Introduction - this paper is based upon Chapter IX (9) of the Life of Philip Henry Gosse, F. R. S. which was first published by Routledge & Keegan Paul Ltd, London. 1890. Philip Henry Gosse’s son, Sir Edmund Gosse is the author; but disappointingly, since his death in 1928, some of his factual work has not stood up to the close scrutiny of many modern researchers.
In order to address this problem I have tried, wherever possible, to establish dates, addresses and events from other reliable sources; mostly from the books of Philip Henry Gosse or from his letters and papers held in museums. Other dates and events have been confirmed from the letters and papers of his associates. - Editor

Devonshire 1852
“You are seriously ill, Henry” said my wife; “you have been in the study a great deal to much lately; you must throw it all up and take a trip into the country.”
“Oh no,” said I, “not bad enough for that, I hope; a few days inaction, with God’s blessing, will set me right, I do not want to leave London.”
But I got worse; sitting by the parlour fire, doing nothing, was dreary work. P.H.Gosse, The Aquarium.p1.

And so it was on the afternoon of Thursday, January 29th 1852, Philip Henry Gosse, full time naturalist and collector, aged forty-one years, alighted from the Bristol train at Tor(re) station, a few miles inland from rapidly developing holiday town of Torquay on the coast of South Devon. Accompanying him on this sojourn to recuperate was his wife of three and a half years, Emily, and their son of just over two years, Edmund.
Taking a horse drawn carriage, they set off for the nearby village of St Marychurch, a mile or so away set atop the high cliffs to the east of Torquay. Upon their arrival, exhausted from their long journey, the family took lodgings with Miss Campbell and Miss Johnson at Bank Cottage, Park Street. From here the beauty of Devonshire was laid before them, to seaward the view is of Petit Tor Downs and the English Channel, whereas inland, beyond the farms and green rolling fields are the distant dark peaks of Dartmoor.
Although suffering with nervous dyspepsia from over-work, I suspect from the books in Philip Gosse’s luggage, his intentions before embarking on the journey were far from restful. On that first day, as the family unpacked, I also suspect Philip Gosse would have taken charge of his own carpet bag, for amongst his clothes, being protected from the railway porters rough handling, was -

“A plain but good working compound microscope and a few books essential to the littoral naturalist. Among them were Cuvier’s and Jones’s Animal Kingdom, Forbes’ Star-fishes and Naked-Eyed Medusae, Johnston’s Zoophytes, Sponges, and Introduction to Conchology, Yarrell’s Birds, and Fishes, Alder and Hancock’s Nudibranch Mollusca, Swainson’s Malaeology, Grant’s Outline of, and Owens’s Lectures on, Comparative Anatomy, Audouin and M. Edward’s Littoral de la France, Harvey’s Marine Algae, and his beautiful little Sea-side Book, and a few minor works on the same or kindred subjects.” P.H.Gosse. Rambles p4.

Before ever setting out for the coast, from his contacts in London, Philip Henry Gosse must have been aware of the Zoological Society’s plans to build a freshwater Aqua Vivarium in their Regent’s Park Gardens; which clearly set his mind towards the path of his future studies and those of the parlour aquarium.

“One prominent object that I had in view in coming to the coast was the prosecution of a cherished scheme for the conservation of marine animals and plants in a living state.
For several years past I have been paying attention to our native Rotifera, and in the course of this study had kept fresh water in glass vases unchanged from year to year, yet perfectly pure and sweet and fit for the support of animal life, by means of the aquatic plants.
The possibility of similar results being obtained with sea-water had suggested itself to my mind, and the subject of growing the marine Algae had become a favourite musing, though my residence in London precluded any opportunity of carrying out my project.
My ulterior object in this speculation was twofold. First, I thought that the presence of the more delicate sea-weeds (the Rhodosperms or red families especially, many of which are among the most elegant of plants in colour and form), growing in water of crystalline clearness in a large glass vase, would be a desirable ornament in the parlour or drawing-room; and that the attractions of such an object would be enhanced by the presence of the curious and often brilliant-hued animals, such as the rarer shelled Mollusca, the graceful Nudibranchs, and the numerous species of Sea anemones, that are so seldom seen by any one but the professed naturalist.” P.H.Gosse. Rambles p288.

