Natural Philosophy Collection

Our collection has examples of instruments made by the finest makers in the 18th and 19th century.  However, this small display celebrates British firms that were among the best in the world in their fields of instrument making in the 20th century.  For logistic reasons, the instruments laid out are biased towards electrical measuring equipment.

Many once familiar names have disappeared, such as W. G. Pye, Gambrell Bros. & Co., Grubb Parsons, Elliott Bros., Muirhead & Co., Negretti & Zambra, J. J. Hicks, Nalder Bros. and some of the names below.  We celebrate items made by

The last three firms are still very much in the instrument market.