The essence of chemistry lies in the concepts of reductionism and transformation. Within this, there is a collision between attempts to reduce chemistry to measurable entities and the complexity of the world in general and living systems in particular. Chemistry also lies at the intersection of science, technology and industry and so is defined by its usefulness. The combination of reductionism and usefulness was a theme of ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley in which a creature was made from the component parts of a body. This also raises the question of Vitalism and whether living systems have some unique property. This was largely disproven by the synthesis of urea (a component also isolated from living systems) by Wohler. Such investigations also popularised the concept of analysis and synthesis as linked approaches to proving the structure of natural products. This has been joined, in the twentieth century, by the addition of the concept of bio-synthesis (the creation of molecules by living systems). In addition to reductionism, chemistry is also the science of transformation. While many living systems operate within certain physiological boundaries, some of them (extremophiles) are able to function outside of these boundaries. The adaptation of chemistry by individuals, institutions and society provides a conceptual thread that encompasses products from nature and from the application of manufacturing processes and examples of these can be seen at different stages in the development of Norfolk.