TADDINGTON
"Tadintune, is another chapelry under Bakewell. The
church is dedicated to St. Michael; and the number of houses in
the hamlet is about seventy. These villages of the High Peak are
but little cultivated, and, therefore, the inhabitants depend chiefly
upon the lead mines for their support."
In the Archdeaconry of Derby.
TANSLEY
Hamlet in the parish of Crich in the Deanery of Derby. See Crich.
 Tansley
- Kelly's 1891 Directory
TAPTON
Part of the parish of Chesterfield. See Chesterfield.
TEMPLE NORMANTON
Part of the parish of Chesterfield. See Chesterfield.
THORP
"in Domesday called Torp, ia a very agreeable little
village with a small church, seated upon the brow of a hill, and
so surrounded with trees as to be highly picturesque. The living
is a rectory, and the church is dedicated to St. Leonard; the Dean
of Lincoln is the patron.
A little to the North of the village, is Thorp Cloud, a
conical hill, of very steep ascent, which rises to a great height.
Near this is a tolerably good descent, into a deep hollow called Bunster-Dale;
one side of which is bounded by a steep acclivity, finely covered
with wood ; and the other by a range of lofty crags, of wild, uncouth
appearance. Passing through this narrow ravine (where the eye is
prevented from excursion, and the mind thrown back on itself) for
half a mile, a sudden turn, presents the eye, with the southern
entrance of the far-famed and romantic Dove-Dale, a name it received
from the river Dove, pouring its water through the valley.
[There are then several pages of description, which is included in the section about Dovedale]
At Wooton-Hall, near Dove-Dale, Hume procured a place of retreat,
for that singular character and ingenious writer Jean Jacques
Rousseau. Flying from a persecution which his exuberant imagination
pictured, as thickening around him on the continent, he arrived
in London in January, 1766 ... about the latter end of March he
settled in Derbyshire. ... From this abode, however, he issued
in January 1767, with his usual eccentricity, inflamed by an imaginary
affront ... and returned to the continent."
In the Deanery of Ashbourne.
 Thorpe and Thorpe Cloud
TIBSHELF
"is by the Norman surveyors written Tibecel. In the
ninth of Edward the Second[1] there
was a church at this place, the advowson of which was appropriated
to the priory of Brewood. The present living is a vicarage, and
the church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. The number of
inhabitants in Tibshelf is about six hundred and eighty, who are
principally employed in the colliery, and in the manufacture of
stockings.
There is a chalybeate spring at Tibshelf; but the impregnation
is not very great. About a century and a half ago, it was in great
repute and drank throughout the summer season : now, however, it
is not much frequented."
In the Deanery of Chesterfield.
TICKNALL
"in Domesday Tichenhalle, is an extensive parish, and
a large village, consisting of near two hundred houses. The living
is a donative curacy, of the clear value of £26. The church
is dedicated to St. Thomas Becket; and in former times was part
of the endowment of the priory at Repton. Sir Henry Crewe is the
patron. The lime kilns find employment for many during the summer
season; while the pursuits of agriculture employ several more."
In the Deanery of Repington.
TIDESWELL
"is a small market town, situated in a bottom, which is surrounded
on all sides by barren and desolate moors. It is supposed to have
received its name from an ebbing and flowing well, situated in
a field near the town, but which has now ceased to flow for more
than a century. The manor anciently belonged to William Peveril,and
being afterwards vested in king John, was given by him to his esquire,
whose female descendant, in Richard the Second's time[2],
being married to a Stafford, obtained a grant of a weekly market,
and a yearly fair to be held here. The estate afterwards came
to the Merrills or Meverills, of Throwley, in Staffordshire
; and was conveyed, by the marriage of an heiress, to Lord Cromwell,
of Oakham, in Rutlandshire, one of whose descendants sold it,
between the death of Charles the First and the period of the
Restoration, to the Eyres of Highlow. Since the death
of John Archer, Esq. of Welford, in Berkshire, the male heir
of this family, this manor has been sold, under the authority
of the Court in Chancery, to the Duke of Devonshire.
