Calne Tale Trails
2. Relief showing Jan IngenHousz

You are in front of the library. Turn left pausing at its entrance.

The Dutch physician, Jan Ingen Housz visited England in 1779, spending that summer performing over 500 experiments. These experiments proved that plants photosynthesise, with their green parts absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen in sunlight. Ingen Housz returned to live in England later in life and was a friend of Joseph Priestley and a frequent guest at Bowood House, where he died on 7 September 1799. He was buried in St Mary’s Church.