Metropolitan Science: London Sites and Cultures of Knowledge and Practice, c. 1600-1800

Join us at The London Archives as Rebekah Higgitt and Jasmine Kilburn-Toppin talk us through their new publication, exploring distinctive practices in the artisanal, mercantile, and governmental sites of London.

Metropolitan Science provides a new perspective on what is often known as the Scientific Revolution, involving significant changes to understanding and exploitation of the natural world in the late 16th to 18th centuries. Rather than focusing on famous philosophers or learned societies, it argues that institutions associated with commerce and trade, as well as city and national government, created unique environments for the production, testing and use of knowledge. In London, a growing centre of industry and empire, such institutional sites brought together a wide and productive range of people, projects and materials that made them both creators and users of new knowledge and practices.

In this talk, co-authors Rebekah Higgitt and Jasmine Kilburn-Toppin will introduce the book and reflect on how they made use of archives at The London Archive and Guildhall alongside other sources to draw out the voices of artisans and reveal the roles of knowledge and skill. Through the use of case studies, such as the Tower of London’s Royal Mint, and the Livery Company Halls, they examine the city’s sites of exchange for knowledge and practice and highlights the importance of both public and private spaces.

About Metropolitan Science:

Beginning with the demographics of London in the 17th and 18th centuries, including its attraction of migrants, importance as a centre of empire, and the role of its institutions in government, the authors analyse how and why London was a unique site of scientific activity. Through the use of case studies, such as the Tower of London’s Royal Mint, and the Livery Company Halls, this book examines the city’s sites of exchange for knowledge and practice and highlights the importance of both public and private spaces.

With exploration of London’s military and colonial history, the authors acknowledge how its port and maritime trade were not only central to growth and protection, but also facilitated the organisation, assessment, valuation, and pursuit of knowledge in the city. Ultimately, this book demonstrates that London corporations produced unique knowledge communities that drew on networks across the city and beyond and uses a variety of spatial and material approaches to reveal the use, representation, and exchange of practice in these collective settings.