At the compilation of Domesday, there were a church and a priest
in Tidessuuelle ; and king John in the year 1215, gave
the chapel at Tideswell, as well as the church at Hope, to the
canons of Litchfield, for their common provision of bread and
beer. The present church was erected in the fourteenth century,
as appears from an inscription on a flat stone in the chancel,
to the memory of John, son of Thomas Foljambe, who died in 1358
; and is said to have contributed much towards the building of
the edifice. The church is a handsome building of the conventional
form, with a neat tower to the west end, terminated by eight
pinnacles ; those at the angles rising from octagonal bases,
and being much higher than the intermediate ones. The living
is a vicarage, the church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist,
and the Dean and Chapter of Lichfield are the patrons.
In the church is a raised tomb to the memory of Sampson Meurill,
who was born in 1388, and died in 1462. It appears from the inscription,
that, in the spate of two years, he was in eleven battles in
France, where he served under the command of the great Duke of
Bedford, who knighted him at St. Luce, and made him Knight Constable
of England, &c. On his tomb, bread is given away every Sunday,
to some indigent parishioners. Another monument records the memory
of a native of Tideswelle, named Robert Pursglove,
described as a Prior of Gisburn Abbey, Prebend of Rotherham,
and Bishop of Hull, who died in the year 1579. Henry the Eighth[2] allowed
him a pension, in reward for his ready compliance, with his wishes
; his conduct, as Dugdale records, being so very obsequious,
that, after he had surrendered his own house, he was employed
as a commissioner to persuade others to do the like. At the beginning
of Queen Mary's reign[2],
he was made Archdeacon of Nottingham, Suffragan of Hull, &c.
but refusing to take the oath of supremacy to Elizabeth I[2],
he was deprived of his Archdeaconry, and other spiritualities,
in the year 1560. He afterwards retired to this town and founded
a Grammar-School, which adjoins the churchyard ; and a Hospital
for twelve poor people. In the south transept is a tomb, with
whole-length figures of a man and a woman, of whom nothing is
with certainty known ; but tradition represents them as the effigies
of Thurstan de Bower and his wife, who are said to have built
the transept.
The town of Tideswell consists of two rows of low houses, built
of rough gray stones, on the opposite sides of a clear rivulet.
The weekly market is held on Wednesday, but it is not much attended.
The place consists of about 250 houses, and 1100 inhabitants,
who are supported chiefly by the mining business."
Litton and Wormhill were hamlets in the parish of Tideswell.
In the Archdeaconry of Derby.
The
Gentleman's Magazine Library
TISSINGTON
"Tizinetun. The liberty contains about forty-four houses
and one hundred and ninety-two inhabitants. The living is a curacy;
and the church is dedicated to St. Mary. It formerly belonged to
the priory at Tutbury.
Near Tissington is Tissington Hall, the ancient seat of
the Fitzherberts, who have resided here since the end of the fifteenth
century. The estate, in more remote times, belonged to the Savages and
from them descended to the Herthulls and Meynells.
That portion of the estate which belonged to the latter, came by
inheritance to the Fitzherberts, (who came originally from Norbury)
through the families of Clinton and Fraunceys, about
the commencement of the fifteenth century. The part that was in
possession of the Herthulls, descended from them to the Cokaines
of Ashbourn, who sold it to the Fitzherberts, in the reign of James
the First. William Fitzherbert, Esq. of this place, who died in
1772, left two surviving sons, William and Alleyne. William, who
was Recorder of Derby in 1783, was raised in the same year to the
dignity of a Baronet, and died in 1791. He left several children,
the eldest of whom, Sir Henry Fitzherbert, Bart. is now possessor
of the estate and title.
Alleyne, the brother of Sir William, has attained some degree of
political eminence. He has been minister at Brussels, Petersburgh,
and Madrid; secretary to the Marquis of Buckingham, when Lord Lieutenant
of Ireland; and in 1782 negociated the peace of which preliminaries
were signed at Paris, in the January of the following year. He
was raised to an Irish Peerage, in 1791; and to a Peerage of Great
Britain and Ireland in 1801, by the title of Baron of St. Helen's."
