part of Britain’s maritime community. In addition to owning and operating lighthouses, lightvessels, beacons and buoys to keep safe all mariners at sea around our shores, Trinity House is called in to mark – and clear if required – wrecks, help develop state of the art electronic navigation tools for vessels of all sizes to overcome the vulnerabilities of GPS, and to act as Nautical Assessors in Admiralty Court cases.
Add to that a sizeable maritime fraternity which regularly advises on current maritime issues and future opportunities, and a charitable side that donates in excess of £5m a year to worthy maritime causes, and you start to get a picture of Trinity House. Then add cadet schemes to train future Merchant Navy mariners and leisure seafarers, almshouses for the use of retired mariners, holidays in converted lighthouses and even public tours and private receptions offered in its stunning historical London HQ on Tower Hill.
About the Speaker
David Whitehead OBE is a former Director of the British Ports Association (1993 to 2016) and Director of Policy, British Ports Federation (1990 – 1993). David led the ports industry through a period of great change. He was heavily involved in the development of the Port Marine Safety Code and was a member of the Port Marine Safety Code Steering Group, which led on navigational safety policy for the entire maritime sector, for many years. David was also Chairman of the European Seaports Organisation for four years where he was responsible for leading on ports policy, including marine and navigational issues, with the EU institutions. In 2010, he was awarded the OBE for his services to the UK ports industry.
Captain Mike Hawthorne OBE RN has been a Younger Brother of Trinity House since 2021. His 36 years in the Royal Navy included working with Diesel and Nuclear Submarines, Naval Intelligence, Naval Procurement and Crisis Management Fleet Command. His roles included Navigation Training Officer, Command of HMS Tireless, Director Naval Intelligence Collection, Naval Operations and Command of Joint Forces Cyber Group.

'Went the day well? - We plan, the Gods laugh: Success and Failure on D-Day' by Dr Phil Judkins
2025-05-19 18:30 - 20:00 | SHEFFIELD Kelham Island Museum, Alma Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S3 8RG
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The Allies’ success at D-Day paved the way for victory in Europe. The fighting in Normandy continued until August 1944, when Paris was liberated.
Many of the immediate strategic objectives of the landings were not achieved, including the failure to capture any of the key towns. But D-Day was still a huge success. More than 160,000 Allied troops and 6,000 vehicles had crossed the Channel and established a foothold in France.
About the Speaker
Dr Phil Judkins’ love of industrial archaeology stems from his childhood playground being an abandoned Victorian waterworks, with no Health and Safety to concern him! Cambridge’s Classical Archaeology course led to several years in ‘dirt archaeology’, followed by a management career which ranged from the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment to the City of London. Phil then gave structure to his abiding interest of historic defence electronics through a Cranfield PhD in the history of radar, and successive Fellowships at the UK’s Defence Academy and at Buckingham University’s Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies.
He currently chairs the Defence Electronics History Society and the Purbeck Radar Museum Trust, in addition to serving on the Committee of the South Yorkshire Newcomen Society, and lectures on defence topics throughout the UK, Phil’s particular perspective is to present the role of electronics in conflict as seen by all the contending parties, rather than from a single national perspective, so that he welcomes collaboration with colleagues internationally.

'The Polaris Missile System: Development and Operations' by John Boyes
2025-09-23 18:30 - 20:00 | MANCHESTER International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Engine House, Chorlton Mill, 3 Cambridge Street,, Manchester, M1 5BY
Image source: US National Archives NAID (public domain)
An in-person event only. No need to sign up, just come along – all are welcome.
The atom bombs dropped on Japan heralded new military possibilities as the post-war world became the Cold War. Seeing with great foresight the potential for developing nuclear power for the US Navy, Capt. Hyman Rickover pushed forward a research programme which culminated with the launch of the USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear powered submarine.
Still dependant on complex liquid fuels the US Navy, already partnering the Army in developing a ballistic missile for both services, withdrew from the alliance when solid fuels of sufficient energy became a practical proposition, setting up its own project under the leadership of RAdm. William Raborn. Thus was born the Polaris weapon system with the first missile-armed, nuclear powered submarine leaving on patrol in 1958.
Forty other SSBNs were to follow and when Britain’s Blue Streak and Skybolt plans were cancelled, Harold Macmillan and President Kennedy met in the Bahamas sealing a deal which saw Polaris also being supplied to the Royal Navy.
About the Speaker
John Boyes was born in Edinburgh in 1947. Educated at Rugby School, he qualified as a chartered accountant in 1973 and thereafter pursued a career in the motor industry until his retirement in 2005. Always interested in the military, he served for seventeen years in the Territorial Army’s Media Operations Group.
John’s particular interest is the history of missiles and he published his first book on the topic, Project Emily: Thor IRBM and the RAF, in 2008. He is the former treasurer of the RAF Historical Society and of the Bomber Command Association, whose Memorial to the 55,573 RAF personnel killed in the Second World War was unveiled in 2012.

