Adelphi Canal
Encyclopedia
The Adelphi Canal was a small privately-owned canal in Duckmanton
, near Chesterfield
, England
. It was used to transport goods from an ironworks to a wharf by the road. It is not connected to any other waterway; goods were forwarded by road to the Chesterfield Canal
. It was constructed in 1799.
The Adelphi Ironworks were built in Long Duckmanton around 1799. Twin furnaces could produce 900 tons of pig iron in a year, which was used for the production of munitions. Because of the poor condition of the roads, many ironworks produced goods during the winter which were stockpiled until the summer, when transport was easier. To ease the problem, Smith decided to construct a canal from the ironworks, which followed the course of the Poolsbrook stream to near the junction of Tom Lane and Staveley Road. From here it was a short distance by road to the Chesterfield Canal
, where the cargos could be loaded onto boats for onward transport to the River Trent
and beyond. The canal was supplied with water which was pumped from the mines by a Newcomen engine, which had been modified by James Watt.
The canal was constructed as a wooden trough, and was about half a mile (0.8 km) long. Small boats were used which were capable of carrying 1.5 tons, and all goods had to be transhipped twice to reach the Chesterfield Canal. An obvious solution would have been to continue the canal along the line of the Pools Brook, but this crossed the Duke of Devonshire's land, and there may have been difficulties negotiating this, as later developments hint. The ironworks ran into difficulties in the 1820s, with accusations of illegal mining activity, and the Duke of Devonshire cancelled a lease which the Smith family had for mining coal at the Staveley Upperground colliery and ironstone at the Hady mines in 1832. There do not appear to be any records of when the canal ceased to be used.
. The village was originally on the south side of the Chesterfield road, but was demolished and a new village built to the north of the road, as the houses were affected by methane gas from the mines. Remnants of the works were preserved in the buildings of Works Farm until at least the 1980s, but recent mining expansion has resulted in the surrounding area becoming a vast opencast mining site, and nearly all traces of the canal and the ironworks have gone. Even the course of the Pool Brook is gone, as the land has been stripped away, although the weigh bridge and pattern shop still remain.
Duckmanton
A village part of the civil parish of Sutton-cum-Duckmanton, in North East Derbyshire, between Bolsover and Chesterfield.-History:Duckmanton is recorded in 1086 in the Domesday Book under the land of Ralph Fitzhubert....
, near Chesterfield
Chesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was used to transport goods from an ironworks to a wharf by the road. It is not connected to any other waterway; goods were forwarded by road to the Chesterfield Canal
Chesterfield Canal
The Chesterfield Canal is in the north of England and it is known locally as 'Cuckoo Dyke'. It was opened in 1777 and ran 46 miles from the River Trent at West Stockwith, Nottinghamshire to Chesterfield, Derbyshire...
. It was constructed in 1799.
History
The Smith family were prominent in and around Sheffield towards the end of the 18th century, being involved in the iron and coal industries. This was the time of the American wars of independence and the Napoleonic wars, and Ebenezer Smith (1756–1827) had an iron works at Brampton which was producing military castings and Newcomen engines. The Smith family empire included mines at Calow, Hady, Hollingwood, Inkersall and Staveley, and ironworks at Brampton, Calow and Stonegravels.The Adelphi Ironworks were built in Long Duckmanton around 1799. Twin furnaces could produce 900 tons of pig iron in a year, which was used for the production of munitions. Because of the poor condition of the roads, many ironworks produced goods during the winter which were stockpiled until the summer, when transport was easier. To ease the problem, Smith decided to construct a canal from the ironworks, which followed the course of the Poolsbrook stream to near the junction of Tom Lane and Staveley Road. From here it was a short distance by road to the Chesterfield Canal
Chesterfield Canal
The Chesterfield Canal is in the north of England and it is known locally as 'Cuckoo Dyke'. It was opened in 1777 and ran 46 miles from the River Trent at West Stockwith, Nottinghamshire to Chesterfield, Derbyshire...
, where the cargos could be loaded onto boats for onward transport to the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
and beyond. The canal was supplied with water which was pumped from the mines by a Newcomen engine, which had been modified by James Watt.
The canal was constructed as a wooden trough, and was about half a mile (0.8 km) long. Small boats were used which were capable of carrying 1.5 tons, and all goods had to be transhipped twice to reach the Chesterfield Canal. An obvious solution would have been to continue the canal along the line of the Pools Brook, but this crossed the Duke of Devonshire's land, and there may have been difficulties negotiating this, as later developments hint. The ironworks ran into difficulties in the 1820s, with accusations of illegal mining activity, and the Duke of Devonshire cancelled a lease which the Smith family had for mining coal at the Staveley Upperground colliery and ironstone at the Hady mines in 1832. There do not appear to be any records of when the canal ceased to be used.
Today
The location of the Adelphi ironworks and the start of the canal were situated just to the north of the present location of Arkwright TownArkwright Town
Arkwright Town, commonly referred to as Arkwright, is a settlement in North East Derbyshire, England that is notable for having moved its location in the early 1990s. Despite its name, the settlement has no official town status....
. The village was originally on the south side of the Chesterfield road, but was demolished and a new village built to the north of the road, as the houses were affected by methane gas from the mines. Remnants of the works were preserved in the buildings of Works Farm until at least the 1980s, but recent mining expansion has resulted in the surrounding area becoming a vast opencast mining site, and nearly all traces of the canal and the ironworks have gone. Even the course of the Pool Brook is gone, as the land has been stripped away, although the weigh bridge and pattern shop still remain.
See also
- Canals of the United KingdomCanals of the United KingdomThe canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a colourful history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role for recreational boating...
- History of the British canal systemHistory of the British canal systemThe British canal system of water transport played a vital role in the United Kingdom's Industrial Revolution at a time when roads were only just emerging from the medieval mud and long trains of pack horses were the only means of "mass" transit by road of raw materials and finished products The...
- WaterscapeWaterscapeWaterscape was set up in the summer of 2003 and is British Waterways leisure website, supported by the Environment Agency and the Broads Authority as an official information and leisure resource for inland waterways within the UK....