In the Deanery of Ashbourne.
TOTLEY
A hamlet in the parish of Dronfield. See Dronfield.
TROWAY
See Eckington.
TRUSLEY
"supposed to be the Toxenai of Domesday, is a small
parish, not containing many houses. The living is a rectory, and
the church is dedicated to All-saints.
A very respectable family of the name of Coke formerly resided
at Trusley. Sir Francis, who lived here in the time of Charles
the First, had a brother, whose name was John who was Secretary
of State in the king's reign [there is more about him, but it is
not included here]. George, another brother of Sir Francis Coke,
was, successively, Bishop of Bristol and Hereford. He was involved
in the same condemnation as the rest of the Bishops, passed, for
their signing the protest in parliament, in order to secure the
preservation of their privileges ; and is said to have died in
reduced circumstances, on the 10th of December, 1646."
In the Deanery of Castillar.
TUPTON
See North Wingfield.
TURNDITCH
"contains about 40 houses; and its chapel is set down at the
clear value of £4."
In the Deanery of Derby.
TWIFORD
[Twyford] See Barrow
|
WALTON
(Waletune) Part of the parish of Chesterfield. See Chesterfield.
WALTON-ON-TRENT
"At the time of the Norman survey, there were at Waletune "a
church and a priest, and a mill of 6 shillings and 8 pence, and
40 acres of meadow, value 10 pounds. The living is a rectory, and
the present church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist.
In the fifteenth year of Edward II[1],
Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, being pursued by the king, placed his
foot on each side of the bridge at Burton, to prevent his passage
over the Trent. By this precaution he obliged the king to ford
the river at Walton. - When the Earl discovered this, he drew his
men out of Tutbury castle, expecting a reinforcement, but being
disappointed, he fled towards the North."
In the Deanery of Repington.
WARDLOW
"The village of Wardlow is also within the parish of Bakewell,
and contains, together with its liberty, about twenty houses. In
the year 1759, the Rev. Evat of Ashford, examined a barrow situated
near this village, an account of which was published in the Philosophical
Transactions for that year."
In the Archdeaconry of Derby
WENSLEY
A township in the parish of Darley. See Darley.
Wensley
- Kelly's 1891 Directory
WESSINGTON
Hamlet in the parish of Crich and Deanery of Derby. See Crich.
WEST-HALLAM
"in Domesday called Halen, is a small village containing
from seventy to eighty houses. The living is a rectory, and the
church is dedicated to St. Wilfred."
In the Deanery of Derby.
WESTON
[Weston-on-Trent] "At the Norman survey, we find that in Westune (Weston) "with
the Berewicks, Earl Algar had ten caracutes of land, and two ox-gangs
and a half to be taxed. Land to as many ploughs. There are now
in the desmense three ploughs and twenty-four villanes and six
bordars, having twelve ploughs, and four farmers paying sixteen
shillings. There are two churches and a priest, and one mill of
nineteen shillings and fourpence, and fifty-one acres of meadow.
Pasture half a mile long, and three quarentens broad. Value in
King Edward's time £8. now £16."
Weston was distinguished by some peculiar privileges, in the reign
of King John.[3] By
a patent granted in the sixteenth year of his reign, the inhabitants
were exempted from all services of counties, hundreds, tithings
and wapentakes; from the appearance of frank-pledge; from aids
and charities; from demands, gratifications and complaints, to
which the villages and bailiwicks are subject. The church is dedicated
to St. Mary; and the living is a rectory, under the patronage of
Sir R Wilmot. Its value in the king's books is £11 16s. 3d.
and yearly tenths, £1 3s. 7½d'. 'The parish of Weston
is not very extensive, and the number of houses is not great. The
village is situated near the canal and the Trent, and the inhabitants
have been much employed in the navigation upon each."
In the Deanery of Derby.
Weston-Upon-Trent, stereoview
WESTON UNDERWOOD
Hamlet in the parish of Mugginton. See Mugginton.
WHETSTONE
A township in the parish of Tideswell.
