John Varley (8 June 1740 – 16 February 1809) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

. He was born in

Heanor Heanor (/ˈhiːnə/) is a town in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire in the East Midlands of England. It lies north-east of Derby and forms, with the adjacent village of Loscoe, the civil parish and town council-administered area of Heano ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

, and was responsible for the construction of the

Chesterfield Canal The Chesterfield Canal is a narrow canal in the East Midlands of England and it is known locally as 'Cuckoo Dyke'. It was one of the last of the canals designed by James Brindley, who died while it was being constructed. It was opened in 1777 a ...

. He died in 1809 and is buried at All Saints Church, Harthill,

Early life

John Varley was born on 8 June 1740 to Francis Varley (1719–1789) and Rebekah Varley in Heanor, Derbyshire. He married Hannah Pattern (1752 – ) on 13 March 1770.

Early canal engineering

James Brindley James Brindley (1716 – 27 September 1772) was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century. Early life Born i ...

appointed John Varley as an assistant. The proposed canal from the River Don to Cinderbridge was surveyed by John Varley.

Chesterfield Canal

The route of the canal was surveyed by

and John Varley, who estimated the cost at £94,908 17 s. Brindley presented his proposals to a meeting in Worksop on 24 August 1769. An application was made to Parliament and the Act of Parliament received the Royal Assent on 28 March 1771, entitled ''An Act for making a navigable Cut or Canal from Chesterfield, in the county of Derby, through or near Worksop and Retford, to join the River Trent, at or near Stockwith, in the county of Nottingham.'' The promoters consisted of one hundred and seventy-four persons, amongst whom were the

Duke of Devonshire Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has be ...

, the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle u ...

, Lord Scarsdale, the Dean of York, and Sir Cecil Wray. They were incorporated by the name of The Company of Proprietors of the Canal Navigation from Chesterfield to the River Trent, and empowered to raise among themselves the sum of £100,000, in one thousand shares of £100 each, to fund the construction. Immediately on the passing of the act, construction began under the direction of Brindley. Upon his death in September 1772, John Varley moved from Clerk of Works to Resident Engineer with

Hugh Henshall Hugh Henshall (1734–1816) was an English civil engineer, noted for his work on canals. He was born in North Staffordshire and was a student of the canal engineer James Brindley, who was also his brother-in-law. Private life Henshall was born t ...

, Brindley's brother-in-law, appointed Chief Engineer in 1773. The canal was to be built as a narrow canal, but in 1775, nine shareholders offered to fund the extra cost of making it a broad canal from Retford to Stockwith. Retford Corporation joined them, and each contributed £500. The additional cost exceeded £6000. The canal was opened throughout in 1777, but the only record of wide-beamed boats using it at Retford is prior to 1799. As built, the canal was almost long, being from the Trent to Worksop''Inland Waterways of Great Britain'', 8th Ed., (2009), Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson, with a rise of .''Chesterfield Canal map and elevations'', Chesterfield Canal Society From Worksop to the entrance to

Norwood Tunnel Norwood Tunnel was a , and brick (3 million of them) lined canal tunnel on the line of the Chesterfield Canal with its Western Portal in Norwood, Derbyshire and its Eastern Portal in Kiveton, South Yorkshire, England. Origins The Chesterfiel ...

it was with a further rise. From there to Chesterfield it was a further with a fall of followed by a rise of . There were 65 locks in all, with two tunnels: a short tunnel near Gringley Beacon, and the major 2,880 yard long Norwood Tunnel. At the time of construction, Norwood Tunnel was the joint longest canal

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

in Britain, and it was sixth longest by the time it collapsed. The canal was a typical Brindley contour canal, following the contours to avoid costly cuttings and embankments, which resulted in a less than direct route in places. The canal was initially fairly successful, with dividends being returned to the investors. However, the building of the

Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway The Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) was formed in 1847 when the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway joined with authorised but unbuilt railway companies, forming a proposed network from Manchester to Grimsb ...

line parallel to the canal (1849) left much of the navigation redundant, and the

Worksop Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located east-south-east of Sheffield, close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, on the River Ryton and not far from the nor ...

to Chesterfield stretch ceased to serve commercial traffic in 1908, when problems with mining

subsidence Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope move ...

necessitated the closure of Norwood Tunnel. The stretch between the tunnel and Worksop subsequently fell into ruin and became un-navigable, while parts of the isolated section from the tunnel to Chesterfield were infilled and redeveloped.

Later years

Varley was also instructed by the Canal Company to build a house near to the east end of the Norwood Tunnel which later was known as Pennyholme. The house was the home of John Varley and his descendants for a number of years. Other canal projects included the

Erewash Canal The Erewash Canal is a broad canal in Derbyshire, England. It runs just under and has 14 canal lock, locks. The first lock at Langley Mill, Langley Bridge is part of the Cromford Canal. Origins The canal obtained its act of parliament in ...

where Varley was appointed Engineer, and Varley also produced the surveys for the

Nutbrook Canal The Nutbrook Canal was a canal in England which ran between Shipley in Derbyshire and the Erewash Canal, joining it near Trowell. It was built to serve the collieries at Shipley and West Hallam, and was completed in 1796. It was initially prof ...

and the Leicestershire Line. John Varley died at Pennyholme on 16 February 1809 and was buried in Harthill Parish Churchyard.

Chesterfield Canal Trust

John Varley is one of the forgotten heroes of the early

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

. The Chesterfield Canal Trust have named one of the boats which runs trips on the canal the John Varley. A plaque dedicated to Varley in commemoration of the two hundredth anniversary of his death was unveiled in the presence of the Mayor and Mayoress of Rotherham on 28 February 2009. The plaque is on the wall of The Old School House at Harthill near

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

References

External links

Chesterfield Canal Trust : John Varley

Chesterfield Canal History Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varley, John 1740 births 1809 deaths Canals in England English engineers