• Swindon & Wiltshire Culture
• Tuesday July 16 2024
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Country house to celebrate oxygen discovery anniversary

The country house where oxygen was first identified 250 years ago is to host a range of summer events to mark the anniversary.

Oxygen was first isolated in a laboratory at Bowood House, near Calne, by Dr Joseph Priestley.

His discovery overturned a centuries-old belief that air was a single element. He also established that plants, when exposed to sunlight, create oxygen.

To mark the anniversary, Bowood House has created a special exhibition – A New Pure Air – to explain the discovery to visitors.

There will also be a new Dr Joseph Priestley Tour where costumed guides take visitors through the story of Priestley, his scientific discoveries, his politics, his time employed by the 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, and how his violent opposition to his support for the American and French revolutions led to his self-imposed exile from Great Britain.

Rob Miller, a House Guide at Bowood House, said: “We are excited to welcome visitors to celebrate this landmark anniversary and teach the next generation all about the great works of Dr John Priestley.”

As well as being a tourism destination, the house is still a family home to the Marquis and Marchioness of Lansdowne.

A busy summer of events includes the return of Classic Ibiza – house music, reinvented by a 32-piece orchestra, headline DJs and live vocalists – outdoor theatre productions including Pride and Prejudice, As You Like It, and Five Children & It, and Open Air Adventure Cinema.