WHITTINGTON
"At the compilation of Domesday, Witintune was a bailiwick
in the manor of Newbold. The living is a rectory, and the church
is dedicated to St. Bartholemew. The village is small.
Whittington had the honor of witnessing the beginning of that association,
which does so much credit to those who embarked their lives and
fortunes in it, and the happy result of which we are all feeling
at the present time. No longer able to bear the arbitrary measures
of James the Second, nor the destruction of the protestant religion,
which he evidently meditated, a few Worthies, whose names will
ever be dear to the lovers of British freedom, in the year 1688,
met each other on Whittington-moor, for the express purpose of
devising some means, for rescuing their country from the double
slavery with which it was threatened.
[There follows an account of the meeting at the Revolution House
to discuss the overthrow of the King. This is described more fully
in The Gentleman's Magazine Library elsewhere
on the web site; the information provides both descriptions of
the house and the event itself. There is also an
engraving of the Revolution House]
In an enclosure not far from the village, is a chalybeate spring,
which from the tests employed, has been found to contain about
the same quantity of iron as those situated at Quarndon and Buxton.
The respect in which it differs from them most materially is that
it parts more freely with the fixed air, with which it is impregnated."
In the Deanery of Chesterfield.
WHITWELL
"In the time of the Conqueror, there were a church and a priest
at Witeuuelle. The living is a rectory, the church is dedicated
to St. Lawrence, and the presentation belongs to the Duke of Rutland.
The parish contains about 142 houses; and the inhabitants rely
chiefly upon agriculture for support."
In common with Barlborough, "it has a considerable population."
In the Deanery of Chesterfield.
WILLIAMSTHORP
See North Wingfield.
WILLESLEY
See Wilsley
WILLINGTON
"called in Domesday Welledene and Willetune,
was then partly possessed by the king and partly by Ralph the son
of Hubert. The living is a vicarage; the church is dedicated to
St. Michael, and according to Ecton, formerly belonged to the priory
of Repton. The patrons are the Governors of Etwall Hospital."
In the Deanery of Derby.
WILNE
Chapelry in parish of Sawley (there is more information under Sawley).
In the Deanery of Derby.
Also see Aston as the hamlet was also
given as being within that parish.
WILSLEY
"in Domesday called Winlesley, is a small village,
containing but few houses. It was, for some centuries, the residence
of the Abney family. They had a seat at Wilsley as early as the
reign of Henry VI[2];
and at a still later period, in 1656, James Abney, of Wilsley,
Esq. was High Sheriff for the county of Derby."
In the Deanery of Repington. The living is a donative curacy, "of
the value of £12. The chapel is dedicated to St. Thomas and
formerly belonged to the Abbey of Burton."
WINDLEY
Township in the parish of Duffield. See Duffield.
WINGERWORTH
"in the time of the Conqueror[2],
was a soke of the manor of Newbold, and is written Wingreurde.
In the twenty-fifth year of Edward I.[4] there
was a church here; as Henry de Brailsford was possessed of its
advowson. The living is a curacy: under the patronage of Dean of
Lincoln. 'The parish is thought to contain about 310 inhabitants,
many of whom find employment at the works, carried on here, of
smelting iron ore.
WINGERWORTH-HALL, the mansion of Sir Windsor Hunloke, Bart. is
a spacious building, standing in an elevated situation, and commanding
several extensive prospects into the neighbouring country. The
family of Hunloke is of considerable antiquity; and in the reign
of Henry VIII. was possessed of some considerable estates in Middlesex
and Nottinghamshire. The Wingerworth estate was anciently the property
of the Brailsfords, and descended from them to the Curzons of
Kedleston, who sold it; in the time of Queen Elizabeth, to Nicholas
Hunloke. Henry, the fourth in descent from the first possessor,
was distinguished for his attachment to Charles the First: He lent
the king a considerable sum of money: raised and accoutered a troop
of horse for his service: and in the twenty-second year of his
age, signalized himself at the battle of Edge-Hill, where he was
knighted: soon afterwards he was created a Baronet. During the
Commonwealth, the family were obliged to quit Wingerworth, which
was converted into a garrison for the forces Parliament: but Sir
Henry Hunloke's widow, marrying one of Cromwell's Officers, the
mansion did not suffer any great injury, and the estate was preserved
in the family, Since that period, the family have regularly resided
here, with the same title as the original proprietor, to the present
time. The Hall, now standing, was built between the years 1726
and 1730, by Sir Thomas Windsor Hunloke, grandfather of the present
possessor.
