The Hancocks of Marlborough

This book began with the aim of telling the almost forgotten story of Thomas Hancock, the rubber developer who in his own day was acknowledged as one of the great scientific pioneers of the Industrial Revolution. But as research progressed, it was clear that Thomas and his five brothers, the Hancocks of Marlborough, together constituted a unique family which made a tremendous yet virtually unknown contribution to nineteenth-century science and art.

Walter designed and ran the first steam carriages to carry passengers on the common roads of England and so began the age of mechanised transport. Thomas founded the UK rubber industry when he discovered how to vulcanise rubber reliably; his company survived for some 120 years before being taken over. Charles was a well established painter who was also instrumental in the manufacture of gutta percha-coated undersea cables, used by the electric telegraph to begin the global information highway.

Other brothers, John, James and William all made significant contributions to the development of Victorian science and culture. This book tells the story of the family and the remarkable people in it, from the Great Fire of Marlborough in 1653 to the present day, using the Hancock family archive of many unpublished and previously unknown documents.

About the Authors

After obtaining a Master's degree in organic chemistry from the University of Durham in 1967, John Loadman joined what is now the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre (TARRC) as an analytical chemist. He retired as the head of the Materials Characterisation Group in 1999, soon after which he began writing Tears of the Tree (OUP, 200g), a history of rubber and the rubber industry. During research for this book he met Francis James.

Francis James was educated at Marsh Court Preparatory School and Kings College Taunton and is a qualified teacher. After some years as an antiquarian bookseller, he moved on to historic building conservation. He had written several books including The EMG Story, and is now the leading authority on the English handmade gramophone. His hobby, like his life, is saving the past and recording it for the future.