Key Books and Essays

Simon Knell. 2000. The Culture of English Geology, 1815-1851: A Science Revealed Through its Collecting, Ashgate, 377pp. This book argues that geology be understood as a cultural development rather than simply as a history of ideas. The book centres on the emergence of the fossil as a common currency connecting the labourer to the savant, which in large part fuels the birth of the museum as a ubiquitous cultural institution in provincial Britain. I argue that in many respects geology was a museological science rather than one solely resolved in the field. The book treats its subject expansively. A study of these collectors, curators and practical men, it is full of stories and really does reveal a different kind of geology. Full free access to this book on this site via the link above.

Simon Knell. 1997. Immortal remains: fossil collections from the heroic age of geology (1820-1850), PhD thesis. University of Keele, 343pp. This is where my research into the nineteenth-century culture of geology began, starting in the winter of 1992-3; it ended in 2015 when I turned my attention to art. My PhD research was supervised by Dr Hugh Torrens whom I met infrequently over the approximately 3 years it took to research and write this thesis part-time; I was required to register for a PhD by my new employer, the University of Leicester. The subject I chose arose from the work I did recovering the geological collection at Leeds City Museum in 1980. That collection had been in a state of chaos following a direct hit on the museum during WWII. It was originally the collection of Leeds Literary and Philosophical Society. I asked Hugh to supervise my research because I had great empathy for his approach to history: his interest in the forgotten ‘little men and women’ who made such a profound contribution to the development of the modern science of geology. In the 1970s and 1980s, through his involvement in the Geological Curators’ Group (GCG), Hugh caused something of a revolution in historical research into Britain’s lost, neglected and often chaotic geological collections. It was a wonderful period of discovery. I was certainly excited by it and by GCG’s activist approach to rejuvenating our geological heritage. For my first supervision, I came to Hugh with a rather grand series of questions about collecting in this period. Hugh rightly told me that my interests needed to be grounded in real people and places. He suggested I study five geological collectors from the last 200 years and top and tail these studies with an introduction and conclusion. Hugh even suggested which geologists I should look at. I liked his suggestions but was not taken with this rather biographical approach. Luckily, the first geologist I looked into was the little discussed but richly archived John Phillips. He enabled me to answer my rather grand list of questions and uncover the rich culture of geology in this period. I never looked at the other geologists Hugh had suggested. The thesis is the basis for The Culture of English Geology, 1815-1851 and while there is a lot of overlap, the thesis is arranged slightly differently and includes more extensive quotation but omits many of the later thoughts and contextual research incorporated into the book. Written in an era before such aids as the digital camera transformed historical research the thesis was nevertheless made possible by the use of technology. Through laborious transcription I created a massive free-text FileMaker Pro database which enabled me to align and search an extraordinary diversity of primary data, most of which had never been incorporated into a history of geology. Full free access (currently being added to the site).

Simon Knell. 2008. ‘The road to Smith: How the Geological Society came to possess English geology‘, in Cherry Lewis & Simon Knell (eds.) The Making of the Geological Society of London, Geological Society, London. A long, rich and complex sociological study of the invention of ‘English geology’ and the reception of ‘The Father of English Geology’, William Smith. I show that the first of these terms actually refers specifically to Smithian method and thus that the second term is correct, despite the protests of historians who argue that sciences cannot have parents. The essay extends the history developed in The Culture of English Geology. Follow the link above for full details of this book and, through the courtesy of the Geological Society of London, access a free download of this chapter.

Simon Knell. 2007. ‘Museums, fossils and the cultural revolution of science: mapping change in the politics of knowledge in early nineteenth-century Britain’ in Simon Knell, Suzanne MacLeod and Sheila Watson (eds), Museum Revolutions: How Museums Change and Are Changed, Routledge, London. An exploration of how institutions and disciplinary cultures change, and how that change can be revealed through studies of material culture. It analyses and graphically explains the major cultural changes developed in The Culture of English Geology. Follow the above link to access full details of this book and access to the accepted manuscript version of this chapter.