On Stainedge Cliff, which forms a part of the Wingerworth estate,
are several rock-basins, and two seats, supposed by Mr. Rooke to
have been appropriated to the purposes of augury."
In the Deanery of Chesterfield.
WINGFIELD
See either North Wingfield or South
Wingfield.
WINSHILL
"Wineshalle, is a hamlet situated in the parish of
Newton-Solney, though it belongs to that of Burton, in Staffordshire.
It contains fifty houses, and the inhabitants rely entirely on
agriculture for their support; no manufacture being carried on
in this part of Derbyshire."
In the Deanery of Repington.
WINSTER
"anciently Winsterne, is a small market town [a chapelry in the parish of Youlgrave], where a weekly market is held. It
contains about 230 houses, whose inhabitants are employed in working the lead mines, and in preparing cotton for spinning. On the common,
near the town, are several cairns, or stone barrows, and also two or three barrows of earth. One of the latter was opened in the year
1768, and in it were found two glass vessels, between eight and ten inches in height, containing about a pint of light-green
coloured limpid water.—At the same time were discovered, a silver collar and bracelet, studded with human heads, together with some small
ornaments : one of which was of fillagree-work of gold and silver gilt, and set with garnets or red glass. There were also, several square
and round beads of various colours, of glass and earth : and in some remains of brass claspsand hinges, with a piece of wood, which appeared
to be part of a box in which the ornaments had been deposited. Several of these are now in the possesion of a gentleman of Bakewell. From
the above antiquities, it is supposed, that the barrow was raised over some Briton of distinction, shortly after the Roman invasion."
In the Archdeaconry of Derby.
WIRKSWORTH
"is thought to be a town of great antiquity; but its existence
cannot be traced back beyond the Conquest. At the Norman survey
(1086) there were in "Werchefourde a priest and a church,
and sixteen villanes, and nine borders, having four ploughs. There
were three lead mines there, and twenty-six acres of meadow." At
this time the manor was included in the Wapentake of Hammenstan and
the property of King William. In the reign of king John, it became
the property of the Earl of Ferrers's family, at the same time
as Ashbourn. It was afterwards annexed to the Earldom and Duchy
of Lancaster, of which the Manor and, Wapentake of Wirksworth are
still members. The present lessee is, Richard Paul Joddrell, Esq.
a gentleman well known in the literary world, as an elegant classical
scholar.
The Dean of Lincoln has a manor within the town, in right of his
church; and the Gells of Hopton have another manor in the
town and neighbourhood, called the Holland or Richmond Manor, from
its having belonged to the Hollands, Lords Holland, and
Dukes of Exeter; and afterwards to the Countess of Richmond, mother
to Henry the Seventh. In the Holland Manor-House, the manufacture
of Porcelain was attempted, about forty years ago, but proving
unsuccessful, it was relinquished.
Wirksworth lies in a low valley, almost surrounded by hills; generally
enveloped in the smoke, issuing from the neighbouring lead and
calamine works. Here the features of the country, begin to assume
a bold and prominent appearance ; cultivation becomes less general,
and the enclosures, instead of being encompassed by hedges, are,
chiefly, fenced with stone walls.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, is a handsome Gothic
building, apparently of the fourteenth century. It consists of
a nave, and side aisles, a North and South transept, a chancel,
and a square tower, supported on four large pillars in the centre.
