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James Sadler (February 1753 – 28 March 1828) was the first English balloonist, as well as a
chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...
and
pastry chef A pastry chef or pâtissier (; the French female version of the word is pâtissière ), is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bi ...
.


Life

Sadler worked as a
pastry chef A pastry chef or pâtissier (; the French female version of the word is pâtissière ), is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bi ...
in the family business, The Lemon Hall Refreshment House, a small shop in
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. Sadler was the second person to make a balloon ascent in England, very soon after the Tuscan Vincent Lunardi's flight on 15 September 1784 in the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company at
Moorfields Moorfields was an open space, partly in the City of London, lying adjacent to – and outside – its northern wall, near the eponymous Moorgate. It was known for its marshy conditions, the result of the defensive wall acting like a dam, ...
. James Sadler was still the first English Aeronaut, making his ascent the following month, on 4 October 1784 from Christ Church Meadow,
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. The balloon rose to about and landed near
Woodeaton Woodeaton or Wood Eaton is a village and civil parish about northeast of Oxford, England. It also has a special needs school called Woodeaton Manor School. Archaeology There was a Romano-Celtic temple north of where the parish church now sta ...
, around away. Sadler's second ascent occurred on 12 November, this time in a hydrogen-filled balloon. It reached
Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...
in Buckinghamshire after a twenty-minute flight. In May of the following year he took off near
Moulsey Hurst Moulsey Hurst is in West Molesey, Surrey on the south bank of the River Thames above Molesey Lock. It is one of England's oldest sporting venues and was used in the 18th and 19th centuries for cricket, prizefighting and other sports. This are ...
, Surrey, accompanied by W. Wyndham MP, hoping to reach France, but in fact descending in the Thames Estuary, and thus failing to repeat the earlier exploit of
Jean-Pierre Blanchard Jean-Pierre rançoisBlanchard (4 July 1753 – 7 March 1809) was a French inventor, best known as a pioneer of gas balloon flight, who distinguished himself in the conquest of the air in a balloon, in particular the first crossing of the Engli ...
and his passenger. Sadler made two further ascents in May 1785, the first of which was from a field behind a gentleman's garden on the site of what is now Balloon Street in
Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
. On this flight he was accompanied by a cat and landed in Radcliffe. On his second ascent he travelled alone and, having risen to , travelled before landing near
Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wak ...
, West Yorkshire. On this occasion, he sustained bad injuries after being dragged for around by the balloon, which eventually threw him clear before taking off again empty. Sadler was appointed Chemist in 1796 in the newly created Naval Works Department under Sir Samuel Bentham. Although the post was only abolished in 1807, he had major disagreements with Bentham and carried out few works. His most important invention was that of the table steam engine.J. E. Hodgson, 'James Sadler of Oxford', ''Trans. Newcomen Society'', 8,1927–8, 66–82: BL Add. MS 40221 f. 272, Add. MS 37888 f. 161: Science Museum library Goodrich MS C11 Sadler was responsible for improvements to cannon design, from the barrel to the shot used, to improve accuracy; for which he was praised by
Admiral Lord Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...
. He resumed his ballooning activities although he was devastated by the death of his younger son,
Windham William Sadler Windham William Sadler (1796 – 30 September 1824) was a balloonist born in Ireland. His father was aviation pioneer James Sadler and, after an education in engineering, Sadler followed in his father's footsteps. He made an ascent in London du ...
, in a ballooning accident in 1824. James Sadler is buried at the church of
St Peter-in-the-East St Peter-in-the-East is a 12th-century church on Queen's Lane, north of the High Street in central Oxford, England. It is now deconsecrated and houses the college library of St Edmund Hall. The churchyard to the north is laid out as a garden and ...
in Oxford, now part of the college St Edmund Hall.


Legacy

Although a celebrity in his own time, Sadler is largely unknown today. This has been partly attributed to his lack of writing any works and partly to class prejudice: he was only a pastry chef and not formally educated. Despite being a resident of Oxford and an accomplished scientist, the
university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
mostly ignored him and academics looked down on him. While obituaries for Sadler were written elsewhere on his death, the university's own newspaper wrote simply, "Mr James Sadler, elder brother of Mr Sadler of Rose Hill, Oxford, has died." A public square in Manchester was named after Sadler on 8 September 2015 by NOMA, which is a neighbourhood being developed in partnership by The Co-operative Group and Hermes Investment Management. The square is named
Sadler's Yard Sadler's Yard is a public square and event space in Manchester, England. Opened on 4 December 2015, it was the first new public space to be created in the city centre after Exchange Square in 1996. It is located within the NOMA mixed-use rede ...
and is near to Balloon Street.


Selected balloon ascents

* 7 July 1810: at
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, on the occasion of the installation of
Lord Grenville William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, (25 October 175912 January 1834) was a British Pittite Tory politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1806 to 1807, but was a supporter of the Whigs for the duration of ...
as
Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
at
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. * September 1810: from
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...
, with the chemist William Clayfield, landing safely near
Combe Martin Combe Martin is a village, civil parish and former manor on the North Devon coast about east of Ilfracombe. It is a small seaside resort with a sheltered cove on the northwest edge of the Exmoor National Park. Due to the narrowness of the ...
in the
Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Se ...
. * 29 August 1811: from Hackney to East Thorpe in Essex (near
Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...
), with
Henry Beaufoy Henry Beaufoy (November 1750 – 17 May 1795) was a British Member of Parliament. Life Beaufoy was the son of a Quaker wine merchant; after marrying, he conformed to the Church of England. He was educated at Hoxton Academy and Warrington Aca ...
(1786–1851); a number of experiments were performed. * 7 October 1811: a speed record during a gale, travelling over in about 1 hour 20 minutes. * 1 October 1812: from Belvedere House near Drumcondra, Ireland, attempting to cross the
Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the C ...
; he almost drowned in the attempt but was finally picked up by a fishing boat, in the Irish Channel, off Liverpool.
The Kaleidoscope or Literary and Scientific Mirror
', Volume 5, 1825, p 116.


References


Further reading

* Mark Davies: ''King of all balloons : the adventurous life of James Sadler, the first English aeronaut'', Stroud, Gloucestershire : Amberley
015 Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak albu ...
*Jane Browne art 1 of biographical novel based on life & adventures of James Sadler ''The Oxford Aeronaut Part 1: from Cooking to Chemistry'' *Jane Browne art 2 of biographical novel, based on life 7 adventures of James Sadler ''The Oxford Aeronaut Part 2: The King of Ballooning'' *Richard O Smith utobiography with biography of James Sadler ''The Man With HIs Head in the Clouds ''


External links


Pennine Region Balloon Association: James Sadler


* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151025114410/http://www.signalbooks.co.uk/2014/04/the-man-with-his-head-in-the-clouds/ The Man With his Head in the Clouds: James Sadler, The First Englishman to Fly by Richard O. Smith]
The Oxford Aeronaut part 1: From Cooking to Chemistry by Jane BrowneThe Oxford Aeronaut part 2: King of Ballooning by Jane Browne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadler, James 1753 births 1828 deaths English balloonists History of Oxford English inventors Balloon flight record holders British aviation pioneers British aviation record holders Pastry chefs English chefs Male chefs 18th-century English chemists 19th-century English chemists