John Wheatley

John Wheatley

In one of his obituaries in 1888, John Wheatley of Bluntisham was called an extraordinary man, doubtless by far the greatest self-taught man in the county. Once attracted to a subject, John mastered its complexities like few others. His interests included music, gardening and bird life. But it was for astronomy and his self-made telescopes that this village carpenter achieved fame. Read on to learn about the life of this exceptional man.

Early life
John was born in 1812 into a poor family in Earith. It is thought his father, Daniel, variously described as a wheelwright and cooper, died early. This left his mother, Elizabeth to care for seven children. Clearly a bright child, Elizabeth somehow managed to pay a small fee to give John occasional schooling at the local dame school.

John was indentured as a carpenter's apprentice. Bound to his master, John got bed and board, but no wages. He gained his freedom through seven years of servitude. Attempted escape meant an appearance in the local court and prison with hard labour. Poor families sold their children into what was effective slavery. There's no evidence John's family forced him into apprenticeship for financial gain. However, one less mouth to feed helped.

By 1827 John was settled in Bluntisham, where he became the village carpenter. In 1835 John married Elizabeth Mehew from Bluntisham.

Astronomy
John read a book by Thomas Dick, Celestial Scenery, published in  1838 when he was aged 26 years. The topic fascinated him and inspired a life-long passion for astronomy.

One of the great topics of the early 1800s was the study of comets. The year before John's birth, the Great Comet of 1811 fascinated and excited, visible to the naked eye in England for four months. The Great Comet of 1823 was likewise visible for two months. Halley's Comet passes by every 75 years. Its movements were predicted in 1817 and its appearance in 1835 was eagerly anticipated. So it's no surprise John became interested in comets.

As his interest grew, he realised serious observations could only be done using a telescope, something way beyond the finances of a village carpenter. So John made his own. His first attempts were constructed by grinding lenses made from the bottoms of glass tumblers, achieving a 72 times magnification.

In the mid 1860s, when he wanted to progressed to more advanced telescopes, John needed metal reflectors cast in a special way. His requirements were beyond what the local foundry could make. Hiring Waldock foundry in St Ives for three days, John took great care to mould an alloy more brittle than glass. Left to cool for three days, his effort was wasted when Waldock moved the mould, cracking the alloy before it was properly set. In disgust, John gathered his tools and materials, returned home and built his own foundry.

Each reflector had to be ground to the correct curve. The metal was so brittle, John's first three attempts cracked. After six weeks of careful grinding he succeeded. John had his first 18 inch mirror and was using the same technology as the foremost observatories. The Norris Museum has John's 18 inch reflecting telescope.

As telescopes advanced, John continued to make his own employing the latest technology. At one point he constructed the fourth largest in existence. John made important observations of comets and corresponded with leading astronomers such as Herschel and Lassell.

John Wheatley in his garden, telescope in the background, 1880s.

John shared his enthusiasm for astronomy by giving lectures. In November 1858, he gave a lecture at Bluntisham about the Comet Donati, one of the brightest comets of the 1800s, visible to the naked eye for three months during that summer. His speech was accompanied by numerous diagrams and some very amusing illustrations of the movement of the late comet. John then tried to impress upon his hearers an idea of the immensity of space, and concluded by showing how the wisdom of the Almighty was displayed in the arrangement of the vast machinery of the Solar system.

In 1864 his information about a current visible comet was published in the Cambridge Independent Press. It was another lecture in 1870, the subject being The Coming Eclipse of the Sun, the eclipse due on 22 December 1870. John captured the audience's imagination when he compared the earth as the size of a marble, and the moon to that of a very small pea, their distance apart about 15 inches. On the same scale, the sun would be a globe a yard and a half in diameter at a distance of 160 yards, Neptune two miles away, and the nearest star 19,000 miles away. Using self-made models for illustration, the audience were amazed when one design using water propulsion to demonstrate an eclipse included an imitation of Bailey's beads.

In 1877 John gave a lecture in Earith on The Atmosphere. In 1882 it was back to Bluntisham, the topic The Moon and its Craters, including commentary on the Great Comet of 1882. This lecture was repeated at Willingham, St Ives and Haddenham. A report of the last stated With the aid of diagrams and his own fulness of the subject he made his entertainment as charming as a comedy. Rarely have we seen such rapt attention paid to a lecture, and the marvellous thing was that the longer he spoke the more entertaining he became. He warmed himself with his own tale as he went along, and towards the end of his discourse he became so enthusiastic in his description of the satellite that we expected to bear him announce his intention of paying her a visit in a balloon.

Other accomplishments
John applied his building and carpentry skills for the benefit of others in his village. He was active in rebuilding the Baptist Chapel in 1874, decorating the church with detailed carvings of decorative vines and flowers trailing across the length of the roof.

He built the Sunday school in 1887. Within is an elaborately carved screen, fire surrounds and ceiling detail, all John's work. There's also a memorial plaque dedicated to him. John's carvings showing the faces of twelve characters are believed to be either the elders of the church or his close friends. Some also show a close resemblance to previous ministers.

A model of a farmstead John made was sent to the 1851 Great Exhibition and was awarded a silver medal. The Norris Museum has a circular marquetry table made by John.

John was an accomplished musician. Besides conducting the Bluntisham chapel choir, he made his own violin, cello, harmonium and organ. He attained recognition locally as a gardener.

John Wheatley with two telescopes, a cello he made, and his marquetry table of 1863. 

Later years
John continued his interests, as well as carpentry, into his 70s. 

On Saturday 20 October 1888 John was seized with a paralytic fit. He lingered in a semi-conscious state until he died, on Tuesday 23 October 1888, aged 76 years. John's funeral was attended by a great many people from Bluntisham and the neighbourhood. In his will John left £249 (today £27,000).