Andrew Crosse, the Squire of Broomfield in Somerset, was born in 1784 and died in 1855. His time was spent mainly in the ordinary duties of his estate, but his chief interest was electrical study and experimentation. He achieved national notoriety for a short time, about 1836, when it was asserted that he created living insects during one of his experiments. The paper investigates Crosse's scientific career as an example of the amateur experimenters of the period. Electrical study was then in transition from a dilettante hobby to the life-work of professionals. Crosse felt there was a conflict between his social responsibilities as a landowner and his inclination to be a full-time researcher. He had to accept a certain degree of isolation, although he still found opportunities to publish some of his findings. It is suggested that amateurs such as Crosse made two important contributions to scientific advance, both resulting from their particular working conditions. Being under no pressure to achieve results quickly, they could experiment over periods of years. At the same time, they developed the habit of detailed observation of natural phenomena. Although Crosse made no major discoveries, the work of such amateurs influenced the direction of important developments in electrical theory later in the century. It is also possible that their social status helped eventually to make electrical engineering more 'respectable' than its mechanical counnterpart.
