When Joseph Priestley came to Birmingham in 1780 to take up ministry at the Unitarian's New Meeting House, he already had a reputation for being the greatest chemist in Britain. He became a leading member of the Lunar Society, and had a catalogue of achievements in the fields of chemistry and physics. His contraversial Nonconformist opinions acted as a catalyst for the Birmingham Riots on 14th July 1791, which resulted in the destruction of the Old and New Meeting Houses by an angry mob, as well as of Priestley's own home, Fairhill House, at Sparkhill.