Collecting specimens from the shore at Babbacombe Beach and Petit Tor, Philip Gosse took them back to Bank Cottage for further detailed study, keeping them alive in a variety of experimental pots and jars. As he searched other beaches he soon discovered the variety of anemones and zoophytes on the south coast was much the same, and that he needed to search further afar if he was to discover the more delicate species and varieties.
To his wife Emily’s disappointment, on May 1st the family, including the pots and jars of living specimens, moved to Ilfracombe on the north coast of Devon; taking lodgings with Mrs Williams of Northfield. Here the shore was much more suitable for his studies and the family soon settled in for the summer.
Philip Gosse describes this memorable summers activities in the first of his seaside books, A Naturalist’s Rambles on the Devonshire Coast; which was an instant best seller receiving good reviews. The book gave in great detail, not only information of his travels and the creatures he studied, but also of his experiments and plans for a temperate marine Parlour Aquarium. In October, Philip Gosse published the result of his aquarium experiments in the Annals & Magazine of natural History; which led him to begin corresponding with Robert Warington.
With the cold wind of November winter setting in, Gosse decided it was time for the family to leave Devonshire and return to London. He chose to take lodgings in Hampton Terrace, Camden Town, this being within walking distance to the Zoological Gardens at Regent’s Park, and the nearly completed Aqua Vivarium. Upon his arrival Gosse set about delivering the specimens he had earlier promised to Warrington, met with Van Voorst to discuss the publication of Rambles, and finally arranged a meeting with Mr Mitchell, the Zoological Societies Gardens Secretary, to discuss the setting up one of the new aquariums.
After reaching an agreement with Mitchell, Philip Gosse set up one tank as a temperate marine display in early 1853 with the last of the specimens he had brought back from Devonshire; and selected members of The Society were invited to view the new exhibit. Even with such a limited audience, the new marine aqua vivaria proved an immediate success and, such was the Gardens Committee confidence, it proposed Mr Mitchell should urge the Council to expand the Marine Aqua Vivarium with another 7 tanks; a proposition the Council could not resist. Mr Mitchell then approached Philip Gosse to supply The Society with enough specimens to stock the proposed 7 new marine tanks. Immediately agreeing to the scheme, Philip Gosse began making plans to return to the coast.

Weymouth 1853. - Arriving in Weymouth on the 8th April 1853, the Gosse family most probably took lodgings with a local Apothecary, Mr William Fowler at 1, The Lookout. The front of the house presented uninterrupted views of Weymouth Bay and Portland, with immediate access to Newton’s Cove and its sloping weed covered ledges, to the rear, within a short walk was the south quayside of Weymouth harbour. It was ideally situated for his purpose, before setting out to collect, a glance from the front bay window would tell him the state of the sea and the direction of the wind. On this seaside visit Philip Gosse again detailed his exploits in another, even more successful book; The Aquarium published in 1854.
Although not the best of sailors, Philip Gosse, who often felt queasy or seasick, nevertheless decided the best way of collecting the volume of animal specimens required by the Society would be by the dredge. This was the preferred method of collecting for most professional Victorian naturalists. It offered the advantage of keeping large numbers of specimens alive in storage vessels that would be impossibly heavy to carry along the shore-line, and the water within them could be easily changed, keeping those from the first haul, as fresh as those from the last. Upon landing, with boxes of weed prepared beforehand, the day’s catch could be immediately packed and dispatched to the railway station for transportation, which for Philip Gosse was the evening Mail Train to London.
Hiring the services of a local fisherman, Jonas Fowler, at the rate of 7shillings and 6pence per day (37½pence), which included the provision of all necessary equipment, Philip Gosse dredged the inshore waters from Whitenose to Church Hope Cove in Jonas’s small sailing boat. From the honest description of Jonas Fowler, and of his conversations with him, Philip Gosse alludes a quiet respect for the fisherman’s knowledge and experience. From these conversations, we learn that Jonas had previously been in the employ of other famous collectors which included James Bowerbank, Hanley and Edward Forbes; perhaps this was the reason why Philip Gosse chosen to collect the specimens from Weymouth.
During his time dredging Gosse also struck up a friendship with a local naturalist, William Thompson, a man who had carried out experiments establishing seaweed colonies, and had submitted a description of an unknown anemone in the Zoologist; both topics of great interest to Philip Gosse. Ironically, on the day Philip Gosse arrived in Weymouth, William Thompson had submitted a paper to the Annals regarding his experiments with aquariums, and of his plan to send live fishes by rail for display by Mr. Mitchell at Regent’s Park; the paper being published the following month.
Soon after the public opening of the Regent’s Park Aquariums in June, Philip Gosse visited London to present the Society with his bill for the 5000 specimens he had dispatched, but much to his disappointment, rather than settle the account, Mr Mitchell, referred it on to the Society Council. Frustrated over the lack of remuneration, Philip Gosse informed the Society he would not supply any more specimens, preferring instead on his return at Weymouth, to concentrate his attention upon his seashore studies and the development of his parlour aquarium. Upon his arrival back in Weymouth I suspect Philip Gosse changed his address, probably choosing cheaper lodgings at 14 High Street, close to the busy quayside. With no apparent acrimony, Thompson took over the task of supplying the Regent’s Park with specimens to complete their display.
Thompson’s anemone paper, published in the Zoologist in 1851, under the name of Actinia clavata; local name- the Weymouth anemone, was based upon a single specimen he had found, which he could not identify in any of the scientific literature available to him. Thus it was regarded as a new species even though the specimen had not being ratified by an “expert” in the field; nor had any other specimens been discovered to support its continued existence. Released from the constraints of professional collecting, Philip Gosse began searching the sloping weed covered ledges of the Newton’s Cove for his new friend’s discovery. Using his skill and experience he soon found more examples of the anemone; indeed, so many did he find, he identified the species as having three distinct varieties. With experience and confidence growing, in September Philip Gosse ordered his first purpose built glass parlour aquarium, confident in his knowledge and the future prospects of the parlour aquarium.
As a consequence of the publication of A Naturalists Rambles on the Devonshire Coast in the spring of 1853, Philip Gosse received a letter of admiration from the Rev. Charles Kingsley which resulted in their corresponding, and at one stage they even entertained the idea of spending the oncoming winter studying together at Clovelly; but circumstances changed. On December 1st, with both Philip Gosse and his wife Emily not enjoying the best of health, they left the windy south coast and moved back to London.