'The Development of the HF Transceiver' by Bob Harris
2025-09-29 18:30 - 20:00 | SHEFFIELD Kelham Island Museum, Alma Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S3 8RG
Image source: KNL
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The period from about 1970 to 1985 saw significant changes in the design and construction of high-frequency (HF) radio transceivers. Whilst this talk will focus on amateur radio transceivers, the developments and changes also applied to commercial transceivers for the maritime and land mobile markets.
Bob Harris will cover the changes and set them in the context of the wider development of transmitters and receivers from Marconi onwards. The development of the technology, the circuit design and the construction practices will all be examined and supported by relevant theory.
The reasons for the rise to dominance of the Japanese brands such as Icom, Kenwood and Vertex will be discussed.
About the Speaker
Bob Harris has held an amateur radio licence since 1971 and has gradually built up a collection of old radio transceivers. These are from the mid-1970s until the mid-1980s, this period being one of significant technical change and innovation.
Professionally, Bob has an MSc in Modern Electronics and a BEng in Electronic Engineering. After initially working in the steel industry, he moved into teaching in further education. Latterly, he taught electronics and telecommunications at Sheffield Hallam University for some 30 years until his retirement

'The Hallmarking of Silver and Gold' by Dr Jim Andrew
2025-10-01 19:00 - 21:00 | BIRMINGHAM Think Tank, Birmingham Science Museum,, Curzon Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B4 7XG
Photo Credit: Rodolph at the English-language Wikipedia
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This is a joint event with Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum
The UK’s consumer protection started some seven centuries ago with the marking of gold and silver products to show purity, date tested and the maker. The method of establishing the purity of silver products evolved over many years with a need for both accuracy and the time taken to test items submitted for assaying, particularly in busy assay offices.
Jim Andrew will explain the system and how to access the details of date and maker, with examples from the last two centuries.
About the Speaker
Dr Jim Andrew is a former museum manager at Birmingham Science Museum, and is currently Chairman of Newcomen Midlands.

'Presidential Address: Maritime Regulation, a force for good?' by Vaughan Pomeroy
2025-10-21 18:00 - 19:30 | LONDON Alan Baxter Gallery, 75 Cowcross St, Clerkenwell, London, EC1M 6EL
This 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.
Regulation has become a target for many political voices, red tape restricting innovation and business which should be removed or constrained. Of course, regulations are introduced to achieve many different objectives. The lecture will look at the development of the current maritime safety regulatory regimes, international, national and non-statutory, to set out how innovation has been addressed, how specific concerns have driven change and attempt to quantify the benefits. It will conclude by considering current challenges and setting these against the safety gains of the past.
The lecture rests heavily on the experience of the speaker gained during forty years working in heavily regulated industries including thirty years with Lloyd’s Register of Shipping.
About the Speaker
Vaughan Pomeroy began his engineering career with British Aircraft Corporation at Weybridge. He then worked with Mott, Hay and Anderson, on the design and construction of infrastructure projects including tunnels, water supply and irrigation schemes, power generation and distribution and building services.
Vaughan then spent over thirty years until June 2010 with Lloyd’s Register, ultimately as the Marine Technical Director responsible for the technical policy of the marine business of that classification society.
He is an engineering graduate of the University of Cambridge, a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and a Fellow and Honorary Vice President of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology and a Chartered Engineer.

'New Maps of Hell: the first years of naval drones & anti-shipping guided missiles' by Dr Phil Judkins
2025-10-27 18:30 - 20:00 | SHEFFIELD Kelham Island Museum, Alma Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S3 8RG
Photo Credit: Public Domain via the US Federal Government
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In the Black Sea, Russia’s fleet has almost ceased to exist, thanks to a weapon we think of as ultra-modern. Except it isn’t. The first naval drone was German; its first casualty was an Ipswich man, and the year was 1917!
Dr Phil Judkins traces the history of naval drones and missiles, and defences against them, over the last century – a story with many surprises. In the Second World War, Germany’s devices, little recorded in history, sank one battleship, crippled two more, sank one heavy cruiser and crippled two more; even less recorded is that Britain’s first response was using electric shavers to jam radio command signals. Not admitted for over 20 years was the biggest single loss of life at sea to US forces, which occurred in an almost unknown battle between 40 German missiles and two US shipborne radio jammers.
The use of similar missiles is traced through the Falklands, and then brought up to date with the rapid pace of development in the Ukraine, and of British anti-drone devices such as DragonFire and the less romantically-named Ealing Project.
The lecture concludes with contemplation of the future of Britain’s naval carrier forces against the potential opposition of Chinese stealth Ju Tian drone ‘mother-ships’, each capable of carrying sizeable drone swarms with an Artificial Intelligence (AI) capability thousands of miles before release.
About the Speaker
Dr Phil Judkins’ love of industrial archaeology stems from his childhood playground being an abandoned Victorian waterworks, with no Health and Safety to concern him! Cambridge’s Classical Archaeology course led to several years in ‘dirt archaeology’, followed by a management career which ranged from the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment to the City of London. Phil then gave structure to his abiding interest of historic defence electronics through a Cranfield PhD in the history of radar, and successive Fellowships at the UK’s Defence Academy and at Buckingham University’s Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies.
He currently chairs the Defence Electronics History Society and the Purbeck Radar Museum Trust, in addition to serving on the Committee of the South Yorkshire Newcomen Society, and lectures on defence topics throughout the UK, Phil’s particular perspective is to present the role of electronics in conflict as seen by all the contending parties, rather than from a single national perspective, so that he welcomes collaboration with colleagues internationally.