Simon Knell. 2012. The Great Fossil Enigma: The Search for the Conodont Animal, Indiana University Press, Bloomington. A study of the research culture that emerged around one of science’s greatest enigmas. It considers the role of intangible fossils in the production of scientific belief and understanding. Written as a sequel to The Culture of English Geology with the aim of focusing more closely on the relationship between the object and the scientific idea. Follow this link to access full details of the book with a preview via Google books. Now available as an audiobook: CLICK HERE TO GET A 50% DISCOUNT.

Simon Knell. 2002. ‘Collecting, conservation and conservatism: late twentieth century developments in the culture of British geology’, in Oldroyd, D.R. (ed.), The Earth Inside and Out: Some Major Contributions to Geology in the Twentieth Century,Geological Society, London, 329-351. A study of the politics of conservation as Britain moved from the 1970s into the 1980s, it emulates The Culture of English Geology in a C20th setting. Access to the accepted manuscript version of this chapter via the link above.

Other Work

Simon Knell. 2012. ‘The intangibility of things’, in S. Dudley (ed.) Museum Objects, Routledge, London, 324-35. A constructivist reading of the museum object, it discusses the possibility of objects possessing an intangible twin. It is based on and develops from the conclusion to The Great Fossil Enigma. Access to the accepted manuscript version of this chapter via the link above.

Simon Knell. 2007. ‘The sustainability of geological mapmaking: the case of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, Earth Sciences History, 26(1), 13-29. A short history of the political context of science.

Simon Knell and Michael Taylor. 2006 . ‘Hugh Miller: fossils, landscape and literary geology‘, Proceedings of the Geologists Association, 117, 85-98. Hugh Miller is a Scottish literary icon, and was fabulous travel writer, newspaper editor, and ‘amateur’ geologist. This paper looks at his complexity and is based on the contribution to the book edited by Borley (below). Access to the accepted manuscript version on the University of Leicester research archive via the link above.

Simon Knell. 2004 (1997). ‘Brighton, Albert George (1900-1988)’, New DNB.

Simon Knell and Michael Taylor. 2003. ‘Hugh Miller, fossil discoverer and collector’, in Borley, L. (ed.) Celebrating the Life and Times of Hugh Miller: Scotland in the Early 19th Century. Ethnography and Folklore, Geology and Natural History, Church and Society, Cromarty Arts Trust, Edinburgh, UK.

Cherry Lewis and Simon Knell, (eds) 2001. The Age of the Earth: From 4004BC to AD2002, Geological Society, London, including introductory chapter by Knell and Lewis, ‘Celebrating the age of the Earth’. A celebratory history.

Simon Knell. 2000. ‘Museums and geology’, in Hancock, P.L. (ed.) Oxford Companion to the Earth, Oxford UP.

Simon Knell. 1996. ‘Museums: a timeless urban resource for the geologist?’ in Matthew R. Bennett, Peter Doyle, Jonathan G. Larwood & Colin Prosser (eds) Geology on your Doorstep, Geological Society of London. I have disowned the published version of this paper which was mangled during editing and partly published under the name of one of the editors. The link above is to the accepted manuscript. Do not cite the published version. I have published this content elsewhere.

Simon Knell. 1996. ‘The roller-coaster of museum geology’, in Pearce, S.M. (ed.) Exploring Science in Museums, New Research in Museum Studies, Athlone. Explores the episodic support for museum geology in Britain over a period of 200 years. Access to the accepted manuscript version via the link above.

Patrick Wyse-Jackson and Simon Knell, (eds.). 1994. Museums and Fossil Excavation, Geological Curator, 6(2), Thematic Issue, including my contributions: ‘Collecting and excavation in palaeontology’ and ‘Palaeontological excavation: historical perspectives’. The Geological Curators’ Group provide open access to this journal – just follow the link.

Simon Knell. 1992. ‘The Local Geologist 10: Saying it with rocks’, Geology Today, 8, 224-228. Part of a column for amateur geologists curated by myself and Mike Taylor.

