The machine was an early attempt to automate code-cracking and, due to its complexity, was named after the illustrator W Heath Robinson.

Heath Robinson: Dreams and Machines runs from 20 January – 15 April 2018. Mottisfont’s gallery opens at 11am and closes at 4pm (5pm from 4 February). Normal property admission price only.

"Essentially he was caricaturing the age of the machine and became so famous that the term Heath Robinson contraption' came into official dictionary use in around 1912.