S03E12: North of England | Local Heroes

Duration: 28'59''

Synopsis

Adam Hart-Davis recalls William Sturgeon's inventing the electric motor and James Nasmyth's steam hammer Adam also sees Joseph Paxton's inspiration for Crystal Palace and looks at the Manchester desk at which Ernest Rutherford worked on atomic structure.

Further Information

More clips from Local Heroes

S01E01: South West | Local Heroes

S01E01: South West | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1996 | 29'17''

Adam Hart-Davis who looks at heroes who are often unsung pioneers of science and invention. Including Sarah Guppy, William Watts, Humphry D...

S01E02: South | Local Heroes

S01E02: South | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1996 | 29'14''

Bicycling scientist Adam Hart-Davis recreates the world's first powered flight, 50 years before Wright Brothers, by John Stringfellow, lace trad...

S01E03: Scotland | Local Heroes

S01E03: Scotland | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1996 | 29'20''

Bicycling scientist Adam Hart-Davis looks at pioneers of science and invention. Includes the pocket calculator, kaleidoscopes, weighing the e...

S01E04: Midlands | Local Heroes

S01E04: Midlands | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1996 | 29'22''

Adam Hart-Davis who looks at local heroes of science and invention. Including John Barber, Matthew Boulton, William Withering, William Murdoc...

S01E05: Northern Ireland | Local Heroes

S01E05: Northern Ireland | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1996 | 29'08''

Adam Hart-Davis who looks at local heroes of science and invention. Including John Boyd Dunlop, William Coppin, Rev George William Ga...

S01E06: North West | Local Heroes

S01E06: North West | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1996 | 29'21''

Host Adam Hart-Davis discovers the connection between botany and Wordsworth the poet when he learns about his friend, John Gough , a local ...

S02E01: Devon | Local Heroes

S02E01: Devon | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1997 | 28'56''

Adam Hart-Davis's search for Britain's greatest scientific pioneers is in Devon, where he looks at the legacy of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Henry ...

S02E02: Scotland | Local Heroes

S02E02: Scotland | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1997 | 29'10''

Adam Hart-Davis goes in search of pioneers of science and invention in Scotland. He investigates the achievements of Alexander Bain, Charles ...

S02E03: East | Local Heroes

S02E03: East | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1997 | 28'55''

Adam Hart-Davis's search for pioneers of science and invention takes him to the East of England. He finds out about Benjamin Wiseman Jr, who pate...

S02E04: North East | Local Heroes

S02E04: North East | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1997 | 28'57''

Adam Hart-Davis's search for Britain's greatest scientific pioneers is in North-East England, where he looks at the work of Charles Algerno...

S02E05: Wales | Local Heroes

S02E05: Wales | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1997 | 29'02''

Adam Hart-Davis recalls heroes of science and invention in Wales. Amongst others, he reveals the inventions of Harry Grindell Matthews and Richa...

S02E06: South East | Local Heroes

S02E06: South East | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1997 | 29'01''

Adam Hart-Davis's search for Britain's greatest scientific pioneers is in South-East England, where he looks at the work of Hertha Ayrton, ...

S03E01: Cornwall | Local Heroes

S03E01: Cornwall | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1998 | 28'55''

Adam visits south-west England, where his subjects include William Murdock, who devised the world's first mechanical vehicle and also came up...

S03E02: London | Local Heroes

S03E02: London | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1998 | 28'54''

This week he visits London, where he builds his own submarine to illustrate the achievements of Cornelus Drebbel, who rowed underwater from Wes...

S03E03: Egypt | Local Heroes

S03E03: Egypt | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1998 | 29'09''

Adam Hart-Davis travels to Egypt in search of the earliest heroes of science. Using a drinks can and a stove, he recreates Hero of Alexandria's ...

S03E04: Italy | Local Heroes

S03E04: Italy | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1998 | 29'02''

Adam Hart-Davis visits southern Italy, home to the greatest scientists of the ancient world. In Syracuse, he recreates Archimedes' famous ''eure...

