B R I 



B R I 



ftnic^-il a C.eatn enj;uic at Nt\vcr>[l!e imdirr-Line, upon a 

 iiL'vv [ilein, wliich evinced his gtiiiiis for invention and con- 

 trivance. The boiler was made with brick and llone, inllead 

 of iron pl.'.tcs, and the water was heated by fiie-places, fo 

 conftriifttd as to fave the confiiinption of fuel. He alfi in- 

 troduced cylinders of wood inltcad of tliofe of iron, and lie 

 fnbllituted wood for iron in the chains which worked at the 

 tnd of the beam. But in thefe and fimikir contrivances for 

 the improvement of this nicful enptine, he was ob'.lriicud by 

 interelled engineers ; and his attention was diverted from the 

 profeeution of them by the great national object of " In- 

 land Navi;i-ation." In planning and txeciitiiig canals his 

 iiieehanical jreniiis fonnd ample Icope for e.^ercife, and formed 

 a fort of diltingniihiug '.era in the hillory of our conntry. 

 However, envy and prejudice, and an attachment to efta- 

 bli filed cuftoms, railed a variety of obilacles to the accom- 

 plifliment of his dcfigns and nndertakings ; and if he had 

 not been liberally and powerfnlly protected by the duke of 

 Bridgwater, at the commencement of tlie hnfinefs, his 

 triimiph over the oppcfition with which he enconiitercd 

 mull have been in a very confidcrable degree oblirufted and 

 retarded. The noble d-.ike pofi'ciied an ellate at Worfley, 

 about 7 miles from Manchefter, rich in mines of ccal, from 

 which he derived little or no advantage, on account of the 

 expeiice which attended the conveyance of this article by 

 land caniige to a fuitablc market for confumptlori. Fully 

 apprized of the utility of a canal from Worfley to Manchcl- 

 ter, he confidted Mr. Brindley on the fubjeft ; who, Ivaving 

 furveyed the country, declared the fcheme to be prafticabla. 

 Accordingly, his grace obtained, in the years TJ^'i and 

 1719, an aft of parliament for this purpofe ; and Mr. 

 Brindley was employed in the conduft and execution of the 

 vmdertaking, the lirlt of the kind ever attempted in England, 

 with navigable fsbterrancous tunnels and elevated acjuoeducls. 

 At the commencement of the bufinefs it was determined, that 

 the level of the water fliould be preferved without the ulual 

 obllrnftions of locks. But in accomplilhlng this objeCl, 

 many diHiculties occuntrd ; and it was foon .'^ound that it 

 would be neccdary to carry the canal over rivers and many 

 deep vallics, and that it would not be ealy to obtain a fnf- 

 ficient fnpply of water for completing the navigation. How- 

 ever, Mr. Brindley, patronized by the duke, and furniOicd 

 with ample rcfources, perlcvercd, and at length conquered 

 ail the embarrafTments, occafioned by the nature of the un- 

 dertaking, and by the pafiions and prejudices of individuals. 

 Having completed the canal as far as Barton, where the 

 river Irwell is navigable for large vefFcls, he propofed to 

 carry it over that river, by an aquxduft 37 feet above the 

 furface of the water. This was confidered as a chimerical 

 and extravagant projeft ; and an eminent engineer, who 

 was confulted on the occalion, ridiculed the attempt. " I 

 have often heard," fays he, " of caltlts in the air, but never 

 before was fl'.ewn where any of them were to be erefted." 

 The duke of Bridgwater was not difcouraged ; but confiding 

 in the judgment of Mr. Brindley, empowered him to profe- 

 cute the work ; and in about 10 months the aquceduft was 

 completed. This allonifliing work commenced in Septem- 

 ber 1760, and the firft boat failed over it the 17th of July, 

 I76r. The canal was then extended to Mancheftcr, where 

 Mr. Brindley's ingenuity in diminilliing labour by mechanical 

 contrivances was exhibited in a machine for landing coals 

 upon the top of a hill. It is no wonder, that an objett, fo 

 curious in itielf, andoffuch national importance, (liould have 

 attradted general attention. See Canal. 



