A Science Fit for the Chapel: Astronomy in Nineteenth-Century Wales by Jake E. Bridges A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Department of History and Classics University of Alberta © Jake E. Bridges, 2018 ii ABSTRACT A Science Fit for the Chapel: Astronomy in Nineteenth-Century Wales Astronomy was a culturally prominent practice during the nineteenth century in Britain. In this thesis I examine the development of astronomy in one area, Wales. Astronomy became an important subject in the lecturing industry that emerged during the century as lecturers promoted astronomical narratives using sublime images with religious aspects. Using orreries, magic lanterns, and planetariums, lecturers brought astronomical phenomena to a new and engaged public. Town halls, chapels, Sunday schools, and theatres were transformed into temporary spaces for the consumption of scientific knowledge to ever-growing audiences. Scientific interests grew from lectures, and in the 1830s local science societies were established in numerous Welsh towns that sought to create a permanent space for the production and consumption of knowledge. By 1848, the British Association for the Advancement of Science’s meeting in Swansea demonstrated Welsh people’s desire to link to the centre of a growing scientific community in England. A growing Welsh literate public engaged with astronomy through new publications that expressed astronomy’s connection to cultural myths, heritage, and folklore. The start of Welsh- language astronomical initiatives placed science at the forefront of a new Welsh culture and identity as authors characterized astronomy as a distinctly Welsh tradition. Publications framed astronomers as druids who were the gatekeepers of scientific knowledge and the wielders of cultural and scientific authority. Books, periodicals, and journals helped shape the public’s understanding of astronomy and forwarded notions of religious devotion, practical education, and a scientific heritage. iii Astronomers were sometimes portrayed by newspapers and periodicals as new-age druids and bards who embodied a Welsh cultural tradition. The most prominent Welsh astronomers, including Robert Roberts, Edward Mills, and John Jones, exemplified astronomy as a Welsh activity. They became local heroes in the public imagination because of their status as Welsh- speaking poet-astronomers. The Welsh public perceived them as pious educators and social leaders who were the torch bearers of a druidic heritage. Their observatories and telescopes became symbols of astronomical and cultural authority that further enshrined astronomy as a devout and enlightening practice. The first decades of the century saw astronomers, popular lecturers, and publishers work to establish a foundation for an astronomical community which flourished in the midcentury with the growth of astronomical activities, institutions, and publications. By the late century, the Astronomical Society of Wales represented the unification of Welsh astronomical efforts into a single institutional entity. Its journal, the Cambrian Natural Observer, reflected Welsh perceptions of astronomy as a communal and cooperative endeavour where members worked together to pursue astronomy as a serious leisure activity. Astronomy in Wales has been largely ignored by historians of British science in the nineteenth century, and by more general Welsh historians. However, its development over the century reveals the profound significance of science in public culture. Popular science lecturers, astronomers, and publications solidified astronomy’s position as a particularly Welsh activity. I will argue that astronomy reflected Welsh themes of religious devotion, practical education, and cultural heritage because it played an important role in reconstituting Welsh culture and identity in the nineteenth century. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not have been possible without the help from many friends and colleagues. Thank you to Dr. Robert Smith for your constant encouragement and guidance throughout my degree. I must also thank Iwan Rhys Morus, Bryn Jones, Sofie Lachapelle, and Kevin James for lending their expertise to my project. I would like to thank the members of my committee as well for engaging with my work. I thank the University of Alberta for funding two years of my MA studies with the Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship. I also thank the Dianne Samson Graduate Student Travel Award which funded my research in Wales. My research would be nowhere without the help of Bryn Jones. Thank you for providing me with preliminary research and guidance and for willfully discussing the history of Welsh astronomy with me. I need to also thank the staff of the National Library of Wales for granting me