S03E05: South | Local Heroes

S03E05: South | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1998 | 28'59''

Adam Hart-Davis continues his search for unsung heroes of science when he cycles around the south of England. On a stop-off in Surrey, he uses a...

S03E06: Ireland | Local Heroes

S03E06: Ireland | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1998 | 28'59''

Adam Hart-Davis cycles around Ireland to rediscover some scientific milestones. He looks at how John Tyndall found the sky was blue, how Charl...

S03E07: Potteries | Local Heroes

S03E07: Potteries | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1998 | 29'13''

Adam Hart-Davis searches for unsung heroes of science on a trip to the Potteries, Staffordshire. Using a few pipes, a ribbon and an air pump...

S03E08: Merseyside | Local Heroes

S03E08: Merseyside | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1998 | 28'57''

Adam relives his childhood love of Meccano, invented by Frank Hornby, before moving on to celebrate the work of other scientists and innova...

More resources about Science

Amazon deforestation | Meat: A Threat to Our Planet?

Amazon deforestation | Meat: A Threat to Our Planet?

BBC One | 2019 | 4'21''

Liz Bonnin witnesses the devastation of the Amazon rainforest from the sky.

Meat: A Threat to Our Planet?

Meat: A Threat to Our Planet?

BBC One | 2019 | 57'43''

From colossal farms in America to the destruction of the Amazon, Liz Bonnin investigates how our hunger for meat is killing our planet.

Episode 1 | Orbit: Earth's Extraordinary Journey

Episode 1 | Orbit: Earth's Extraordinary Journey

BBC Two | 2012 | 58'23''

Kate Humble and Dr Helen Czerski follow the Earth's voyage around the sun for one complete orbit, travelling first from July...

The pollination process | The Private Life of Plants

The pollination process | The Private Life of Plants

BBC Two | 2014 | 4'57''

David Attenborough describes the process of pollination and how this helps plants reproduce.

Keeping cool | Nature's Microworlds

Keeping cool | Nature's Microworlds

BBC Four | 2013 | 2'12''

The Namaqua chameleon has developed an ingenious tactic to avoid the heat of the Namib desert.

Cauldron of Life | Galapagos

Cauldron of Life | Galapagos

BBC One | 2017 | 57'36''

Liz Bonnin joins a scientific team aboard the research vessel the Alucia on an expedition across the Galapagos Island.

How hurricanes are formed by Earth's rotation | Learning Zone

How hurricanes are formed by Earth's rotation | Learning Zone

BBC Two | 2012 | 5'20''

Physicist Helen Czerski explains that hurricanes happen because the earth is rotating. She shows how, because t...

Orbit: Earth's Extraordinary Journey | Learning Zone

Orbit: Earth's Extraordinary Journey | Learning Zone

BBC Two | 2012 | 58'58''

Kate Humble and Dr Helen Czerski follow the Earth's voyage around the sun for one complete orbit, to witness the astonis...

The smallest fox with the biggest ears! | Super Cute Animals

The smallest fox with the biggest ears! | Super Cute Animals

BBC One | 2015 | 2'05''

The fennec's ears help it to survive in the heat of the desert dunes.

06: Coasts | Blue Planet II

06: Coasts | Blue Planet II

BBC One | 2017 | 58'02''

The wildlife series narrated by David Attenborough explores the planet's coasts. They are the most changeable of the ocean worlds, but they offer...

Can Scientists Save the World? | Panorama

Can Scientists Save the World? | Panorama

BBC One | 2024 | 58'39''

Richard Bilton meets the scientists trying to save the world from the consequences of climate change and investigates whether they...

Cotton production and the Aral Sea crisis | Stacey Dooley Investigates

Cotton production and the Aral Sea crisis | Stacey Dooley Investigates

BBC Three | 2018 | 5'02''

Stacey Dooley visits the Aral Sea Basin in Kazakhstan, which has almost entirely dried up due to cotto...

Desert amphibians | Life in Cold Blood

Desert amphibians | Life in Cold Blood

BBC One | 2010 | 1'13''

Spadefoot toads can stay underground in a state of suspended animation for years, but when they emerge they must feed and breed before...