On the northern side, is the dormitory belonging to the Gells of
Hopton, in which are the tombs of Ralph Gell, and his son Anthony,
who, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, was a Bencher of the Inner-Temple,
and Feodary of Derbyshire ; there are also tablets, to the memory
of three Baronets of the same family. The church contains, also,
monuments of the Lowes, and Hurts, of Alderwasley,
and of the Wigleys, of Wigwell.— On the tomb to the memory
of Antonye Lowe, Esq. who, from the inscription, appears
to have been employed by the sovereigns, Henry the Seventh, Edward
the Sixth, and Queen Mary, is placed a recumbent figure of the
deceased, having round the neck, a representation of a chain of
gold, and a medallion of Queen Mary, now in the possession of Francis
Hurt, Esq. of Alderwasley, his lineal successor.
Near the churchyard is a Grammar-school, founded by Anthony Gell
Esq. of Hopton, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth[5] ;
to which, one Agnes Fearne, was a very considerable contributor.
The lands left for the maintenance of this charity, produce a rental,
equal to the support of a better establishment, than is at present
kept up.
There is an Alms-house, established by the same Anthony Gell, at
Wirksworth, for six poor men, and endowed with twenty pounds per
annum.
The Moot-Hall, is a respectable structure of brick, erected in
the year 1773: here all causes respecting the lead mines within
the Wapentake are tried; and here is also deposited, the ancient
brass dish, which is the standard from which others are made; to
measure the lead ore.
The weekly market at Wirksworth, which is held on Tuesday, was
obtained in the year 1307, by Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, grandson
of Henry III. The number of houses, with in the township, is thought
to be about 674, with a population of about 2979 inhabitants. The
latter derive their chief support from the working of the lead
mines; but between 200 and 300 hands are employed in the cotton-mill
in the neighbourhood. The town contains some good houses, and is
the residence of a few genteel families.
Wirksworth, has scarcely any supply of common water, but has a
strong medicinal water of the sulphureous kind. This spring is
situated at a small distance from the town, near the road leading
to Ashbourn. It contains both sulphur and iron, and is said to
be also impregnated with a purging salt ; but the quantity of each
is very inconsiderable.
The parish of Wirksworth contains, besides the before-mentioned
chapelries [i.e. Alderwasley, Hopton, Middleton and Cromford] the
hamlets of Caulow, Biggin, Halton, Hitheridge-Hay and Ashley-Hay,
consisting altogether of about 80 houses. In the middle of Biggin,
there is a considerable sulphorous spring, of the same impregnation
as that of Kedleston."
In the Deanery of Ashbourne.
The
Gentleman's Magazine Library
Wirksworth Parish Church
Saxon carving, Wirksworth - inside the church
WOODHOUSE
A hamlet in the parish of Dronfield. See Dronfield.
WOODLANDS
See Eyam [Eyam Woodlands].
WOODTHORP
See North Wingfield.
WORMHILL
"Wruenelle, is another hamlet in this parish [Tideswell],
and contains about 30 houses.; its chapel is dedicated to St. Margaret.
Near this little village, is a most romantic and deep hollow, where
the river Wye flows beneath a stupendous mass of rock, called Chee
Tor,—a vast perpendicular mass of limestone, rising more
than 360 feet above the level of the river which meanders at its
base. The channel of the river is here confined between huge rocks
of limestone, which seem, from their general correspondence of
situation and form, to have been once united. In some parts, they
are partially covered with brushwood, nut-trees, and mountain-ash
; in others, they are totally naked, precipitous, and impending.
The chasm runs in a direction so nearly circular, that the sublime
Chee Tor, and its dependant masses of rock, are almost insulated
by the river which rolls at their feet. Its length, as far at least
as it possesses any considerable beauty, is between five and six
hundred yards ; a distance which presents several picturesque and
interesting views. Some plantations on the neighbouring heights
increase the general effect of the scenery. Near the bottom of
the steep descent that leads to this spot from the village, is
a strong spring, from which a great quantity of water flows into
the river. About midway up the acclivity, the limestone stratum
gives way to a mass of toadstone of considerable extent, above
which another stratum of limestone occurs. From a particular station
in this romantic scene, the four vallies of Wye Dale, Chee Dale,
Flag Dale, and Water Dale, may all be seen, together with the Tor
and the river :—these dales will afford the Botanist many curious
plants.