Simon Knell and Chris Collins. 1992. ‘The Local Geologist 7: Extinct again!’, Geology Today, 8, 62-65.On the conservation of geological specimens.

Simon Knell. 1991. ‘Solenhofen: A Study of Mesozoic Palaeontology by K.W. Barthel, N.H.M. Swinburne and S. Conway Morris (book review)’, Geology Today, 7, 73.

Simon Knell and Michael Taylor. 1991. ‘Museums on the rocks’, Museums Journal, 91(1), 23-25. On the state and status of museum geological collections.

Simon Knell. 1991. ‘The Local Geologist 5: The most important fossil in the world’, Geology Today, 7, 221-224. Discussing how we decide the relative importance of fossils.

Simon Knell. 1991. ‘The Local Geologist 3: The responsible collector’, Geology Today, 7, 106-110. Discussing collecting and the contemporary demand for responsible practices.

Simon Knell. 1991. ‘The Local Geologist 2: Making rock records’, Geology Today, 7, 62-66. Documenting the geological record.

Simon Knell. 1990. ‘Evolution and the Fossil Record by K.C. Allen and D.E.G. Briggs (eds) (book review)’, Geology Today, 6, 170-1.

Simon Knell. 1990. ‘Working with professional collectors’, Geology Today, 6, 112-3.

Simon Knell. 1990. ‘The end for the Frodingham Ironstone?’ Geology Today, 6, 125-128. Asserting the importance of this fossiliferous stratum that was then threatened by landfill.

Simon Knell. 1989. ‘Scunthorpe’s toenails’, Geologists’ Association Circular, 872, 9-10.

Simon Knell & Michael Taylor. 1989. Geology and the Local Museum, HMSO, 150pp. Pioneering self-help guide for museum staff which was distributed free to museums across the UK.

Simon Knell. 1988. ‘Ammonite Armada exhibition and ironstone quarries, Scunthorpe’, Geologists’ Association Circular, 874, 3-4.

Simon Knell. 1988. ‘The Ammonite Armada’, The Geological Curator, 4, 88-9.

Simon Knell. 1988. ‘Rescue curation: restoring old geological collections’, Bulletin of the Scottish Society for Conservation and Restoration, 10, 8-10.

Simon Knell. 1988. The Natural History of the Frodingham Ironstone, Scunthorpe Museum and Art Gallery, 24pp.

M.A.V. Gill and Simon Knell. 1988. ‘Tunbridge Wells Museum: Geology and George Abbott (1844-1925)’, The Geological Curator, 5, 3-16.

Simon Knell. 1987. ‘Geology and Scenery in the Lake District by F. Moseley (book review)’, Geology Today, 3, 142-3.

Simon Knell. 1987. ‘Victor Fouilinoux – dealer in French rocks’, The Geological Curator, 5, 29.

Simon Knell. 1987. Geological Collections in the South East. AMSSEE, 42pp.

Christopher J. Collins, Simon Knell, E. Rosemary Roden, and Michael A. Taylor. 1987. Proposal for a Centralised Geological Conservation Laboratory, Leicestershire Museums Service.

Simon Knell. 1987. ‘Abingdon’s Arkell ammonites’, The Geological Curator, 4, 510.

Simon J. Knell. 1987. ‘Geology Curators get on their Bikes’, Geology Today, 3, 136-138. About my peripatetic role as Travelling Geology Curator for the Area Museums Service for the South Eastern England.

Simon Knell, Michael A. Taylor and E. Rosemary Roden. 1987. Geology and the Area Museum Services: A Discussion Paper, AMSSEE, 15pp.

Simon Knell. 1986. ‘News from the South East’, The Geological Curator, 4, 354-5.

Simon Knell. 1986. ‘Some little known geology collections in the South East’, The Geological Curator, 4, 350-2.

Simon Knell. 1985. ‘A geology service for the South East’, AMSSEE News (Area Museum Service for the South Eastern England.