'The Archaeology & History of LOCOMOTION No.1' by Peter Davidson & Michael Bailey
2025-10-28 18:30 - 20:00 | MANCHESTER International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Engine House, Chorlton Mill, 3 Cambridge Street,, Manchester, M1 5BY
Photo Credit: Gillett Crossings
An in-person event only. No need to sign up, just come along – all are welcome.
The project to learn about the history and rebuilding of the locomotive that started operation on the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1825 was undertaken on behalf of the National Railway Museum.
A close examination of each component of the locomotive and tender was accompanied by a lengthy trawl through contemporary papers relating to the locomotive and the combination of the findings from both these studies revealed much about the locomotive that had previously been overlooked.
The operation of the locomotive between 1825 and 1841 was in three phases, with a substantial rebuild between each. Preparation for its post-operational display on a plinth outside Darlington North Road station from 1857 required a further rebuilding to a form that has been readily recognised since that time.
About the Speaker
Michael Bailey and Peter Davidson, both members of the Newcomen Society, have collaborated on three previous early locomotive archaeological projects, ‘Killingworth Billy’, Hetton ‘Lyon‘, and ‘Invicta‘; their findings have also been presented to the Society in previous years.
The authors’ expertise in early locomotive history and engineering has revealed much new knowledge on the subject. Michael Bailey is a Past President of the Newcomen Society and the current President of the Stephenson Locomotive Society and the British Overseas Railways Historical Trust.

'History of Research in British Gas - Part 2' by Chris Hodrien
2025-11-05 19:00 - 21:00 | BIRMINGHAM Think Tank, Birmingham Science Museum,, Curzon Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B4 7XG
Photo Credit: Random Group
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This is a joint event with Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum
In April 2025, Chris Hodrien gave the first part of his account of the history of research in British Gas, including an introduction to the gas industry in the United Kingdom, and the consolidation and nationalisation of the industry in the mid-20th-century.
The basic production technology remained unchanged into the 1950s, with gradual evolutionary equipment improvements, but formal R&D on both production and utilisation was considerably accelerated first during WorldWar 2, then by the nationalisation of the industry in 1948 and again with the formation of British Gas Corporation in 1973, forming a powerful fully vertically-integrated organisation covering all aspects of gas technology. This led to two successive and very successful total technical revolutions, from coal carbonisation to steam reforming of light oils in the 1960s-70s followed immediately by the conversion to North Sea natural gas in the 1970s-80s.
By the time of the privatisation in the early 1990s, British Gas was one of the most powerful, modern, technically advanced and profitable industries in the UK, with an R&D budget of c. £55M/year and a long term 25-year R&D strategy.
In part 2 of his talk, Chris covers the later technical developments that resulted from the world-class research that he was involved in.
About the Speaker
Chris Hodrien is the son of two industrial chemists who met in the laboratory. He formed an intent to become an industrial Chemical Engineer at about age 11 and had by far the largest home chemistry set in the neighbourhood! Chris graduated with an M.A. in Chemical Engineering from Pembroke College, University of Cambridge in 1973 and went straight to work in cutting-edge world-class gas production R&D at Midlands Research Station, Solihull.
One important role (1974) was the introduction of brand-new computer-aided gasification process simulation methods, another (1980-83) was as team leader of the initial pilot plant for the world’s highest efficiency coal gasification process. A project for advanced low-cost drying of natural gas (1996-2000) won an internal Chairman’s Award for Chris.
Subsequently, the work was relocated to a new integrated national Gas Research Centre at Loughborough after privatisation in 1993, under the new banner of Advantica plc.

'Broadcast Britain' by Dr Mark Pegg
2025-11-18 18:00 - 19:30 | LONDON Alan Baxter Gallery, 75 Cowcross St, Clerkenwell, London, EC1M 6EL
This 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.
A Century of Change Personalities, Politics, Society & Culture 1922–2022
Dr Mark Pegg presented to the society in 2024 on the technology that enabled public broadcasting: 100 years of the BBC, crystal sets, valve radios and television through to the semi-conductors and microchips creating today’s multi-media age with computers, mobile phones and smart speakers.
By popular demand, members wanted more information on the people, social and cultural changes plus the impact of broadcasting on the way we live our lives.
This is a further presentation on the technology that uniquely entered our homes and changed us forever.

About the Speaker
Dr Mark Pegg read history at Oxford University where his published doctoral thesis was British Broadcasting and Society 1918-1939. He 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.
He is a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

'A short version of the long history of automation on the railways' by Felix Schmid
2025-11-24 18:30 - 20:00 | SHEFFIELD Kelham Island Museum, Alma Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S3 8RG
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The presentation will commence by introducing very early mechanical systems, including some that were used on waggonways 300 years ago. These were quite primitive but reduced the labour requirement, e.g. by automating passing loops on tramways.
The automatic systems that came about in response to the Regulation of Railways Act 1889, which made the railway much safer and also improved its economy, will be discussed, followed by the origins of the train stop and warning systems that came into operation in the early 20th century. The electronic safety and operational management systems instigated by computerisation, where British Rail had a leading role, will be reviewed.
The presentation will finish with some reflections on fully automated railways and the role of machine learning and what is often termed artificial intelligence. Throughout the talk, the speaker will comment on the importance of including human skill and perception in automated systems for the railway.
About the Speaker
Felix Schmid is an Emeritus Professor of Railway Systems Engineering at the University of Birmingham and, currently, serves as the President of the Newcomen Society.
He has had a longstanding interest in railway systems and, more particularly, the automation of activities necessary for the safe and efficient operation of railways. Some automated systems support the work of people, others are carrying out tasks without regular interactions with humans.

