Radstock Museum’s Bygone Days Talks Team will give a presentation on the history of the Poynting family, who had longstanding connections to the local area.

For well over 200 years, The Poynting family had links with Clapton, Midsomer Norton, Chilcompton, Ston Easton and Foxcote.

Originally descending from illiterate farm workers, the Poynting family produced a remarkable range of individuals over the generations.

These included a clergyman who built a church, established a school, and wrote a novel; a pioneering farmer who settled in the Midwestern United States; and a daughter who married a cousin of a British Prime Minister.

Perhaps the most renowned member of the family was John Henry Poynting, a distinguished scientist whose contributions to physics led to important scientific laws bearing his name, as well as craters on both the Moon and Mars being named in his honour.

One of his most notable achievements was formulating the Poynting vector, which describes the directional flow of electromagnetic energy in a system. This concept remains fundamental in physics and engineering today.

He also conducted important research into the gravitational constant (G), performing some of the earliest experiments to determine its value with precision.

Clem Maidment, from Radstock Museum’s Bygone Days Talks Team, met and became acquainted with Julian Poynting, a family member, who turned up one day at Clapton to view 'where his ancestors came from' and with whom he corresponded for nearly 30 years and learned all about this remarkable local family.

Clem will present an illustrated talk on the Poynting family, exploring their history and notable contributions. The event will take place on Tuesday, March 4, at The Somer Centre in Midsomer Norton with doors opening at 7pm. The presentation will start at 7.30pm.

For more information, visit www.radstockmuseum.co.uk.