The Bath Royal and Literary and Scientific Institute

The Bath Royal and Literary and Scientific Institute (BRLSI) is an educational charity founded in 1824.

Rev. Leonard Jenyns – friend and close correspondent of Charles Darwin bequeathed the BRLSI his library of over 2,000 books, correspondence of over 700 letters, scrapbooks and his Herbarium.

Jenyns was orginially supposed to be the naturalist accompanying the H.M.S. Beagle but was not able on account of his clerical duties.  In his stead, he recommended the young Darwin to take his place.

Visiting

The BRSLI is located in Queen Square, Bath and today hosts public talks, exhibitions on science, the arts and current affairs but also maintains an extensive collection of books and fossils.

The BRSLI museum and archives have various sections:  Library, Geology, Natural History and Humanities.

The library includes volumes from Erasmus, Darwin, Lamarck and Linnaeus. Part of the Geology archive is made of the collection of Charles Moore purchased after his death in 1881.

See also…

• Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institute

Visiting

This is a private home and not open to the public.

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Max Gate, Dorchester by donna_beddows, on Flickr

Max Gate is the former home of Thomas Hardy in Dorchester, Dorset.

Hardy designed and lived in Max Gate from 1885 until his death in 1928. It was here that he wrote Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Jude the Obscure and The Mayor of Casterbridge, as well as much of his poetry.

The house contains several pieces of Hardy’s furniture, although his study has been relocated to the Dorset County Museum.

Visiting

Max Gate is 1 mile east of Dorchester (which has two stations – Dorchester South and Dorchester West).

Max Gate is now owned by the National Trust. The average length of a visit is 1 hour.  Guided tours of house available on request.

See the National Trust website for opening times and further details.

See also…

• National Trust information about Max Gate

Young Hardy grew up in an atmosphere of simple worship but as an adult, he encountered the challenges to dogmatic religious belief that were sweeping England , sparked by books such as Darwin ‘s The Origin of Species and the new “higher criticism” of the Bible. Hardy slowly moved from the Christian teachings of his boyhood to become a thoughtful, questioning agnostic.

Visiting

Hardy’s Cottage is owned by the National Trust. Admission is £4 for adults. See website for opening times and more details.

Also see…

• The National Trust, Hardy’s Cottage

Bristol Gaol

Atheist Charles Southwell was imprisoned in Bristol Gaol for blasphemous libel in 1842.

Southwell had a written an article in his periodical, the Oracle of Reason,  criticising the Bible. For this he was sentenced to a year in Bristol Gaol and fined £100, an enormous sum. He served the full sentence and was released on 6 February 1843.

While in prison he wrote a pamphlet entitled ‘Paley refuted in his own words’ and  probably wrote the autobiographical ‘The Confessions of a Freethinker’.

The gaol was closed in 1883 and largely demolished in 1898.

Visiting

All that remains to mark the site now is the  granite front entrance on Cumberland Road, Bristol. It resembles a small castle complete with its rusting mock portcullis and a small section of outer wall.

Also see…

• Bristol Gaol on BBC Online