John Whitehurst was one of a select number of men of science living and working in the eighteenth century whose minds were as remarkable for their breadth as their talents were for their diversity. Although remembered today mainly as a notable clockmaker from Derby - the town in which he lived and worked for over forty years - Whitehurst was also an instrument maker, mechanical engineer, hydraulicist, home improver, meteorologist, the father of modern geology and he had a hand in the development of the steam engine. John Whitehurst FRS: Innovator, Scientist, Geologist and Clockmaker presents a brief life of this talented and engaging man, drawing together his varied attainments and describes his wide circle of acquaintances, many of whom were fellow members of the influential Lunar Society. Much that he achieved has left an intangible legacy, except, of course, his clocks and instruments. This side of Whitehurst has been described in great detail, as well as the clock-making of his family and his successors.Details are given of the many types of clocks that came from the Whitehurst workshops, from complex movements made for Matthew Boulton to simple hook-and-spike wall and watchmen clocks. The book's appendices include details on all known Whitehurst turret clocks and angle barometers, the firm's apprentices and its known numbered clocks. Since his death just over two centuries ago, his achievements have been largely neglected, and this book rehabilitates the reputation of a man whose ideas were of great importance in the development of scientific thought in the eighteenth century.

The Roman Empire was a spectacular polity of unprecedented scale which stretched from Scotland to Sudan and from Portugal to Persia. It survived for over 500 years in the west and 1,480 years in the east. Ruling it was a task of frightening complexity; few emperors made a good fist of it, yet thanks to dynastic connections, an efficient bureaucracy and a governing class eager to attain the kudos of holding the highest offices, it survived the mad, bad and incompetent emperors remarkably well. Although not always apparent, it was the interplay of emperors' kin and family connections which also made a major contribution to controlling the empire. This book aims to put on record the known ancestry, relations and descendants of all emperors, including ephemeral ones and show connections from one dynasty to another as completely as possible, accompanied by concise biographical notes about each ruler and known facts about family members, which include Romans both famous and obscure. It also attempts to distinguish between certainty and possibility and to eliminate obvious fiction. The introduction provides a narrative lead-in to the creation of the empire, attempts to clarify the complexities of Roman genealogy and assess the sources.

Derby is an exceptional and underrated city. It was an important centre of the Midlands Enlightenment, boasting Dr Erasmus Darwin and John Whitehurst FRS among its eighteenth-century residents. It produced an artist of international repute in Joseph Wright ARA and has been a centre for the production of fine porcelain and fine clocks for almost three centuries. It was a county town for five centuries and was in its Georgian heyday much admired by writers such as Daniel Defoe. Despite the best endeavours of a peculiarly unappreciative and iconoclastic bunch of city fathers over the years, many of its fine Georgian and Regency features have managed to survive. In 90 pairs of photographs ranging from 1765 to the present, Maxwell Craven has attempted to show why it is still a city of which its citizens can be proud and how it has changed, in places out of all recognition.

England’s country houses have for centuries been where the rich and grand families have displayed their wealth and status. Today, England is still well endowed with these houses although many of them are now popular visitor attractions instead of private homes but there also many houses which have disappeared over the years. Some have been demolished as they could no longer be sustained due to the changes in social habits, surrounding development or because of the cost of repairs or death duties; others have been lost through fire, requisitioning, decay and rot. In this book Maxwell Craven examines the lost country houses of Derbyshire. Some of these houses are now covered by new housing, others may stand as ruins or have a few scanty remains in the landscape, but in this book the once vibrant life of these houses and their significance in this part of the country is evoked once again. This fascinating picture of an important but often forgotten part of the history of Derbyshire over the centuries will be of interest to all those who live in the county or know it well.

Derby History Tour offers a fascinating insight into the history of this city in the East Midlands. Author Maxwell Craven guides us around its well-known streets and buildings, showing how its famous landmarks used to look and how they have changed over the years, as well as exploring its lesser-known sights and hidden corners. With the help of a handy location map, readers are invited to follow a timeline of events and discover for themselves the changing face of Derby.

This is an in-depth re-assessment of the life of Magnus Maximus, Roman Emperor ruling in the west from 383 to 388, drawn from Classical sources and archaeology, which provides a very different impression of his life to the one created by the post-Roman and medieval British insular sources. While most historians tend to dismiss Maximus as an ephemeral usurper, his time in the sun shows every sign of having been a success. He cast a long shadow in Britain, where he was originally proclaimed. Yet early non-Roman sources, notably Gildas, condemn him for leaving the island bereft of defences due to his usurpation. In contrast, subsequent writers cast him as the progenitor of several British dynasties on the frontiers, while the medieval Mabinogion story 'The Dream of Maxen Wledig' presents him as an all-conquering figure of Romance who allied himself with a powerful British dynasty and facilitated the settlement of Brittany by the British. Following an introductory account of Roman Britain, its troubles and imperial adventures from Clodius Albinus in 193 to the end of the so-called 'barbarian conspiracy' in 368, Maxwell Craven examines all the sources to show how important the ardent Christian Maximus was to the settlement of the British frontiers. It was his work that kept the British tribes from being overwhelmed by Germanic invaders during the following centuries. Because of Maximus, the last remnant of the Roman west - Wales - remained unconquered until 1282, nine hundred years after Maximus was proclaimed.

Derby is an ancient chartered settlement with Roman origins, which got caught up in the leading edge of the Industrial Revolution and became the important manufacturing city and regional capital it is today. Fortunately, despite its expansion, it has managed to preserve much of its medieval core. The city was also fortunate in having had a pioneer Victorian photographer, Richard Keene, to record the changes which, between 1853 and 1894, transformed the eighteenth-century market town into a late Victorian industrial one. The book contrasts the two, while highlighting the more drastic developments that took place during the twentieth century, especially the latter part, when much destruction and unsympathetic rebuilding went on; this still continues today. Maxwell Craven has combined a fascinating selection of historic images with modern views in order to document the transformation that has occurred. The result is an invaluable record of Derby's development over the years and is sure to appeal to residents and visitors alike.