A historic Newcastle house that featured in the BBC TV Series A House Through Time has been issued with a commemorative plaque.

The plaque – which will be unveiled today by Lord Mayor Cllr David Down and BBC presenter David Olusoga – honours 19th-century naturalist Joshua Adler.

Mr Adler lived at the house – at 5 Ravensworth Terrace – between 1841 and 1857. Mr Adler gained international recognition for his pioneering studies in marine biology at a time when, with the work of researchers like Charles Darwin, the study of the natural world was becoming a popular scientific pursuit.

Joshua Adler’s most important work was done when he was living in Newcastle, his home city, in the 1840s and 50s.

Mr Adler – who specialised in molluscs – travelled all over Britain in search of new discoveries.

With Albany Hancock – a founder of the Hancock Museum (now the Great North Museum) – Adler wrote a book entitled The Monograph of the British Nudibranchiate Mollusca. The book is still in use today.

Many of Joshua Adler’s specimens and drawings are in the collections of the Great North Museum and the British Museum in London.

The house on Ravensworth Terrace – which was built in the early 1800s – was used as a location for the second series of the BBC 2 programme A House Through Time. The programme follows developments in social history by telling the stories of the successive inhabitants of just one house.

Newcastle City Council’s cabinet member for culture, sport and public health, Cllr Kim McGuinness, said, “Our city has a rich history of important intellectual figures like Joshua Adler and it is only right that their significant contributions to society are recognised.”

“The work undertaken in this special house in Newcastle played a huge part in the world’s understanding of nature and it’s fantastic to see that will be celebrated for generations to come.”

Cllr David Down said, “The fact that Joshua Adler was born and lived in Newcastle should be better known to everyone today and it is a pleasure that his work can be celebrated with this plaque.”

“There are dozens of plaques around the city, demonstrating the historical, national and international significance of people from our city and it is fantastic to add another in memory of such a worthy recipient.”

The plaque will be unveiled at 5 Ravensworth Terrace today (26th September 2018) at 11.00 am. Afterwards, a reception will be held at Summerhill Bowling Club, which will run until 1.00 pm. Local residents are welcome to attend.

(The featured image is a portrait of Joshua Adler.)


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