Portsmouth Museums & Records Service and the BBC's "A History of the World" project

BBC Radio Solent and museums across the county chose 10 objects to tell a history of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and their place in the world. These objects were part of the wider "A History of the World" project formed out of a unique partnership between the BBC, the British Museum and 350 museums and institutions across the country.

Portsmouth Museums & Records Service had two objects chosen from its collections, which have local, national and international significance. One of Marc Brunel’s block making machines is included (see photograph at right).

This machine was one of a series designed by Sir Marc Isambard Brunel (father of Isambard Kingdom Brunel) that went into production in 1805 to produce the wooden blocks for sailing ships.

Set up in Portsmouth Dockyard, they were the first example of the use of machine tools for mass production and also the earliest large machine tools to be made of metal. They allowed 10 unskilled men to do the work of 110 craftsmen, and thus heralded the arrival of mass production, not only in the Dockyard but across the United Kingdom and the world.

The other object selected is an incendiary bomb (see photograph below), one of the tens of thousands dropped on the City of Portsmouth between 1940 and 1944 by the German air force. Each bomb would burst into flames when it landed, potentially starting a major fire. On the night of 10-11 January 1941, Portsmouth Guildhall and a large part of Southsea was destroyed by fire started by incendiary bombs, for example. Later also used by the Allies against Germany and Japan, these weapons changed the face of cities worldwide, suddenly and dramatically.

The BBC has created a website to highlight the chosen 100 objects and many more from around the UK in museum collections and those belonging to individuals who have uploaded information about their chosen object. To find out more click on the BBC website.