This has been a busy month, which began with an invite to Bowood by Dr Lizzie Rogers, the archivist and curator at the house. This invite came off the back of the Priestley 250 work that I took part in during 2024 as a member of the Steering Group, primarily providing services on behalf of Calne Heritage Centre.
This visit, which took place on 1 May 2025, provided an opportunity to see Lizzie's work in providing an exhibit showing the context of Dr Joseph Priestley's experiments with various gases, including oxygen, which came to fruition at Bowood in August 1774 when he discovered "dephlogisticated air". Antoine Lavoisier disproved the phlogiston theory and renamed the gas oxygen, recognizing its role in combustion and respiration. The visit also led to Calne Men's Shed being enlisted to provide a stand, which I noticed was missing from the setup - many thanks to Lizzie for accommodating us and for providing the Men's Shed with the additional work.
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| Sue Peskett and John Boaler, two of Calne's wonderful community volunteers, with myself and Dr Lizzie Rogers to the right. |
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| Priestley exhibit at Bowood House, featuring wooden stand provided by Calne Men's Shed. |
As seen in Lizzie's exhibit, Priestley's setup included:
- An earthenware trough for holding water, along with thin flat stones placed under the surface.
- Cylindrical jars and a tall beer glass, which he used in experiments involving mice.
- A phial with a perforated cork and a bent glass tube, secured with cement.
- Pots or dishes to contain vessels of air.
- A receiver, constructed with perforated tin plates, a wooden frame, and paper lining, designed to allow airflow.
- Other key items included a wire stand, glass funnel, cylindrical glass vessel, waxed candle, and wire, highlighting how simple objects played a role in complex discoveries.
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| Photo Credit: Derek Liversidge. |
I was also invited to the 10th Anniversary Classic Car and Bike Run on 18 May. This event hosted by The Rotary Club of Chippenham raised over £4,500 for the The RISE Trust and local Rotary Charities.
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| Robing Ceremony for the New Mayor of Malmesbury, Councillor Stephen James |
Finally, I represented Calne on behalf of the Town Mayor at the Malmesbury Mayor Inauguration and Robing. This type of engagement is helpful in strengthening relationships and also seeing how things are done differently in other towns. I discovered that Malmesbury has a thriving twinning group and may be able to provide some guidance to the new Calne twinning group. I have now passed on the contact details to Calne's group to make contact, if they so wish.
