 Ashmole records the many 'old deedes' in his possession, and John Aubrey, a strange curative visitation to ancient buildings, suggesting an antiquarian interest.In a 1653 astrological almanacl, "Hemeroscopeion", which George Wharton dedicates to Backhouse, he is referred to as a master of astrology.He also appears to have been a keen inventor, with Samuel Hartlib recording Backhouse's "long Gallery wherin are all manner of Inventions and Rarities", describing him as a "favourer of all manner of ingenuities", and recalling an anecdote, wherein Backhouse exhibited a thermometer for King Charles I, much to his delight.