Huntingdon Street London 1854. - Taking residence at 58 Huntingdon Street, Barnsbury Park; Philip Gosse immediately contacted Van Voorst to discuss the publication of his Weymouth exploits as a follow-up book to his successful Devonshire Rambles. Also waiting for him at the office of Van Voorst, was a letter from Kingsley, informing him that he had also moved and taken up residence in Torquay; but most important of all, was his offer to collect and send marine specimens to Gosse in London. Eagerly accepting his friend’s kind gesture, Philip Gosse put into action his plans to set up his own parlour aquariums in the conservatory adjoining his new accommodation; immediately ordering another glass parlour aquarium to be manufactured to his own specification. Until its arrival, he would continue to use the single parlour aquarium he had brought up with him from Weymouth along with his other vases and glazed foot baths. Explaining his plans, he made detailed arrangements with Kingsley for the proposed transportation of the specimens by rail; sending down his own hamper of jars for Kingsley to fill with seawater and specimens.
On January 4th the first of Kingsley’s specimens arrived, Gosse immediately confirmed the “treasures” safe arrival, and set about putting them into his display vessels. Throughout the last months of winter and into spring, Philip Gosse gratefully received Kingsley’s treasures; which must have provided a welcome break from the long hours spent writing for the popular market. During this time he also visited the Natural History Museum to research the last of his series of school books, Gosse’s Natural History, Mollusca. The variety and volume of specimens received from Kingsley also prompted Philip Gosse to complete his experiments with manufactured seawater; submitting his paper on the subject to the Annals on June 9th 1854.
The Aquarium, an unveiling of the Wonders of the Deep Sea, was published in the late spring of 1854, and within its pages Philip Gosse firmly told his readers to throw away the old term of Aqua Vivarium and replace it with its new name, the aquarium; and the seeds of the Victorian Parlour Aquarium craze were sown. With his book released and receiving good reviews, his thoughts to develop his parlour aquarium ideas into financial success beyond that of writing were being overtaken by a more pressing need. From his own studies at Devonshire and Weymouth, and of the specimens Kingsley had sent up from Torquay, Philip Gosse had begun to realise, through the paucity of scientific information available to him, and of the amount of research he had had to complete, the need for a specific monograph on British sea anemones and soft corals.
Remembering that Bowerbank in 1852 had told him that Tenby was “the prince of places for a naturalist”, in the June of 1854 he decided to take his friends advice and investigate the anemones of the northern shore of the Bristol Channel.
On the evening of June 29th, the Gosse family arrived at their summer cottage which backed onto the south sands of Tenby. For Emily and young Edmund, this might well have been a welcome holiday break, but Philip Gosse had brought his books and microscope; if it was to be a holiday, for him it would be a working holiday. Again he had decided to record the details of his activities of this brief eight week visit within the covers of another book; Tenby. Edmund Gosse recalls in his biography-

