The Palace of Westminster, home to Britain's Houses of Parliament, is one of the most studied buildings in the world. What is less well known is that while Parliament was primarily a political building, when built between 1834 and 1860, it was also a place of scientific activity. The constructi...

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Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Gillin, Edward John 1990- (Author)
Format:	Electronic eBook
Language:	English
Published:	Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2017
Series:	Science in history
Subjects:	Geschichte 1837-1901 Wissensproduktion Wissenschaft Kultur Houses of Parliament > London Großbritannien Barry, Charles Architecture and science; England; London Science; Great Britain; History, 19th century
Online Access:	DE-12 DE-473 Volltext
Summary:	The Palace of Westminster, home to Britain's Houses of Parliament, is one of the most studied buildings in the world. What is less well known is that while Parliament was primarily a political building, when built between 1834 and 1860, it was also a place of scientific activity. The construction of Britain's legislature presents an extraordinary story in which politicians and officials laboured to make their new Parliament the most radical, modern building of its time by using the very latest scientific knowledge. Experimentalists employed the House of Commons as a chemistry laboratory, geologists argued over the Palace's stone, natural philosophers hung meat around the building to measure air purity, and mathematicians schemed to make Parliament the first public space where every room would have electrically-controlled time. Through such dramatic projects, Edward J. Gillin redefines our understanding of the Palace of Westminster and explores the politically troublesome character of Victorian science
Item Description:	Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 10 Nov 2017)
Physical Description:	1 Online-Ressource (xiv, 325 pages)
ISBN:	9781108303873
DOI:	10.1017/9781108303873