the life and achievements of James Brindley

biography of James Brindley

James Brindley raised the status of the craft of millwright to that of engineer by successfully applying his knowledge of water management and his skills in devising machinery to the repair of silk throwing equipment and the building of canals. His genius in the mastery of water supply and control led to the canal era and the foundation for Britain's Industrial Revolution.	James Brindley Engineer 1716-1772
Brindley was also a man of fine character, whose achievements are all the more remarkable in the light of his experiences of adversity and his debilitating illness. As a young apprentice he was often ridiculed for his work and at the height of his career he was seriously affected by the diabetes which brought his life to an untimely end.

family	apprenticeship	business	associates
Childhood at Tunstead and Leek	early mistakes	the move to Leek and connection with the Leek mill.	Francis Egerton Duke of Bridgwater
	a mill at Macclesfield	the move to Leek and connection with the Leek mill.	Josiah Wedgwood
	the paper-mill at Wildboarclough	Brindley's influence on the canal era
chronology	chief works and principal events

What we know about James Brindley is dependent upon contemporary witness accounts of events in his life, anecdotal evidence and interpretive research of works, family lines, parliamentary records and company notes and some speculation, for we do not have a personal journal from his own hand; although he kept notebooks, some of which have been preserved,

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