01: Travelling | The Private Life of Plants

01: Travelling | The Private Life of Plants

BBC One | 1995 | 49'02''

David Attenborough begins his incredible journey into the world of plants with a look at how plants move from place to place.

03: Coral Reefs | Blue Planet II

03: Coral Reefs | Blue Planet II

BBC One | 2017 | 58'12''

The wildlife documentary series narrated by David Attenborough reveals the ingenious ways life exists in the undersea cities of tropical reefs.

04: Desert Worlds | The Green Planet

04: Desert Worlds | The Green Planet

BBC One | 2022 | 58'33''

Desert plants spend decades in suspended animation waiting for rain, or they travel to find it. They survive using weapons, camouflage a...

Cattle feedyard | Meat: A Threat to Our Planet?

Cattle feedyard | Meat: A Threat to Our Planet?

BBC One | 2019 | 3'42''

Liz Bonnin visits a cattle feedyard, a mass factory farm, that contains about 50,000 cows.

Climate change and greenhouse gases | Climate Change: The Facts

Climate change and greenhouse gases | Climate Change: The Facts

BBC One | 2019 | 1'50''

A discussion of the devastating impact of burning fossil fuels.

02: Growing | The Private Life of Plants

02: Growing | The Private Life of Plants

BBC One | 1995 | 49'07''

David Attenborough continues his incredible journey into the world of plants. Remarkable time-lapse photography reveals how new leav...

09: Plants | Life

09: Plants | Life

BBC HD | 2009 | 58'19''

The nature series turns to plants and looks at the ingenious solutions that they employ to counter life's challenges, such as spring-loaded traps, suckers ...

More from Adam Hart-Davis

S02E06: South East | Local Heroes

S02E06: South East | Local Heroes

BBC Two | 1997 | 29'01''

Adam Hart-Davis's search for Britain's greatest scientific pioneers is in South-East England, where he looks at the work of Hertha Ayrton, ...

The Clock That Changed the World | A History of the World

The Clock That Changed the World | A History of the World

BBC One | 2010 | 29'09''

Adam Hart-Davis tells the story of the amazing 280-year-old wooden clock, made in Lincolnshire, that changed timeke...

03: The Aztecs, Maya and Incas | What the Ancients Did for Us

03: The Aztecs, Maya and Incas | What the Ancients Did for Us

BBC Two | 2008 | 58'57''

Roving reporter Hermione Cockburn describes Aztec, Mayan and Incan inventions, including chocolate, suspension ...

20: Anglesey | Hart-Davis on History

20: Anglesey | Hart-Davis on History

BBC Two | 2006 | 27'58''

Adam Hart-Davis and Jayne Constantinis visit Anglesey, featuring a look at the Menai Straits, Welsh music, Beaumaris Castle, Amlwch Port...

02: The Applyance of Science | What the Stuarts Did for Us

02: The Applyance of Science | What the Stuarts Did for Us

BBC Two | 2002 | 29'04''

Hart-Davis travels around Britain to introduce the idea and inventions of the Stuart Period in science and enginee...

01: Seeying the Worlde | What The Tudors Did For Us

01: Seeying the Worlde | What The Tudors Did For Us

BBC Two | 2002 | 32'54''

The development of scientific instruments gave the Tudors new worlds to explore, both on land and on sea. And did the Eng...

04: Crime and Punishment | What the Victorians Did For Us

04: Crime and Punishment | What the Victorians Did For Us

BBC Two | 2001 | 28'52''

Adam Hart-Davis investigates the Victorian innovations that left a lasting impression on British society. In this p...

01: Life of Luxury | What the Romans Did for Us

01: Life of Luxury | What the Romans Did for Us

BBC Two | 2000 | 28'47''

Adam Hart-Davis investigates the lavish lifestyles of the Romans, visiting the sumptuous villa at Fishbourne, the famous bath...

15: West Norfolk | The History Hour

15: West Norfolk | The History Hour

BBC Two | 1997 | 58'53''

Adam Hart-Davis concludes his tour of Britain with a visit to west Norfolk to look at the region's farming history.