The Hinxton Hall Estate: Georgians, Jet Engines and Genes
6:00 pm on September 15, 2021 to November 24, 2021 | Online
What do Georgians, Jet Engines and Genes have in common? Join Wellcome Connecting Science to find out in a series of three online talks over autumn 2021 celebrating the launch of a new exhibition on the history of Hinxton Hall.
The Hinxton Hall estate in South Cambridgeshire is home to a world-leading centre of research, the Wellcome Genome Campus. Despite its long and fascinating past we have documented very little of the Hall’s history until now. Over millennia, both the village of Hinxton and the Hinxton Hall estate have been part of a range of iconic events and critical movements. From the 19th century residents recreating a corner of Pompeii within its walls, to its more recent inhabitants mapping the Human Genome and tackling global health challenges such as COVID-19. Hinxton Hall continues to make its mark.
An exciting array of historians, innovators and scientists invite you to time travel with us through three significant eras of the Hall’s lifespan, explore the remarkable stories of people who have occupied the estate, and discover what can be achieved when you make space for innovation and human endeavour.
15 Sept 6 – 7.30pm
Free online talk
Hidden Heritage and Home Grown Veg
To launch the series of talks we bring together a panel of historians and curators to explore the role of the Hall as both a home, and a part of the local community. Our experts will lead us through its orchard and kitchen garden, explain how part of Pompeii ended up in its parlour, and share the challenges of developing a new heritage project during a pandemic.
This event is part of Open Cambridge and Heritage Open days
20 Oct, 6 – 7.30pm
Free online talk
Engineering our Future
In 1953 the Hinxton Hall estate underwent a major transformation in its role and function when the research and manufacturing company Tube Investments moved in. In the second talk of the series we find out how the industrial innovation that took place at the Hall formed a key part of the UK’s recovery after the Second World War. We hear from people who worked on site during this exciting time in manufacturing history, and how the precedent they set for translating research into everyday applications lives on today at the Wellcome Genome Campus and beyond.
24 Nov, 6 – 7.30pm
Free online talk
DNA and Discovery
For our final talk in the series we delve into the most recent chapter of the Hall’s fascinating story, beginning with the landmark mapping of the human genome 30 years ago that paved the way for the cutting-edge biomedical research on site today, including our contribution to UK’s crucial Covid-19 surveillance effort. We explore how DNA sequencing plays a vital role in understanding health and disease, hear from people at the forefront of these discoveries, and celebrate what can be achieved when we make space for science.
Image: [EAW008054] Hinxton Hall and gardens, Hinxton, 1947 © Historic England