A small hamlet in the liberty of Wormhill, had the honor of giving
birth to that extraordinary genius, the late Mr. Brindley, so celebrated
for planning navigable Canals. We shall copy the interesting memoir of him, given by Dr. Aiken, in his History of the
Country round Manchester.
"JAMES BRINDLEY, was born at Tunsted in the parish (liberty) of Wormhill, Derbyshire, in 1716. His father was a small freeholder,
who dissipated his property in company and field-amusements, and neglected his family. In consequence, young Brindley was
left destitute of even the common rudiments of education, and till the age of seventeen, was casually employed in rustic labors. At that
period he bound himself to one Bennet, a mill-wright, at Macclesfield, Cheshire, where his mechanical genius presently developed itself. The
master being frequently absent, the apprentice was often left for weeks together to finish pieces of work, concerning which he had received
no instruction; and Bennet on his return, was often greatly astonished to see improvements in various parts of mechanism of which he had no
previous conception. It was not long before the millers discovered Brindley's merits, and preferred him in the execution of their orders to
the master, or any other workman. At the expiration of his servitude, Bennet being grown into years, he took the management of the business
upon himself; and by his skill and industry, contributed to support his old master and his family, in a comfortable manner.
"In process of time, Brindley set up as a mill-wright on his own account, and by a number of new and ingenious contrivances, greatly
improved that branch of mechanics, an acquired a high reputation in the neighbourhood. His fame extending to a wider circle,
he was employed in 1752 to erect a water engine at Clifton, in Lancashire, for the purpose of draining some coal mines. Here he gave an essay
of his abilities in a kind of work for which he was afterwards so much distinguished,—driving a tunnel under ground, through a rock
nearly 600 yards in length, by which water was brought out of the Irwell, for the purpose of turning a wheel fixed thirty feet below the
surface of the earth. In 1755 he was employed to execute the large wheels for a silk mill at Congleton: and another person, who was engaged
to make other parts of the machinery, and to superintend the whole, proving incapable of completing the work, the business was entirely
committed to Brindley ; who not only executed the original plan, in a masterly manner, but made the addition of many curious and valuable
improvements, as well in the construction of the engine itself, as in the method of making the wheels and pistons belonging to it. About
this time, too, the mills for grinding flints in the Staffordshire Potteries received several improvements from his ingenuity.
"In the year 1756 he undertook to erect a steam engine upon a new plan, at Newcastle-under-Line ; and was for a time
very intent upon a variety of contrivances for improving this useful piece of mechanism. But from these designs, he was, happily for the public,
called away, to take the lead, in what the event has proved to be a national concern of high importance—the projecting of the system of
Canal Navigation. The Duke of Bridgewater, (to whose patronage the subsequent success of this system is incontestibly owing) had
formed a design of carrying a canal from his coal works at Worsley to Manchester, and was induced by the reputation of Mr. Brindley to consult
him as to the most judicious mode of executing it ; and having the sagacity to conceive, and strength of mind to confide in the original and
commanding abilities of this self-taught genius, he committed to him to the management of the arduous undertaking.
"In the progress of this enterprize, which was attended with complete success, Mr. Brindley projected and adopted those leading principles
for the execution of these kind of works which he afterwards adhered to, and in which he had been intimated by all succeeding artists. To preserve
as much as possible the level of his canals, and the avoid the mixture and interference of all natural streams, were objects at
which he constantly aimed. To accomplish these neither labour nor expence were spared ; his genius seemed to delight in overcoming all obstacles
by the discovery of new and extraordinary contrivances.
"The most experienced engineers upon former systems were amazed and confounded at his project of aqueduct bridges over navigable rivers,
mounds across deep vallies, and subterraneous tunnels, nor could they believe in the practicability of some of these schemes till they saw them
effected. In the execution, the ideas he followed were all his own ; and the minutest as well as the greatest expedients he employed here the
stamp of originality.
"Every man of genius is an enthusiast : Mr. Brindley was an enthusiast in favor of the superiority of canal navigations above those of rivers ;
and this triumph of art over nature led him to view, with a sort of contempt, the winding stream, in which the love of rural beauty so much delights.