'Radical adoption of computer technology at Llanwern steelworks, South Wales – an object lesson for AI' by Jonathan Aylen
2025-11-25 18:30 - 20:00 | MANCHESTER International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Engine House, Chorlton Mill, 3 Cambridge Street,, Manchester, M1 5BY
Photo Credit: AI Generated by Random Group Ltd
An in-person only event. No need to sign up, just come along – all are welcome.
This is a joint meeting with the Computer Conservation Society.
Why do some automation projects succeed, while others fail? More broadly, how do organisations shape new technology – for good or ill? Why are some automation schemes supported and some resisted, subverted and discarded?
Here we document one historical example. Expect many photos of solid engineering, beehive hairdos and a walk-on part for Steven Spielberg’s dad.
Two pioneering applications of computers at Llanwern steelworks allow us to compare simultaneous adoption of parallel automation schemes. One succeeded, one failed. The two automation systems were implemented by the same team in the same location for use by the same workforce. Natural experiments such as this are one way to test theory.
By way of explanation we focus on a distinction between “physical technologies” and “social technologies”. The distinction is captured by innovation scholar Dick Nelson’s metaphor of The Moon and the Ghetto. Moonshots required technical solutions. The ghetto was an intractable, multi-dimensional wicked problem. Our experiment suggests it is harder to develop organisational routines for “social technologies” than for “physical technologies”.
The application of a GE 412 to process control of the new wide hot strip mill at Llanwern steelworks in the mid-1960’s in South Wales was precisely specified, technically successful and imitated worldwide. This essentially technical implementation was a “physical technology”. Use of three Elliott 803 computers for managerial tasks of information handling and order scheduling for the same mill was problematic. These management computers were essentially a “social technology.” Computers were far more readily integrated into routines for physical control of a rolling mill, than into the managerial task of scheduling. The research draws on interviews with those who participated in the schemes and private archive sources such as the surviving software.
About the Speaker
Jonathan Aylen is an academic researcher who now specialises in the history of technology. He has written on the development of computer guidance systems for Cold War missiles, the development of the first British atomic bomb and on computer control in the steel industry. His approach is to integrate oral history with unorthodox archive sources. Jonathan’s first exposure to computing was writing FORTRAN programmes for an ICL mainframe to support his research in economics.
Jonathan is a recent past President of the Newcomen society for the History of Engineering and Technology and his research output across a range of disciplines can be found here.

'The History of Measurement of Oxygen in Medicine' by Dr. John Moyle
2025-12-03 19:00 - 21:00 | BIRMINGHAM Think Tank, Birmingham Science Museum,, Curzon Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B4 7XG
Photo Credit: Uusi Ajaja Creative Commons
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This is a joint event with Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum
Of the gases involved in life, oxygen is the most important!

This lecture relates the history of measurement of oxygen in medicine, as a gas, in solution in bodily fluids and on haemoglobin; from the Haldane apparatus to Pulse Oximetry.
As a gas:

Haldane
Paramagnetic
(Raman spectroscopy)*
(Mass spectroscopy)*
Acoustic
Fuel Cell

Dissolved in Plama:

Clark electrode

Attached to Haemoglobin:

Non-invasive “Oximetry”
Pulse Oximetry

*Research only
About the Speaker
Dr John Moyle is a Chartered Engineer, retired physician & anaesthetist plus historian with a particular interest in telegraphy and medical technology.

'Conservation Engineering – Repairs to the Camellia House at Wentworth Woodhouse & Keppel’s Column' by Gez Pegram
2025-12-15 19:00 - 20:00 | SHEFFIELD Kelham Island Museum, Alma Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S3 8RG
Photo Credit: Andrewrabbott licensed under Creative Commons
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This is a joint meeting with the South Yorkshire Industrial History Society
This presentation will outline the restoration work undertaken at Wentworth Woodhouse and Keppel’s Column.
The £5 million restoration of Wentworth Woodhouse’s Camellia House involved repairing structural elements, reinstating its glazed roof, and incorporating modern energy-efficient technologies like ground-source heat pumps and underfloor heating. The project successfully transformed the derelict Grade II listed building into a tea house and event venue, preserving the historic camellia plants while integrating contemporary design.
Keppel’s Column in Rotherham was the subject of a major restoration project completed in 2022, which addressed severe structural issues including cracking and stonework erosion, and replaced the deteriorating internal staircase. The column was stabilized using a series of vertical and horizontal ties The severely broken internal staircase, which had been a major structural issue, was replaced with new metal treads that tie the inner and outer brick shafts together. The missing rotating roof covering was reinstated to protect the column and its shaft, and the metal railings on the cap were replaced to replicate original components.
About the Speaker
Gez Pegram

