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Paper, 'A relation of a sulphureous vapour which issueth out of the earth nere Wiggon in Lancashire' by Charles Howard

Reference number: CLP/9i/8

Date: 1662

Description

Paper regarding a sulphureous vapour observed by Howard emerging from bubbling water in the ground near Wigan, Lancashire. Howard held a candle near the vapour, causing the vapour to alight, and subsequently learned that a coal pit sat beneath the area from which the vapour rose. Mr Hotham, Minister of Wiggon [Wigan], took some water away from the spot and attempted to set it on fire without success.

Subject: Geology

Read to the Royal Society on 25 February 1662.

Reference number
CLP/9i/8
Earliest possible date
1662
Physical description
Ink on paper
Page extent
1 page
Format
Manuscript

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Citation

Paper, 'A relation of a sulphureous vapour which issueth out of the earth nere Wiggon in Lancashire' by Charles Howard, 1662, CLP/9i/8, The Royal Society Archives, London, https://makingscience.royalsociety.org/items/clp_9i_8/paper-a-relation-of-a-sulphureous-vapour-which-issueth-out-of-the-earth-nere-wiggon-in-lancashire-by-charles-howard, accessed on 09 November 2025

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  • Classified Papers

    The 'Classified Papers' of the Royal Society are papers from British and international natural philosophers and scholars categorised according to subject areas.

    Dates: 1592 - 1741

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