Uploaded October 2020 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Oxford University Museum of Natural History is a unique fusion of architecture, science and art. In this series of illustrated podcasts, recorded to accompany his book Temple of Science: The Pre-Raphaelites and Oxford University Museum of Natural History, John Holmes takes us on a guided tour of the art and architecture of the museum, revealing how leading scientists collaborated with artists of genius to create one of the great masterpieces of the Gothic Revival and Pre-Raphaelite art.
Episode 5
When the campaign to build Oxford University Museum of Natural History was launched, science at Oxford was understood as natural theology. By the time the museum opened in 1860, a new secular approach to science was on the rise. In this last episode we see how the art and science of the museum responded to the challenge posed by Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution and natural selection, and the scientific naturalism that they epitomised.
John Holmes is Professor of Victorian Literature and Culture at the University of Birmingham and an Honorary Associate of Oxford University Museum of Natural History.
Oxford University Museum of Natural History is a unique fusion of architecture, science and art. In this series of illustrated podcasts, recorded to accompany his book Temple of Science: The Pre-Raphaelites and Oxford University Museum of Natural History, John Holmes takes us on a guided tour of the art and architecture of the museum, revealing how leading scientists collaborated with artists of genius to create one of the great masterpieces of the Gothic Revival and Pre-Raphaelite art.
Episode 5
When the campaign to build Oxford University Museum of Natural History was launched, science at Oxford was understood as natural theology. By the time the museum opened in 1860, a new secular approach to science was on the rise. In this last episode we see how the art and science of the museum responded to the challenge posed by Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution and natural selection, and the scientific naturalism that they epitomised.
John Holmes is Professor of Victorian Literature and Culture at the University of Birmingham and an Honorary Associate of Oxford University Museum of Natural History.
