In his novel Coningsby Benjamin Disraeli develops the theme of Conservatism uniting 'two nations', the rich and the poor

Richard Turner wins the government contract to build a great new glasshouse in Kew Gardens, the Palm House, with Decimus Burton acting as architectural consultant.

The Young Men's Christian Association is founded in London by British drapery assistant George Williams

Louis Philippe, now King of France, visits Orleans House during a royal visit to Britain.

English naval officer John Franklin sets off with two ships, Erebus and Terror, to search for the Northwest Passage

A blight destroys the potato crop in Ireland and causes what becomes known as the Great Famine

Sewers are enlarged to carry waste to the Thames

Brunel's suspension bridge serves Hungerford market

Under Sir William Hooker (director 1845--65) and his son Sir Joseph Hooker (director 1865--85) the botanic gardens are greatly increased in size, prestige and scientific excellence.

Friedrich Engels, after running a textile factory in Manchester, publishes The Condition of the Working Class in England

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert follow the German custom of a family Christmas tree, immediately making it popular in Britain

Work begins on a station at Barnes, which is now the only survivor of the five original stations on the new railway line from Nine Elms to Richmond

British prime minister Robert Peel carries a bill to repeal the Corn Laws, splitting his own party in the process

The Irish, fleeing from the potato famine at home, become the main group of immigrants to the USA

The minority of Conservatives supporting Peel become a separate faction, henceforth known as the Peelites

Edward Lear publishes his Book of Nonsense, consisting of limericks illustrated with his own cartoons

The first train on the new London and South Western Railway line from Nine Elms passes through Barnes on its way to a rapturous arrival in Richmond, with a brass band and church bells ringing

Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah has its premiere in England, in the city of Birmingham

After marrying secretly, the English poets Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett go abroad to live in Florence

Landlords in Scotland begin to clear crofters from Highland estates so as to provide pasture for sheep

William Chillingworth, who bought Radnor House in 1842, substantially remodels it in the fashionable Italianate style.

The three Brontë sisters jointly publish a volume of their poems and sell just two copies

Queen Victoria leases Pembroke Lodge, as a country retreat, to her Prime Minister, Lord John Russell

A new Factory Act is passed in Britain, limiting the working day of women and children to a maximum of ten hours

Scottish obstetrician James Simpson uses anaesthetic (ether, and later in the year choloroform) to ease difficulty in childbirth