A bibliography of his published works
John Charles Buckmaster (c.1820–1908) was one of the founding figures of science education in Britain and a prolific author of textbooks in chemistry, physics, physiology and agriculture. His work on cookery was equally significant: his lectures at the International Exhibition of 1873–74 were so popular that one newspaper reported them to be “far more entertaining than most West End plays,” and out of them grew the National Training School of Cookery and the whole concept of Domestic Science. His science textbooks remained in use until the First World War. He also contributed extensively to the Journal of the Society of Arts over some fifteen years from 1854, and published his autobiography in 1897.
The cookery works were largely shaped by his wife Emily Anne, who tutored him in the subject and provided the substance of what he taught, though her name does not appear on the title pages.
1858 The Elements of Inorganic Chemistry. London: Longmans. Dedicated to the Revd James Booth, LL.D., F.R.S., Buckmaster’s colleague at the Wandsworth Trade School. The book went through at least fifteen editions (the 15th revised by his son Charles Alexander Buckmaster and by G. Jarmain, published 1880).
1863 The Elements of Chemistry, Inorganic and Organic. London: Longmans. An expanded successor to the 1858 inorganic chemistry text.
1864 The Elements of Mechanical Physics. London: Longmans.
1866 Buckmaster’s Elements of Animal Physiology. London: Longmans. (with J. Angell)
1871 The Elements of Acoustics, Light and Heat. London: Longmans.
1874 The Elements of Magnetism and Electricity. London: Longmans.
1879 The Elements of Sound, Light and Heat. London: Simpkin, Marshall. A revised and consolidated edition of the acoustics and light text.
c.1880 The Elements of Experimental Physics, Acoustics, Light and Heat, Magnetism and Electricity. London: Longmans. A combined and revised edition drawing together his experimental physics texts.
Note: many of these texts went through numerous editions and revisions over the following decades. His first textbook, The Elements of Inorganic Chemistry, reached at least a fifteenth edition by 1880, revised by his son Charles Alexander and by G. Jarmain.c.1870s The Elementary Principles of Scientific Agriculture. (with J. J. Willis) A textbook promoting the application of scientific principles to farming, reflecting Buckmaster’s extensive tours of Britain lecturing on agricultural education.
1874 Buckmaster’s Cookery: Being an Abridgment of Some of the Lectures Delivered in the Cookery School at the International Exhibition for 1873 and 1874, together with a Collection of Approved Recipes and Menus. London: Routledge. The first edition of the book that grew from his celebrated lectures. The lectures had been given at the cookery school attached to the International Exhibition, and attracted enormous audiences.
1877 Cookery: Being an Abridgment of Some of the Lectures Delivered in the Cookery School at the International Exhibition for 1873 and 1874. A revised edition.
1880 Buckmaster’s Domestic Economy and Cookery. London: Routledge. (also published in an American edition the same year, ed. Katherine Golden Bitting) A substantially expanded version combining domestic economy with cookery instruction. This edition also appeared in an edition co-authored with a Somerset rector. One of the most widely distributed of all his works.
1880 Cookery Classes in National Schools: With Practical Directions How to Form Them. London: Simpkin and Marshall. (with a Somerset Rector) A practical guide aimed at establishing cookery instruction in elementary schools across Britain.
1887 Buckmaster’s Cookery: With an Abridgment of Some of the Lectures Delivered in the Cookery School at the International Exhibition; with Nearly Four Hundred Recipes. London: Routledge. A further revised and expanded edition; this and the 1880 Domestic Economy and Cookery remained in use until the First World War.
Note: cookery publications based on his lectures also appeared in American journals, including Popular Science Monthly (1873), which praised cookery as a science subject.1897 A Village Politician: The Life-Story of John Buckley. London: T. Fisher Unwin. With an introduction by A. J. Mundella. Published under the pseudonym ‘John Buckley’, with the names of some people and places changed. Chapter XV gives a vivid first-hand account of the campaign to save Wandsworth Common from enclosure.
1854 “On the Examination of Members of Literary and Mechanics’ Institutes.” The Journal of the Society of Arts, 2(78), 451–452 (May 19th). The first of many contributions to the Society of Arts Journal over the following fifteen years.
1854–c.1869 Numerous further articles and contributions to The Journal of the Society of Arts, covering science education, mechanics’ institutes, agricultural education, and the work of the Science and Art Department.
1863 The Substance of a Paper on the Nature and Amount of Aid Afforded by the Science and Art Department in Promoting a Knowledge of Elementary Science Among the Industrial Classes. Paper read before the British Association for the Advancement of Science. London: Longman.