“as he [Philip Gosse] was exploring the caverns of St. Catherine's Island, he was accosted by a gentleman who introduced himself as the Bishop of Oxford, and who entered with great gusto into the pleasures of the seashore. The acquaintance thus oddly formed ripened into a daily companionship as long as they were both at Tenby, and after they parted, Dr. Wilberforce and my father kept up a desultory correspondence for a while. Another and more permanent friendship formed at Tenby was that with Mr. Frederick Dyster, the zoologist; from whom he bought, for £30, the microscope which he continued, regardless of modern improvements, to use until near the end of his life. His acquaintance with Professor Huxley, then a young surgeon whose investigations into the oceanic Hydrozoa, on board H.M.S. Rattlesnake, had recently given him scientific prominence.”

Returning to London on August 18th 1854, Philip Gosse continued with his scientific studies to complete and release Mollusca and to resume his investigations of Rotifera. By the end of year, with the consignments from Torquay and the specimens collected from Tenby, on the shelves of his now completed fish-house were- three parlour aquariums, two show glasses and one glazed pot footbath; three were filled with natural sea water, the others filled with artificial sea water to Gosse’s own prescription. In a letter to Kingsley, Philip Gosse fondly called one of the aquariums, holding only anemones, his Actinarium.

Leaving the Seashore. - After Philip Gosse had set up his own fish house in Huntingdon Street, and with the publication of The Aquarium, specialist shops had begun to spring up in London and other cities to satisfy the public demand fired by Gosse’s books and the Regent’s Park aquariums. At this time, retailers, and in particular William Alford Lloyd had begun to overtake Philip Gosse with their specialised practical knowledge of aquarium management; with Lloyd becoming the first recognised professional aquarist. William Lloyd concentrated his studies on identifying and solving the practical problems of keeping marine creatures alive, of storing them for prolonged periods whilst maintaining their good condition; this being essential if his retail business were to thrive and prosper. Gosse on the other hand was using his aquariums to study anemones, in preparation for his monograph on the species; anemones being the most simple of creatures to keep in a parlour aquarium.
Returning from Tenby on August 18th 1854, although Philip Gosse was predominantly occupied with the study of Rotifera, on December 20th, he wrote another paper on artificial sea-water, delaying the submission of his Rotifera findings to the Royal Society until January 5th 1855. The seawater paper was in direct reply to a paper published a month earlier from Warington, who directly contested Gosse’s sea-water formula. In reply Gosse opened his paper with the terse comment, “If Mr. Warington supposes that I obtained from him one atom of information previously unknown to me, on the subject of making sea-water from its constituent salts, he is most thoroughly mistaken. He is no less wrong in saying that I “consulted” him; since I merely mentioned what was on my mind in familiar conversation.” The nub of the dispute being that Warington, as a chemist, disputed the validity and truth of Gosse’s formula against the real thing, whilst Gosse was interested only in creating a substitute solution that could be mixed away from the seashore that was capable of fully sustaining marine life; which W. Alford Lloyd confirmed the formula amply satisfied.
Suffering with ill health in the beginning of 1855 and using the services of an amanuensis, (one who writes what another dictates) he produced a number of articles for the Christian Annotator. I also assume at this time that he also worked on the text of Tenby; Edmund Gosse attributing the books exaggerated and flowing confidential style to his father’s use of the amanuensis. Also on March 20th, Philip Gosse read before the Linnean Society, a memoir establishing the genus Sagartia, which was the culmination of his anemone studies in Huntingdon Street; it was also published within the pages of Tenby. On the following day the Gosse family again departed for the welcoming shores of Weymouth.
With the acceptance of his observations on the Family Actiniadæ, he could now proceed in earnest with his anemone monograph. Staying in Weymouth until May 13th, Philip Gosse was pleased to be joined for some of the time by his friend James Bowerbank; spending much of their time together dredging Weymouth Bay in search of new anemones. With the publication of the first volume of A Manual of Marine Zoology in early July, which was received with a favourable review in the Annals, the family took off again for a visit to Ilfracombe. Much in the same way as the Apothecaries had taken their apprentices off for an annual field trip to identify and gather herbs; at Ilfracombe Philip Gosse met a small party of ladies and gentlemen who formed themselves into a Class for the study of Marine Natural History. It must be added that this small group, so accidentally gathered together according to Edmund Gosse, was not what it seemed; The Rev. Charles Kingsley had revealed within the pages of Glaucus in that same spring, of Philip Gosse’s intention to run the class, and had encouraged his readers to contact Gosse themselves if they wished to join; this notice could have resulted in enough enquiries to render any thoughts Philip Gosse might have had on publicity, defunct. I cannot resist quoting Edmund Gosse’s recollection of this event-