'The Wright Brothers’ Last Laugh - The World's Return to Unstable Flight' by Dr Fred Starr
2025-12-16 18:00 - 19:30 | LONDON Alan Baxter Gallery, 75 Cowcross St, Clerkenwell, London, EC1M 6EL
This 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.
With their background in design and construction as bicycle mechanics, The Wright Brothers set out to build a flying machine. Nevertheless, success took half a decade of experimental engineering & even the Wrights themselves didn’t think much of their world renowned flight on 17th December 1903. On that day, they were lucky but they were only halfway there. Proper flying did not come until 1905.
The Wrights were not enthusiastic amateurs. As genuine engineers, they read the literature before starting work. An early insight, coming from bicycle design, was that aircraft not only had to be controlled, but a degree of instability was useful. The lecture will review what they did and summarise the Wrights’ other engineering achievements.
In the decades that followed, the unstable aircraft was considered an idiotic concept. Today, however, advanced fighters and even some commercial aircraft have adopted the Wrights’ approach. Instability gives better manoeuvrability, lower aircraft weight, and reduced fuel consumption. But there are dangers.
About the Speaker
Dr Fred Starr graduated as a metallurgist from Battersea College (now the University of Surrey) in 1966. He joined British Gas, London Research Station, in Fulham, where he remained for 30 years, moving from failure investigation, to leading the company’s research on high temperature materials.
However, the last ten years of Fred’s working life were geared towards energy conversion, principally with British Gas and the European Commission. This included Stirling engines, gas turbines and steam plant. It was a switch made possible by an amateur with a deep interest in the design of aircraft and aircraft engines, especially their history. In this respect, Fred’s one regret in life, is not knowing that the Newcomen Society used to meet at the Science Museum, just up the road from where he worked.
Formally “retiring” in 2007, Fred became an active member of the Newcomen Society. He got the Society to put on conferences on The Piston Engine Revolution (the development of the IC engine) and Swords into Ploughshares (how WWI transformed British Engineering). Fred has also published a three part paper in the Newcomen Journal on the development of materials for IC engine poppet valves.
He has also set up his own website, fredstarr.com, that has sections on industrial history.

'A short version of the long history of automation on the railways' by Felix Schmid
2026-01-07 19:00 - 21:00 | BIRMINGHAM Think Tank, Birmingham Science Museum,, Curzon Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B4 7XG
Photo Credit: Benutzer:Bukk
Joining us IN PERSON – just turn up, there’s no need to register
Joining us ONLINE – click on this zoom link before the event to join in
This is a joint event with Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum
This lecture was originally given as the Presidential Address to the Newcomen Society in London in 2025.
The presentation will commence by introducing very early mechanical systems, including some that were used on waggonways 300 years ago. These were quite primitive but reduced the labour requirement, e.g. by automating passing loops on tramways.
The automatic systems that came about in response to the Regulation of Railways Act 1889, which made the railway much safer and also improved its economy, will be discussed, followed by the origins of the train stop and warning systems that came into operation in the early 20th century. The electronic safety and operational management systems instigated by computerisation, where British Rail had a leading role, will be reviewed.
The presentation will finish with some reflections on fully automated railways and the role of machine learning and what is often termed artificial intelligence. Throughout the talk, the speaker will comment on the importance of including human skill and perception in automated systems for the railway.
About the Speaker
Felix Schmid is an Emeritus Professor of Railway Systems Engineering at the University of Birmingham and, currently, serves as the President of the Newcomen Society.
He has had a long-standing interest in railway systems and, more particularly, the automation of activities necessary for the safe and efficient operation of railways. Some automated systems support the work of people, others are carrying out tasks without regular interactions with humans.

'The Art of Engineering' by Laurence Scales
2026-01-14 18:00 - 19:30 | LONDON Alan Baxter Gallery, 75 Cowcross St, Clerkenwell, London, EC1M 6EL
This 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.
The Royal Society of Arts began life as the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce rewarding, among other things, inventions and improvements relating to mechanics, manufactures and chemistry.
This lecture introduces the first century of the Society, then passes by way of some history of engineering drawing and drawing instruments to feature some of the professional draughtsmen used by the Society. Along the way, the lecture exhibits a selection of drawings from the archive.
About the Speaker
Laurence Scales has a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering, and subsequently worked for Lloyds Register of Shipping, offshore engineering contractor Brown & Root, and defence electronics manufacturer Thales. Latterly he has been an archive volunteer at both the Royal Institution of Great Britain and the Royal Society of Arts.
Laurence devises and leads London tours themed around the history of science, technology and medicine. His customers have included Imperial College, King’s College London, Purdue University, Ove Arup & Associates, and the FBI.

'The Locomotive Galleries at Armley Mills Museum' by Michael Bailey & John McGoldrick
2026-01-24 11:00 - 17:00 | SHEFFIELD Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills, Canal Rd, Armley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS12 2QF, United Kingdom
Photo Credit: Chris Allen
In Person – Seminar, buffet lunch and tour of Locomotive Gallery – to book tickets: click here
On-line – Seminar only – to book tickets: click here
Details of how to find Armley Mills Museum and other details can be found here
As we are limited to 60 in-person attendees, booking is essential and tickets cost £16 (inclusive of a £1 booking fee charged by Ticket Source), which includes Museum entry to the Seminar, the Buffet Lunch, and the tour of the Railway Galleries.
This is a joint meeting with the Industrial History Section of the Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society
The Locomotive Galleries at Armley Mills Museum have been closed since catastrophic flooding in December 2015. A major flood prevention scheme, which included a flood wall around the Museum site and the rebuilding of the gallery wall adjacent to the River Aire, has now been completed, and the galleries will reopen to the public in 2026.
This meeting is an opportunity to view the newly completed gallery and to hear about the major locomotive industry in Leeds and the important railway collection held by the Museum.
Programme
11:00 am Assemble, coffee, and welcome
11:30 am Michael Bailey – The Leeds Locomotive Building Industry in the 19th Century
12:30 pm John McGoldrick – The Leeds Railway Collection
1:30 pm – Buffet Lunch
2:15 pm – Group 1: Accompanied tour of the new locomotive gallery
2:15 pm – Group 2: Opportunity to explore artefacts from the Leeds Museum Railway Collection
3:15 pm – Groups swap over
4:15 pm to museum close at 5:00 pm, opportunity to explore the museum collection
About the Speakers
Dr. Michael Bailey is the President of the Stephenson Locomotive Society and a Past-President of the Newcomen Society. He has undertaken considerable work on the archaeology of early steam locomotives and has written extensively about early locomotive design and manufacturing progress during the 19th century.
John McGoldrick is Curator of Industrial History at Leeds Industrial Museum, constantly seeking news ways of getting people excited about history and collections (LinkedIn).