This sentiment he is said to have expressed in striking manner at an examination before a committee of the House of Commons, when on being asked,
after he had made some contemptuous remarks relative to rivers, what he conceived what they were created for:—he answered,
To feed navigable canals.
" After the successful execution of the Duke of Bridgewater's canal to the Mersey, Mr. Brindley was employed in the revived design of carrying
a canal from that river to the Trent, through the counties of Chester and Stafford. This undertaking was commenced in the year 1766; and from the
great ideas it opened in the mind of its conductor a scheme of inland navigation, which should connect all internal parts of England with each other,
and with the principal sea-ports by means of branches from this main stem, he gave it the emphatic name of the Grand Trunk. In
executing this, he was called upon to employ all resources of his invention, in account of the unequality, and various nature of the ground to be cut
through : in particular the hill of Hare Castle, which was only to be passed by a tunnel of great length, bored through strata of different consistency,
and some of them mere quicksand, proved to be a most difficult and expensive obstacle, which, however, he completely surmounted. While this was carrying
on, a branch from the Grand Trunk, to join the Severn near Bewdley, was committed to his management, and finished in 1772. He was also
concerned in the projection and execution of several others ; and indeed there was scarcely any design of canal navigation set on foot in this kingdom
during the latter years of his life, in which he was not consulted, and the plan of which he did not entirely form, or revise and improve.
"The attention and application which all his various and complicated employments required probably shortened his days ; as the number of his
undertakings, in some degree, impaired his usefulness. He fell into a kind of chronic fever, which after continuing some years, with but little
intermission, at length wore out his frame, and put a period of his life, on September the 27th, 1772, in the 56th year of his age. He died at Turnhurst
in Staffordshire, and was buried at New Chapel, in the same county.
"In appearance and manners, as well as acquirements, Mr. Brindley was a mere peasant. Unlettered, and rude in speech, it was easier for him to devise
means of executing a design, than to communicate his ideas concerning it to others. Formed by nature for the profession he assumed, it was there alone that
he was in his proper element : and so occupied was his mind with his business, that he was incapable of relaxing in any common amusements of
life. As he had not the ideas of other men to assist him, whenever a point of difficulty in contrivance occurred, it was his custom to retire to his bed,
where in perfect solitude, he would lie one, two, or three days, pondering the subject in his mind, till the requisite expedient had presented itself.
This is that true inspiration which poets have exclusively arrogated to themselves, but which men of original genius, in every walk, are actuated
by, when from the operation of the mind, acting upon itself, without the intrusion of foreign notions, they create and invent. A remarkable retentive memory
was one of the essential qualities which Mr. Brindley brought to his mental operations. This enabled him to execute all the parts of the most complex
machine in due order, without any help of models or drawings, provided he had once settled the whole plan in his mind. In his calculations of the powers
of machines, he followed a plan peculiar to himself ; but indeed the only one he could follow without instruction in the rules of art. He would work the
question some time in his head, and then set down the result in figures : then taking it up in this stage, he would proceed by a mental operation to another
result, and thus he would go on till the whole was finished ; and making use of figures only to mark the several results of his operations.—But,
though by the wonderful powers of his native genius, he was thus enabled to get over his want of artificial method to a certain degree, yet there is no
doubt that when his concerns became extremely complicated, with accounts of various kinds to keep, and calculations of all kinds to form, he could not
avoid that perplexity and embarrassment which a readiness in the processes carried on by pen and paper can alone obviate. His estimated of expence have
generally proved wide of reality : and he seems to have been better qualified to have been the contriver than the manager of a great design. His moral
qualities were highly respectable. He was far above envy and jealousy, and freely communicated his improvements to persons capable of receiving and
executing them ; taking a liberal satisfaction in forming a new generation of engineers, able to proceed with the great plans in the success of which
he was so deeply interested. His integrity, and regard to the advantage of his employers, were unimpeachable. In fine [time], the name of Brindley,
will ever keep a place among that small number of mortals who form eras in the art or science to which they devote themselves, by
a large and durable extension of its limits.[6] "
In the Archdeaconry of Derby
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Parishes T