“a long desultory line of persons on a beach of shells, -doubtless at Barricane. At the head of the procession, like Apollo conducting the Muses, my father strides ahead in an immense wide-awake hat, loose black coat and trousers, and fisherman’s boots, with a collecting-basket in one hand, a staff or prod in the other. Then follow gentlemen of every age, all seeming spectacled and old to me, and many ladies in the balloon costume of 1855, with shawls falling in a point from between their shoulders to the edge of their flounced petticoats, each wearing a mushroom hat with streamers; I myself am tenderly conducted along the beach by one or more of these enthusiastic nymphs, and “jumped” over the perilous little watercourses that meander to the sea.” Life.

After gathering their treasures, they would be later be studied in detail when they gathered together in the classroom; and so the summer passed until the class dispersed in August. On September 6th the family returned to London; again with hampers of treasures to be studied in the fish house aquariums.
With the aquarium craze at its height in early October, Philip Gosse amended the last chapter of The Aquarium and published it as the Handbook to the Marine Aquarium. Selling like wildfire, the book was specifically aimed at the lower educated classes, those that could not afford the cost of the full book. Edmund Gosse recalls this year of family life with fond memories, of the happiness of his parents, and of his father’s prodigious energy; reflected by the diversity and volume of his writing.
Then at the height of his fame, Philip Gosse began the year of 1856 with a series of natural history lectures, also continuing with his writing for the weekly and monthly popular journals. His monograph on the dioecious character of the Rotifera, submitted in February, was read at the Royal Society in March; which Edmund Gosse directly attributes the election of Philip Gosse to the Fellowship of the Society in June; March also saw the release of Tenby, in which he had advertised his intention to hold more seashore classes in the summer. By now his fish house was complete, and in the revised second edition of the Handbook, Philip Gosse told his readers of his aquariums.

“My largest tank (now in use as a fresh water Aquarium,) is a parallel-sided vessel, two feet long, one and a half foot wide, one and a half foot deep; the sides and ends of plate glass, three-sixteenths thick; the bottom, a slab of slate one inch thick; the corners of birch-wood, turned into pillars, each surmounted by a knob, and united by a frame-top or bar going all round. The glass is set in grooves in the slate and wood, and fastened with white-lead putty. I have two others agreeing with this in all respects, except in dimensions, the smallest being (in the clear) fifteen inches long, twelve inches wide, and twelve inches deep. This is a very neat and pretty object for a parlour table, and will hold at least fifty animals appreciable to the senses, provided they be well selected, and a sufficient growth of plants established.
I have also another tank with a sloping back, made on Mr. Warington's plan. It is of zinc, with the back and two sides of slate, the front and two front-sides alone being of glass. Its form is six-sided, the front resembling a bow, window; it is three feet long by one foot ten inches in greatest width, and the same in depth; the peculiarity is that the back slopes inward, so that the bottom is but eight inches wide. I cannot commend this form;”

With his success assured, in the April of 1856 their family happiness was shattered when they learned of Emily Gosse’s desperate illness; breast cancer. Although not immediately abandoning his lectures or studies, Philip and Emily Gosse sought advice on the best available treatment; which began on the 12th May. With treatment continuing throughout the summer, on August 29th, Emily Gosse felt able enough to accompany her husband to Tenby for another series of seashore classes; Philip Gosse obviously feeling he could not renege on his previous advertisement. Although still very ill and not active enough to take part, on the days the group visited the sands, Emily Gosse was able to sit on the beach and talk to passing strangers; no doubt, often handing out her ever popular tracks.
Relieved to have completed his commitments, on October 2nd the family departed from the Cambrian Guest House to return to London. Sadly, Emily Gosse passed away on February 10th, in the following year, and without her devotion and support, there could be no more happy “Seaside Years” for Philip Henry Gosse.
In early October of that same year, Philip Henry Gosse left London to take up permanent residence in St Marychurch, Devon; the same village where he and his wife had once been so happy, and where his “seaside years” began. Visiting the seashore at Petit Tor with his young son on Friday October 10th 1857, Philip Gosse noted in his journal –

"It was with mournful gratification that I looked on the familiar scene, remembering my loved companion then, who now gazes on higher scenes". Leeds.