'Building for the Atomic Age' by Wayne Cocroft
2026-01-27 18:30 - 20:00 | MANCHESTER The Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount St, Manchester, M2 5NS, United Kingdom
Photo Credit: UK government agencies, OGL 3, via Wikimedia Commons
An in-person only event. No need to sign up, just come along – all are welcome
Post-war, Britain embarked on ambitious projects to generate energy from the atom. The places associated with these ventures, secured by high fences, became symbols of a new industrial age. For some Aldermaston, Dounreay, Harwell, Windscale, and Winfrith were locations where science fiction became reality, while others viewed them as home to some ‘unmentionable devilment’.
A distinguishing, and perhaps surprising, feature of the power programmes was the obligation in the 1957 Electricity Act to consider the effect of the new stations on the visual amenity of an area, resulting in a blending of technology, architecture and landscape. Today, these relics of late 20th century science and industry are being decommissioned and largely erased from the landscape.
This lecture will explore the industrial archaeology of Britain’s ‘atomic age’, its technologies and the impact they have had on the built environment and landscapes of this country.
About the Speaker
Wayne Cocroft has recently retired as a Senior Archaeological Investigator with Historic England. For over 30 years, he has specialised in the investigation and assessment of recent defence and industrial sites.
Wayne has written extensively on these topics including on the gunpowder and explosives industry, the home front during the First World War, Cold War installations, signals intelligence in West Berlin and most recently Building for the Atomic Age An industrial archaeology of the United Kingdom’s nuclear industry.
He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.

'Before Valves: The Amazing Ingenuity of the "Electricians" before the Thermionic Valve' by Dr John Moyle
2026-02-04 19:00 - 21:00 | BIRMINGHAM Think Tank, Birmingham Science Museum,, Curzon Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B4 7XG
Photo Credit: Wellcome Collection (1911 – Copyright free)

Joining us IN PERSON – just turn up, there’s no need to register
Joining us ONLINE – click on this zoom link before the event to join in

This is a joint event with Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum

Man’s ingenuity before the invention of the thermionic valve was amazing!
This lecture will summarize the early methods of wireless transmission and reception & amplification.
About the Speaker
Dr John Moyle is a Chartered Engineer, retired physician & anaesthetist plus historian with a particular interest in telegraphy and medical technology.

'The Mercenary River' by Nick Higham
2026-02-11 18:00 - 19:30 | LONDON Alan Baxter Gallery, 75 Cowcross St, Clerkenwell, London, EC1M 6EL
This 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.
Today we take water for granted. Turn a tap and the stuff gushes out. But for centuries London struggled to supply its citizens with reliable, clean drinking water.
Nick Higham tells the story of London’s water from the Tudor era to the 20th century. It’s a tale of remarkable technological, scientific and organisational breakthroughs, but also one of greed and complacency, high finance and low politics. London’s 19th century water companies operated a cartel which worked in their interests, not their customers’. The water they supplied was overpriced, deficient in quantity and frequently filthy – described by one scientist as “diluted sewage”. It took the best part of a century of campaigning to bring the water companies to heel.
About the Speaker
Nick Higham is a writer and former journalist who is passionate about history. His first book, The Mercenary River, a history of London’s water supply, was published to excellent reviews in 2022: The Telegraph gave it five stars, The Mail called it “fascinating”, Andrew Marr found it “original and gripping”. The book has made a timely contribution to the current debate about Britain’s water industry and the scandal of untreated sewage discharges, and has been praised by figures as diverse as the campaigner Feargal Sharkey and the chairman of Thames Water.
His second book, Mavericks: Empire, Oil, Revolution and the Forgotten Battle of World War One, is published by Bloomsbury in October 2025.
Nick spent nearly 30 years as a BBC correspondent, whenever possible smuggling history onto the airwaves in the guise of news.

'Building the Shadow Factories' by Jonathan Aylen
2026-02-23 18:30 - 20:00 | SHEFFIELD Kelham Island Museum, Alma Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S3 8RG
Joining us IN PERSON – just turn up, there’s no need to register
Joining us ON-LINE – click this zoom link (Passcode [REDACTED])
Britain’s military effort during World War 2 required a massive investment in manufacturing. Government-funded “Shadow factories” and “Agency Factories” were a key part of this huge capacity expansion. The Government spent at least a quarter of a billion pounds at the time on new buildings, new machinery and training, often in locations far away from conventional manufacturing centres, on factories run by 175 private firms. These factories brought new technology and new production processes, thereby accelerating the pace of wartime innovation.
Yet these new factories are themselves in the shadows. Shadow factories are typically equated with new sites for building aircraft, such as Yeadon in Yorkshire. But shadow factory schemes spread much more widely across industry, covering hidden sectors such as chemical warfare, oil refining and ordnance manufacture, as well as more obvious sectors such as aircraft components and aeroengines.
There is very little research on the selection, design, procurement and operation of these factories. Here we look at the broad shadow factory scheme, using archive sources, and then examine a factory for forging aircraft parts built in 1940 on a remote greenfield site at Distington, Cumberland, employing 3,000 workers. This was developed by a private firm, High Duty Alloys, on behalf of the Government.
About the Speaker
Jonathan Aylen is an academic researcher who now specialises in the history of technology. He has written on the development of computer guidance systems for Cold War missiles, the development of the first British atomic bomb and on computer control in the steel industry. His approach is to integrate oral history with unorthodox archive sources. Jonathan’s first exposure to computing was writing FORTRAN programmes for an ICL mainframe to support his research in economics.
Jonathan is a recent past President of the Newcomen society for the History of Engineering and Technology and his research output across a range of disciplines can be found here.

