In 1709 the local vicar in Upminster stuck a 5-metre long telescope on his church roof to time cannon fire. The locals thought he was nuts. He wanted to prove Isaac Newton hadn’t measured the speed of sound accurately. He was right.

For more Pieces of the Past:  • A Piece Of The Past (All Videos)  

V I D E O S    T O    W A T C H    N E X T :

The Only British City To Get Excommunicated By The Pope    • 1272: When The Pope Excommunicated Norwich  

The Cemetery of the Damned!    • 1665: The Cemetery of the Damned!  

Secret hidden bonus fact for fans of the channel who actually read the descriptions! ツ

“Dr Derham was of small stature and distorted frame. He was not only the moral and religious benefactor of his parishioners, and of all those who came in his way, but he was likewise the adjective, which signifies poor, indigent. As a physician of their bodies, and their pecuniary substantive it is used to denote a religious mendi-friend in all their difficulties. He lived beloved, and died lamented, at his rectory, in 1735.” The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge. Vol. V. London: Charles Knight. 1848. p354. Near as I can figure it, the quote used on his Wikipedia page is a truncated and “cleaned up” version of this original text – missing the waffle about mendicants and adjectives. The language is a little obtuse, but I think it adds a flavour to his character. I pulled this quote from Google Books, just in case its a little clearer in the original text… let me know if you have a copy…