Book Review: Joseph Priestley in Calne

I picked this book up at the local library and found it unputdownable.

While the focus is of Priestley in Calne, no person's life can be understood in the isolation of a single place. So, we start at the beginning of Priestley's life in Fieldhead, Yorkshire and end on Priestley's last day, in Northumberland, US.

Even Priestley's time living in Calne was broken by frequent stays in London and a European visit. The story wouldn't have been complete without the full chronological method used by the author.

Importantly we get a good insight into the personality, friendships and interests of Priestley, as person who I'd only known as the person that discovered oxygen. By the end, I felt like I knew the person, even if I might not have liked him!

For anyone living in Calne, this is a must read. A lot of research has gone into this publication, but it doesn't feel heavy to read and flows well. For me, to find the true place the oxygen experiments took place and the location of the fabled 'Doctor's Pond' was quite exciting and imortant for anyone interested in the history of Calne.

Available at Wiltshire libraries and to purchase online.

Book Review: Calne - Living Memories by Dee La Verdera

This book, published in 2004, was supported by subscribers and authored by prior Calne English teacher, Dee La Vardera. It uses the extensive Francis Frith back catalogue, which includes any photographs of Calne and the local area. The majority of the photographs are from the 1950s and 1960s, but some do go back many decades prior to that as well as up to 2003, with some taken by the author.

The book is partitioned into chapters including a brief history of C & T Harris and chapters on various streets in the centre of Calne before venturing out to the villages.

The captions are nicely detailed and help to provide context for the life and times during which the photographs were taken. Along with photographs, scans of invoices, etc are often included next to photographs of shops or old business premises.

I always enjoy wandering back in time via old photographs and this book was enjoyed by myself and my wife (whom the author taught for a couple of years).

This book is another nice addition to the photograph books previously released for Calne and worth a thorough browse.

Book Review: Calne Revisited by Peter Treloar

To my knowledge, this is the last book of Calne photographs published by Calne Town Council. I was published in 1999, around 11 years after the previous book. It is the first in this particular series to feature images (illustrations and documents) in colour - an exciting feature

I hardly need say that this is a good addition to the series, Peter Treloar had been producing these books (and 2 for other publishers) for over 25 years at this point. The 134 images are cross-referenced to the 6 other Treloar books where relevant and the captions provide useful insight into the history and the contemporary times of Calne.

The author notes that he 'emphasised rather heavily the amount that had been destroyed or lost in the town in recent years', but with this book and the positive changes to the town, he could take a more optimistic view. I think this is important, this makes the previous books useful historical documents in their own right and show that Peter Treloar was the right man for the job. History is not an objective subject and it's important to get a feel for the impact of changes to local places. I felt Peter's comments in all the books were reasonable and well communicated - he got his point across without overwhelming the reader (which is probably why the council continued to publish his books!).

I have enjoyed this series of books by Treloar and published by the council. It shows that both had faith in the importance of this town as a subject and have provided a wealth of historical photographs and information that will be useful well into the future. Bearing in mind that I am writing this 18 years after this book was published, should provide a good reference point for seeing how good these books still are.

Book Review: Greetings from Calne by Peter Treloar

In this fourth book of historic photographs of Calne, Peter Treloar presents another fantastic collection.

This book makes a break with the previous small form factor book and is an A4-sized book in paper and hardback. This allows for some photographs to be enlarged all the way up to A4, which allows for seeing smaller details, and also allows for multiple images per page and more detailed captions. A worthwhile change in my opinion.

Along with the standard historical photographs, illustrations of Calne through the period are included as are scans of old documents. One of particular interest is image 76, which is a Great Western Railway notice regarding the Royal visit of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra during 1907 and the special instructions to ensure the security of the station.

This book also includes some photos all the way up to the publication of the book, which was published in 1988 and manages to include photos of the Prince of Wales' visit to Calne in March of that year to inspect the plans for the Calne Project.

All 188 images in the book are accompanied by Peter's detailed captions, which provide a wealth of historical information and references back to relevant photos in previous books.

This book is a pleasure to read and while I never knew Peter, I feel a passion coming through the pages that keep me wanting yet more images and information about Calne!

Book Review: Who was Ingen Housz Anyway? by Norman and Elaine Beale

This short book is a wonderful introduction to the life and times of scientist Jan Ingen Housz, who lived in Calne for a time.

While the main body of the book is only 36 pages, the authors have packed in a great deal of well written information and interesting illustrations and photographs. Beginning with the origin of the Ingen Housz surname along with Jan's birth and situation, the book progresses with Ingen Housz's rise as a smallpox inoculator and the lifelong friends he makes along the way.

From being headhunted by royalty for his expertise in inoculation to eventually self-exiling himself back in England during the time of revolution - and violence - on the continent, this man had a colourful life. But that's just some of what happened to him, not the things he did.

The book goes on to explain the experiments that are the foundation of what we understand about photosynthesis, through Ingen Housz's experiments at a rented country house in Southall Green, just outside London, and the role of carbon dioxide in the creation of organic matter.

The book concludes with the memorial in St. Mary's Church in Calne that occurred in 1956 and describes the plaque placed there in Ingen Housz's honour.

That such a man of science spent time in the area of Calne, but is basically forgotten is terrible, to my mind. Such good treatment of Ingen Housz made this a really enjoyable book to read: it was long enough to get across a lot of information, but not so long as to get bogged down in too much detail.

This book is available to loan from Wiltshire library.

Book Review: Calne in Camera, Calne in Pictures, Calne in Focus by Peter Treloar

I have decided to review this trilogy of books together as they follow a very similar format and content.

This series of books really should be considered a triumph for Calne as they show the changes of Calne throughout time, and that people cared enough about the town to not only take these photographs, as well as preserve them for such a long period of time.

Many of the photographs in these books are well over 100 years old, with some displaying the town and its residents in the late 1800s. The author, Peter Treloar, has chosen some wonderful photographs to display the Changing Face of Calne, Haulage and Transport, Events and Celebrations, Commerce, and Groups - along with other topics. But these photographs without context would be meaningless to today's audience as many are beyond living memory. This is where the well written captions of the author bring life to the photographs for readers such as myself.

These captions really shine in the third book, Calne in Focus, as they are longer and provide much more detail. Another great development by the third book is the comparison photographs the author took. By taking an old photograph and placing it alongside a current (1984) photograph taken at as close as possible to the same location and angle, we can easily see the changes that have happened during the intervening time period. Treloar describes the changes between the two as only a knowledgeable local could.

A great read with fantastic photographs.

The books were reprinted in 2003 and some are for sale in the Visitor Information & Community
Information Centre as well as the Calne Heritage Centre. They are also available to loan from Wiltshire Library.