access to countless sources in their collection and for their help with navigating archives and finding sources. I am indebted to the staff at the archives who painstakingly rewound numerous microfilm sources, all of which were wound backwards and never-before used. Thank you to my mother, Veronica, and my brothers Nick and Dillon for your constant love and support. I wish to thank my good friends and colleagues at the University of Alberta for their support and encouragement for my research: Gino Canlas, Adrian Christ, John Cole, Letitia Johnson, Jorgen Klein, Kristen Millions, Kane Mullen, Andreea Resmerita, Alex Rocca, Julia Werkman, and Adam Wiznura. Finally, I must thank my partner, Caroline Barlow. I could not have completed this thesis without your unwavering love and support throughout my project. v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures vi Introduction 1 Chapter 1. “grandfathers of the Ether”: Lecturing, Education, 18 and Popular Science Chapter 2. “what can be more weird, more wonderful, more 51 stupendous than the teachings of Astronomy?”: Astronomers, Observatories, and Telescopes Chapter 3. “of Celtic derivation”: Astronomical Publications 86 and the Production and Consumption of Scientific Knowledge Conclusion 113 Bibliography 115 vi LIST OF FIGURES 1. Map of Britain and Ireland. viii R. Wilkinson, The British Isles (London: R. Wilkinson, 1812). The British Library. 2. Map of Wales. ix R. Wilkinson, The British Isles (London: R. Wilkinson, 1812). The British Library. 3. Joseph Wright of Derby, A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery, Derby 21 Museum and Art Gallery, 1766. Reproduced from Henry King, Geared to the Stars: The Evolution of Planetariums, Orreries, and Astronomical Clocks (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1978), 166. 4. Walker’s exhibition of the Eidouranion in the English Opera House, 24 Strand, March 21, 1817. Victoria and Albert Museum. Reproduced from Henry King, Geared to the Stars: The Evolution of Planetariums, Orreries, and Astronomical Clocks (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1978), 315. 5. Keevil’s Magic Lantern slide used in a lecture in 1838. 31 Reproduced from Jan Golinski, “Sublime Astronomy: The Eidouranion of Adam Walker and His Sons,” Huntington Library Quarterly 80, no. 1 (2017): 147. 6. John Jones with his 8-inch homemade reflecting telescope, Jumbo. 63 J. Silas Evans, Seryddiaeth a Seryddwr (Cardiff: William Lewis, 1923), 273. 7. The Moon, photographed by G. Parry Jenkins using a 16-inch reflector, 82 February 14, 1891. “The Solar System,” Journal of the Astronomical Society of Wales 2, no. 1 (1896): 15. 8. A comparison of different members’ drawings of Jupiter. 83 “Jupiter, 1896,” Journal of the Astronomical Society of Wales 2, no. 3 (1896): 45. 9. A Lithograph of a “ruby amphitheater” described in the Sun, August 28, 91 1835. vii Reproduced from Michael J. Crowe, The Extraterrestrial Life Debate: Antiquity to 1915 (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2008), 273. 10. Advertisement for a reflecting telescope directed at students learning 105 astronomy. “Queries,” Journal of the Astronomical Society of Wales 1, no. 2 (1895): 18. 11. Late eighteenth-century depiction of a Welsh druid playing the harp. 107 Thomas Pennant, A Tour in Wales (London: Henry Hughes, 1778), 144/1. viii Figure 1. Map of Britain and Ireland. R. Wilkinson, The British Isles (London: R. Wilkinson, 1812). The British Library. ix Map of Wales Map of Wales Figure 2. Map of Wales. R. Wilkinson, The British Isles (London: R. Wilkinson, 1812). The British Library. 1 Introduction No science is more important in its bearings upon our religious and moral principles- few more interesting and attractive to all classes and conditions, than Astronomy.1 Reporting in 1845 on a recent lecture by a Mr. Franklin, the Pembrokeshire Herald recounted that Franklin was raucously applauded by the audience in Haverfordwest for his performance. Through the use of visual aids that demonstrated the movements of the heavens, Franklin discussed the religious and Biblical aspects of the study of astronomy, garnering more support than any other previous visiting lecturer. Franklin serves as one example of the significant position astronomy held in public culture. Astronomy functioned in nineteenth-century Wales as a conduit for cultural expression, religious devotion, and practical education. Attendees of lectures and readers of astronomical literature alike expressed fascination with the sublime scenery of the heavens while newspapers and periodicals lauded the social and practical benefits of scientific learning. The nineteenth century was a pivotal period of development for astronomy in Wales. The first decades of the century saw astronomers, popular lecturers, and