The dnke of Bridgwater, having found by experience the 

 utility of thtle inland navigatiouo, citended his views to 

 Liverpool ; and obtained, in lyfs, an aCl of parliament for 



branching his canal to the tide-way in the Merfey. This 

 part is carried over the river Merfey and Bollan, and over 

 many wide and deep vallies. Over the vallies it is conduit ed 

 without a fingle lock ; and acrofs the valley at Stretford, 

 through v^'hich the Merfey rurs, a mound of earth, railed 

 for prelerving the water, cxteidi nearly a mile. In the con- 

 (IruCt^on of this mound Mr. Brir.dlev difplayed his mechanical 

 genius, by rendering the canal itfclf fublcrvient to his defign, 

 and by bringing the foil, neceffary for his purpofe, along the 

 canal in boats of a peculiar form, which were condnAed 

 into caifibons or cifterns ; fo that on opening the bottoms 

 of the boats, the earth was depofited where it was wanted, 

 and the valley was thus elevated to a proper level for con- 

 tinuing the canal. Acrofs the Bollan the ground was raifed 

 by temporary locks, formed of the timber ufed in the con- 

 llruttion of the caifToons juft mentiotied. In the execution 

 ot every part of the navigation, Mr. Brindley difplayed fin- 

 gnlar Ikill and ingenuity; and in oider to facilitate his 

 purpofe, he produced many valuable machines. His economy 

 and forecall, in every part of the work, deferve to be narti- 

 culaily noticed, and they are peculiarly difccrnible in the 

 ftops, or flood-gates, that are fixed in the canal, where it is 

 above the level of the land. Thefe ilops are fo coulfnifted, 

 that if any of the banks {hould give v,'ay and occafion a cur- 

 rent, the adjoining gates will rife merely by that motion, and 

 prevent any other part of the water from efcaping, befides 

 that which is near the breach between the two gates. 



Encouraged by the fuceefs of the dnke of Bridgwater's 

 undertakings, a lubfcription was entered into by a number 

 of gentlemen aiid manufaiSurers in Staffordniirc, for cn;:- 

 ftrnCfing a canal through that country, in purfuance of a 

 fcheme which had been fuggelled fome years before ; and 

 Mr. Biindley was engaged to make a furvey from the Trent 

 to the Merfey. Upon his report that a canal for connecfting 

 thefe rivers was prafiicable, application was made to parlia- 

 ment, in 1 "]•'), for an aft to this purpofe, which was obtained 

 in the fame year. Accordingly, in 1766, this canr,!, " The 

 Grand Trunk Navigation," was begun ; and it was con- 

 dufted, with great fpiiit and fuccefs, under the direftion of 

 Mr. Brindley, as long as he lived. For a further account 

 of this canal, fee Canal. 



The next objeft which engaged the attention of Mr. 

 Brindley was the conllruftion of a canal f.-om the Grand 

 Trunk, near Haywood in Staffordfhire, to tiie river Severn 

 near Bewdley, by means of which the port of Bridol was 

 conneftcd with the ports of Liverpool and Hull. This canal, 

 about 46 miles in length, was completed in 1772. His next 

 undertaking w.ns the furvey and execution of a canal from 

 Birmingham, which (liould unite with the Staffordlliire and 

 Worcelterlhire canal near Wolverhampton. This navigation, 

 which is 26 miles in length, was tiiiiflied in about three 

 years. Our engineer advifed the proprietors, in order to 

 avoid the inconvenience of locks, and for the more effeftaal 

 fupply of the canal with water, to have a tunnel at Smeth- 

 wick ; but his advice was difregarded ; and the managers 

 have Cnce been under a neceffity of erefting two fteam-en- 

 pines. The canal from Droitwich to the river Severn, for 

 the conveyance of fait and coals, was executed by Mr. 

 Brindley ; and he alfo planned the Coventry navigation, 

 which was for fome time under his direftiow ; but a difpute 

 arifing about the mode of executing it, he refigned his 

 office. Some fliort time before his death, he began the Ox- 

 fordlhire canal, which, uniting with the Coventry canal, 

 ferves as a continuation of the Grand Trunk navigation to 

 Oxford, and thence bv the Thames to London. -The lall 

 undertaking, in wdiieh Mr. Brindley engaged, was the canal 

 from CheliBlielJ to the river Trent at Stockwith. He 

 T t 2 furveyed 



