On 30th September, Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution (BRLSI) welcomed the Mayor of Bath, Cllr Ian Gilchrist, and the Chair of B&NES, Cllr Cherry Beath, to a Public debate about erecting a public work of art in Bath which intends to break new ground.

The symposium was opened by Chair of BRLSI Directors, Dr Steve Wharton. He explained that BRLSI was championing the cause of a memorial to Adelard.

BRLSI Director, Michael Davis, explained that Adelard of Bath was a fine Medieval Scholar, and England’s first Scientist and Mathematician. He was born, lived, studied, taught and died in Bath. He saw Bath burnt to the ground and taught the future Henry II Maths!

Michael runs the BRLSI Adelard programme, and is spearheading the drive to devise, design and build the Stellarium. This unique idea was invented by BRLSI member Paul Cresswell. Because there is no known portrait of Adelard, it was thought that a ‘cutting edge’, breathtaking design was best suited.

Paul explained that a large dodecahedron matches the nature of the man himself, who was at the cutting edge of 12th century science.

Peter Carey, the architect, and Stephen Melville the engineer, outlined the opportunities and challenges this presents. Paul brought his one tenth-size maquette of the proposed memorial, and Stephen had a wide variety of other smaller models and suggested materials.

The audience – which included local politicians from all parties, all of whom support the idea – were full of praise, support and questions. They all agreed that the fact that such an interesting shape, arising of out the geometry of Euclid (which Adelard brought back from the middle east and translated into Latin) could evince such a marvellous vision was certainly breaking new ground.

The model is hollow and inside is covered in a high-tech reflective substance. A small hole allows a beam of light into the darkness of the void and another small hole allows a spectator to peer into what appears to be the night sky full of a myriad tiny stars.

BRLSI has published a book about the life of this notable Bath citizen, as well as a self-guided family trail around the Bath that Adelard knew well, pointing out the significant features of his life and work.