Paul Elliott is Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Derby

• List of figuresIntroduction1 Politics, religion, urban culture and Natural Philosophy, c.1700-17702 Natural Philosophy and utility.3 Joseph Wright, John Whitehurst and Derby philosophical culture c.1760-17834 The Derby Philosophical Society.5 Dissent, politics and Natural Philosophy: the campaigns of the 1780s and 1790s6 Enlightenment and improvement: The campaign for the enclosure of common lands during the 1790s7 The Derby Literary and Philosophical Society8 The Derbyshire General Infirmary9 Evolution: Erasmus Darwin, William George Spencer and Herbert Spencer.10 Women and Derby scientific culture, c.1780-185011: Civic science and rational recreation: the Derby Mechanic’s Institute (1825) and the Derby Arboretum (1840) Conclusion Appendix: members of the Derby Philosophical Society (1783-1850) and members of the Derby Literary and Philosophical Society (1908-1816) Select bibliographyIndex

‘An important and compelling account of the public culture of science in Georgian and Victorian Derby.’Dr Tristram Hunt, Urban History, 37 (2010), 189-91‘[Elliott has] made significant contributions toward the historical recovery of that lost world of enlightened science in the English provinces.’Jan Golinski, Professor of History and Humanities at the University of New Hampshire, USA, Reviews in History, (1 June 2010), Institute of Historical Research

Paul Elliott is Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Derby

• List of figuresIntroduction1 Politics, religion, urban culture and Natural Philosophy, c.1700-17702 Natural Philosophy and utility.3 Joseph Wright, John Whitehurst and Derby philosophical culture c.1760-17834 The Derby Philosophical Society.5 Dissent, politics and Natural Philosophy: the campaigns of the 1780s and 1790s6 Enlightenment and improvement: The campaign for the enclosure of common lands during the 1790s7 The Derby Literary and Philosophical Society8 The Derbyshire General Infirmary9 Evolution: Erasmus Darwin, William George Spencer and Herbert Spencer.10 Women and Derby scientific culture, c.1780-185011: Civic science and rational recreation: the Derby Mechanic’s Institute (1825) and the Derby Arboretum (1840) Conclusion Appendix: members of the Derby Philosophical Society (1783-1850) and members of the Derby Literary and Philosophical Society (1908-1816) Select bibliographyIndex

‘An important and compelling account of the public culture of science in Georgian and Victorian Derby.’Dr Tristram Hunt, Urban History, 37 (2010), 189-91‘[Elliott has] made significant contributions toward the historical recovery of that lost world of enlightened science in the English provinces.’Jan Golinski, Professor of History and Humanities at the University of New Hampshire, USA, Reviews in History, (1 June 2010), Institute of Historical Research

Paul Elliott is Lecturer in Modern History at the University of Derby

• List of figuresIntroduction1 Politics, religion, urban culture and Natural Philosophy, c.1700-17702 Natural Philosophy and utility.3 Joseph Wright, John Whitehurst and Derby philosophical culture c.1760-17834 The Derby Philosophical Society.5 Dissent, politics and Natural Philosophy: the campaigns of the 1780s and 1790s6 Enlightenment and improvement: The campaign for the enclosure of common lands during the 1790s7 The Derby Literary and Philosophical Society8 The Derbyshire General Infirmary9 Evolution: Erasmus Darwin, William George Spencer and Herbert Spencer.10 Women and Derby scientific culture, c.1780-185011: Civic science and rational recreation: the Derby Mechanic’s Institute (1825) and the Derby Arboretum (1840) Conclusion Appendix: members of the Derby Philosophical Society (1783-1850) and members of the Derby Literary and Philosophical Society (1908-1816) Select bibliographyIndex

‘An important and compelling account of the public culture of science in Georgian and Victorian Derby.’Dr Tristram Hunt, Urban History, 37 (2010), 189-91‘[Elliott has] made significant contributions toward the historical recovery of that lost world of enlightened science in the English provinces.’Jan Golinski, Professor of History and Humanities at the University of New Hampshire, USA, Reviews in History, (1 June 2010), Institute of Historical Research