'The Evolution of Railway Attitudes to Safety and Risk' by Ivor Lewis
2026-02-24 18:30 - 20:00 | MANCHESTER The Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount St, Manchester, M2 5NS, United Kingdom
Photo Credit: Australian government licensed under Creative Commons
An in-person only event. No need to sign up, just come along – all are welcome.
The talk considers and contrasts the public and company changes in attitudes to safety and risk of injury from Railway travel, starting with the early plateway and tramway period. The changes in attitude when main line railways arrived in 1830 through to the end of the 19th century are analysed. It reviews how safety for the public and employees of railways evolved as society’s perception and acceptance of risk and injury changed. As railways developed, how did those managing and checking railways react? How did rail companies, writers, literature, newspapers government and society influencers respond? It will not re-cover ground already described in popular texts on railway accidents but will indicate where experience, company management and popular literature influenced safety on the railways. The way the government’s railway acts and the railway inspectorate responded is outlined.
It takes a generic rather than a detailed technological approach and suggests subjects requiring further study.
This talk was first given in a shorter form at the Early Railways 8 Conference in Sept 2025.
About the Speaker
Ivor Lewis is a member of the Manchester Branch of Newcomen and a former computer hardware and software engineer and IT consultant. He studied Physics at London University but spent his working life in Computer and IT engineering. His longstanding interest in the history of railways and particularly railway mechanical engineering evolved into a wider interest in all forms of engineering history.
Ivor is a member of several railway and line societies and has volunteered at the National Railway Museum behind the scenes on railway archives. He is a past Chairman of the Historical Model Railway Society and has spoken at three of the Early Railway conferences.
Ivor is married with two grown up children and two grandchildren and lives near Crewe in Cheshire.

'Newcomen Society Annual General Meeting'
2026-02-25 17:00 - 18:00
This is an online meeting only open to all Newcomen members. Click on this zoom link to join.
Annual General Meeting for Newcomen Society members only.

'Housing the Great Exhibition in 1851' by Dr. Jim Andrew
2026-03-04 19:00 - 21:00 | BIRMINGHAM Think Tank, Birmingham Science Museum,, Curzon Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B4 7XG
Image Credit: The Original Crystal Palace in Hyde Park – Painted for H. R. H. Prince Albert by Messrs Nash, Haghe & Roberts R.A.
Joining us IN PERSON – just turn up, there’s no need to register
Joining us ONLINE – click on this zoom link before the event to join in
This is a joint event with Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum
The Great Exhibition planned for the summer of 1851 was languishing in a committee until, in June 1850, Joseph Paxton was asked for a design of a building to go in Hyde Park, London.
The temporary building was possibly the largest single constructed building anywhere in the World, yet it was designed within a month and opened in ten months.
About the Speaker
Dr Jim Andrew is a former museum manager at Birmingham Science Museum, and is currently Chairman of Newcomen Midlands.

'Vernacular Practice: Joseph Whitworth’s papers on Flatness & Threads' by John Gardner
2026-03-11 18:00 - 19:30 | LONDON Alan Baxter Gallery, 75 Cowcross St, Clerkenwell, London, EC1M 6EL
This 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.
This lecture examines the relationship between workshop practice and standards for threads and flatness by analysing two influential papers by Joseph Whitworth, which achieved a broad readership after being published in the 6d Mechanics’ Magazine in 1841. These papers are:
1. “Plane Metallic Surfaces and the Proper Mode of Preparing Them” (read at the British Association meeting in Glasgow in 1840, published in Mechanics’ Magazine, no. 910, 16 January 1841, pp. 39-42).
2. “A Uniform System of Screw Threads” (read to the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1841, published in Mechanics’ Magazine, no. 951, 30 October 1841, pp. 340-344).
The argument is that these papers remain relevant in modern engineering standards. Whitworth’s proposal for standard screw threads significantly contributed to the construction of the Crystal Palace in 1851, which was completed in just 190 days using approximately 30,000 nuts and bolts. This was achieved despite there being no standardized thread form until 1905. The contemporary engineer James Nasmyth highlighted the chaos and expense caused by the lack of a standardized thread form, where each bolt and nut was unique, leading to confusion and inefficiency:
‘No system was observed as to “pitch”, i.e., the number of threads to the inch, nor was any rule followed as to the form of these threads. Every bolt and nut was thus a specialty in itself […] all bolts and their corresponding nuts had to be marked as belonging to each other; and any mixing of them together led to endless trouble, hopeless confusion, and enormous expense.’ (James Nasmyth, Engineer: An Autobiography (1883), p.131.)
Whitworth’s proposal advocated for a practical, workshop-based method to promote his thread form, rather than relying solely on theoretical principles.
Research for this talk has involved working with the London Science Museum and the Crystal Palace Museum. Original bolts from the Crystal Palace and towers were examined, measured, and remanufactured establishing that Whitworth’s vernacular thread form was used to build the Palace. The plane metallic surfaces standard that Whitworth helped achieve, which relied on hand-scraping, initially annoyed his workers who thought hand work a retrograde step after using machines. Nevertheless, the method he published on stands to this day as process through which to achieve a high degree of flatness. In this talk, John Gardner will discuss Whitworth’s papers on flatness and threads, their origins in workshop practice, and their legacy in engineering standards.
About the Speaker
John Gardner is Dean of the Doctoral School at Anglia Ruskin University.
John’s recent publications include: ‘Thread form at the Crystal Palace’ (Journal for the History of Engineering and Technology, 2024); The 1830s, with David Stewart (CUP, 2024); ‘Waterloo to Peterloo‘ in The Oxford Handbook to Romantic Prose, ed. by Robert Morrison (OUP, 2024); ‘Liberalism’ in The 1820s, Innovation and Diffusion ed. by Matt Sangster and Jon Mee. (Edinburgh University Press, 2023); ‘Shelley’s Steamship’ Keats-Shelley Journal 71 (2022); and ‘A Dangerous Education; the Early Mechanics’ Institutes’ in Institutions as Networks (CUP, 2022).
John is currently working on a monograph entitled ‘Engineering Romanticism’.