Note: Buckmaster was also a prolific contributor to newspaper correspondence, notably his three letters to the daily press which launched the Wandsworth Common campaign (one published in The Standard), and his correspondence with the Times about his interview with the lord of the manor. An advertisement in the Daily Telegraph (date unknown) sought information about the whereabouts of the rogue parish lawyer — both the Standard letter and the Telegraph advertisement remain to be located.Tasker, Mary (1974). Article on John Charles Buckmaster. New Scientist. The first substantial reconsideration of Buckmaster’s importance to the history of science education, written by his great-granddaughter.
Tasker, Mary (1977). “Reply regarding Buckmaster’s illegitimacy.” New Scientist. Responding to the journal’s headline “A Bastard from Bucks”: “As the author of the article on Buckmaster and incidentally one of his descendants, I wish to make it clear that Buckmaster’s illegitimacy is not a proven fact, merely a possibility.”
Foden, F. (1992). “The Wandsworth Trade School.” In various publications on the history of technical education.
Stewart, A. & Foden, F. (1987). “General Notes.” Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, 135(5370), 458–464 (May). Discusses Buckmaster’s connection to the Society of Arts.
Anonymous (2022). “John Charles Buckmaster.” TW Magazines. Available at: twmagazines.co.uk. A useful overview of his life and career.
In May 2025, this link no longer worked, but I was able to retrieve the text:
JOHN CHARLES BUCKMASTER
A couple of months back, I gave a talk on one of my favourite Victorians, John Charles Buckmaster, who was awarded a portrait and a case clock as a reward for his public service. Yet not many people are familiar with him, although anyone using Teddington Library will have seen the foundation stone listing his name. So, I thought I’d revisit my past articles to give you a flavour of who he was.
Early Life
John Charles Buckmaster (JCB) was born to a farming family in Slapton, Buckinghamshire in 1819. His mother died when he was very young and he was eventually – and unfortunately – sent to live with a sadistic uncle in Uxbridge at the age of seven. His only respite from a cruel upbringing was at the local British and Foreign Society Elementary School and Sunday School, where it is reputed he stayed from 11am to 8pm.
Aged 13, he was apprenticed to a local carpenter; after a failed attempt to run away, he eventually broke free in 1837, having sent all of his tools ahead and walking 50 miles to Andover.
Education and Teaching Career
This was a bad time for the national economy and JCB grew to be a formidable public speaker and political activist. Taking the advice of Lord Morpeth, who said the Government would next have to tackle the ‘Education Question’, JCB joined St John’s College, Battersea, as a trainee teacher in 1844. The College offered a difficult course, being only 18 months rather than the usual 3 years (working hours were 5.30am to 9.30pm daily).
He also assisted at the Norwood School for Pauper Children, an experience which instilled in him a strong sense of public duty. On qualifying, JCB took up a post at Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight between 1845–47. Here he was highly critical of the management and by chance had the opportunity to show it. On a day when popular reformers Charles Dickens and Hepworth Dixon came to visit, JCB was the only one of the staff present to escort them around the buildings.
South Kensington and Science Education
His work came to the attention of HRH Prince Albert, on whose recommendation JCB was appointed Keeper of the Animal and Food Collection at South Kensington. To assist his teaching, he started to produce text books on various aspects of science, the first of which – The Elements of Inorganic Chemistry – was published in 1858. The following year he was given the all-embracing title of ‘Organising Master of Science and Art Schools and Classes’ at the Department of Science and Art.
By 1869 JCB was travelling the country to promote the new sciences; he had an easy way of addressing his audiences, a store of racy anecdotes to enliven the factual content of his lectures and most importantly, a natural inspirational power.
Cookery Lectures and the National Training School
In 1871 he was persuaded to undertake the delivery of a series of food and cookery lectures. According to family legend, he rushed home to see his wife and tell her that she had to teach him all the arts of the kitchen in the next few weeks. The family claimed that whilst the voice in these lectures was that of John, the words and acts were those of his wife Emily.
These lectures were a great success and caught the attention of the society of the day. It was even said that to attend one such lecture was far more entertaining than attending many of the West End plays. One of the particular attractions was that JCB managed to persuade many famous chefs from the top clubs and hotels to demonstrate their signature dishes.
Out of these lectures grew The National Training School of Cookery, and the whole concept of ‘Domestic Science.’ A batch of new cookery schools opened in the capital and later across the country. The success of his early text book prompted his publishers to look to JCB to create others: The Elements of Acoustics, Light and Heat, The Elements of Magnetism and Electricity, and Buckmaster’s Domestic Economy and Cookery continued to be in use until WW1.
Anonymous (2022). 'John Charles Buckmaster.' TW Magazines. twmagazines.co.uk [archived; original URL now returns 404]..
Compiled for the History of Wandsworth Common by Philip Boys. Sources include Goodreads, WorldCat, the National Diet Library (Japan), the academic paper ‘The Life and Works of John Charles Buckmaster’ (Academia.edu), and TW Magazines. This bibliography is a working document and will be updated as further publications are identified.