'Ingenious Women' by Deborah Jaffé
2026-03-17 18:30 - 20:00 | MANCHESTER International Anthony Burgess Foundation, Engine House, Chorlton Mill, 3 Cambridge Street,, Manchester, M1 5BY
Photo Credit: Deborah Jaffé
An in-person only event. No need to sign up, just come along – all are welcome.
Since Amye Everard Ball became the first woman to be granted an English patent in 1637, hundreds have been awarded to women but rarely cited. These overlooked women navigated legislation and social assumption of their times, to ensure their patents were registered as their own. Referring to themselves as housewives, widows, inventors, scientists, nurses, electricians and engineers, their patents were wide ranging including for industrial machinery, dishwashers, lifesaving equipment, safety devices for train travel, underwear for bicycle riding, stab proof vests, and the teaching of geometry.
Historically, women played important roles in scientific and technological development and innovation, as well as in running companies or fighting in the courts for ownership of their intellectual property. Inevitably, some of the patents have been surpassed by further improvements and developments, but they illustrate great ingenuity and thought.
This lecture will take some key characters and their patents to show their ingenuity.
About the Speaker
Deborah Jaffé is a cultural historian and author of eight books including Ingenious Women, from tincture of saffron to flying machines (Sutton 2003) and The History of Toys (Sutton (2006); and coeditor with Dr Stephen Wilson of Memories of the Future (Peter Lang 2019).
Deborah was the editor of Newcomen Links for 10 years and a member of the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood Trustees’ Committee; and has lectured widely on women and innovation, the history of toys and her current research on refugee related subjects.

'W. G. Fearnsides FRS: a geological model of vision and versatility' by Duncan Hawley
2026-03-23 18:30 - 20:00 | SHEFFIELD Kelham Island Museum, Alma Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S3 8RG
Joining us IN PERSON – just turn up, there’s no need to register
Joining us ON-Line – click this zoom link (Passcode [REDACTED])
W. G. Fearnsides (1879–1968) was born in West Yorkshire. He was a first-class scholar in geology at the University of Cambridge and following an interesting interlude in the USA, he returned to Cambridge, initially as a freelance geologist, then working in the Geology Department, contributing to their focus of research on the rocks of north and central Wales. In 1913, he was appointed the first occupant of the Sorby Chair of Geology at the University of Sheffield, establishing the Geology Department at Sheffield and deciding to follow similar veins of research to Sheffield geologist H.C. Sorby.
In his time, Fearnsides was an outstanding geologist of remarkable versatility, especially in the fields of applied science. One of his key legacies was a better understanding of how to apply geology and the importance of research on resources, especially coal, iron ore and local refractory materials. Another legacy is in highlighting the importance of ‘home geology’ for national resilience and security. Arguably, the raw-material-based industries of Sheffield and beyond would not have been so productive and resourceful in two world wars without the efforts of W. G. Fearnsides.
W. G. Fearnsides was honoured by many scientific and professional societies. He received the gold medal of the Surveyors’ Institution in 1913 and the Greenwell Medal from the North of England Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. He was an honorary member of the Institute of Mining Engineers.
About the Speaker
Duncan Hawley is a native of Sheffield, born and brought up in Wadsley on the northern edge of the city, overlooking the industry in the Don Valley. One of his abiding memories of his youth is the sound of regular thumps from drop forges that drifted up from the valley. As Ken Hawley’s son you might expect him to be well-versed on tools – but he readily admits he knows ‘nowt’ about tools, although he probably imbibed more about Sheffield tools and its industrial history than most. He always refers to a turnscrew, never a screwdriver (which is an American term).
Duncan attended High Storrs School, then studied geology at UCL, Aberystwyth and Oxford, then followed a varied career as a geography and geoscience educator in schools, field centres, universities, curriculum development and teacher education. He is known for his work on teaching physical geography. Throughout, he maintained an interest in the history of geology, and probably inherited something of his father’s collecting trait as he now holds a collection of early geological maps and other artefacts.
Duncan is a Fellow of the Geological Society of London and Chairperson of the History of Geology Group and regularly publishes on the history of geology. Additionally, he is active in geoheritage and geoconservation as Chairperson of the Sheffield Area Geology Trust and he keeps his hand in with local industrial heritage as a trustee of the Ken Hawley Collection Trust.
