(1772 - 1850)

Ashton, Peak Forest and Macclesfield Canals
Little is known about the life of Thomas Brown and the following events have been pieced together in attempt to illustrate some of his achievements. It is now known that in the 1790s and into the early 1800s that his career was inextricably linked, initially with the construction of the Ashton Canal and its several branches, and then with the construction of the Peak Forest Canal and Tramway. He acted as the surveyor for both the Ashton and Peak Forest Canal Companies and then as the resident engineer for the latter company working alongside Benjamin Outram who had been appointed as the consulting engineer. In particular, the Minute Book of the Peak Forest Canal Company makes a number of references to him.

It was his work as a surveyor and engineer that brought his name to prominence and it is for these two roles that he is best remembered. In the 1830s, more than thirty years after his appointment as the surveyor for the Ashton Canal Company, the newly incorporated Macclesfield Canal Company appointed him as their resident engineer but the real enigma is what did he do in the intervening years? New evidence shows that primarily Thomas Brown was a businessman who was engaged in the everyday business of working coal mines, quarries and lime works. He also had interests in trading in stone, various minerals, clay, sand and earth. On the financial side he dealt in real estate and the stock of corporations (i.e. local authorities) and companies, such as railways, canals and docks. For instance, besides being the resident engineer for the Macclesfield Canal Company he was also a shareholder. He also possessed considerable personal estate as well.

On the 30th August 1791, the Manchester Mercury carried a notice about a Bill for the proposed Rochdale Canal that included a branch to or near Oldham from Manchester by way of Newton (Newton Heath), Moston, Failsworth and Chadderton. As a consequence of this, a fortnight later on the 13 September 1791, another notice was carried announcing a parliamentary petition for an independent Manchester to Ashton-under-Lyne and Oldham Canal and that there was to be a meeting as soon as particulars were prepared. On the 18 October and again on the 1 November 1791 the Manchester Mercury referred to this meeting and affirmed that the idea was well received and that £21,000 was subscribed on the spot. On the 22 November the Manchester Mercury reported that the amount required was raised and that plans and estimates were being prepared. It is now known that Thomas Brown was responsible for this work.

Similarly, the Peak Forest Canal Company appointed Thomas Brown as their surveyor but, unlike the Ashton Canal Company, they also appointed him as their resident engineer to work alongside Benjamin Outram who had been appointed as their consulting engineer. He surveyed the route for the proposed Peak Forest Canal and in 1793 he deposited his plans for it, which included a tramway as far as the nearest limestone deposits at Loads Knowl (Note 1) . The canal was to commence at Dukinfield, from the Tame aqueduct of the Ashton Canal, and the line was through Dukinfield, Newton, Hyde, Werneth, Bredbury, Romiley, Marple, Disley and Whaley to terminate at Chapel Milton. From there a tramway was to complete the line to Loads Knowl. There was also to be a short branch canal to Whaley Bridge. His plan showed that the proposed canal and tramway cut through 183 plots of land that would require compulsory purchase. It also identified the location of minerals such as building stone, flag, slate and coal. Stone and flag, in particular, could be used during the construction stage and all the minerals could be exploited afterwards as sources of revenue in addition to the primary one of transporting limestone and lime.

From the outset there was always a good working relationship between the Ashton and Peak Forest Canal Companies and this was exemplified in January 1803 when it was announced that,

‘---- Proprietors of the Ashton and the Peak Forest Canal agree and approve the principle of association together for the common good’.

However, the Ashton Canal Company was not prepared to extend this friendship too far when, on the 3 October 1803, it was determined that boats belonging to the Peak Forest Canal Company were to pay the Ashton Canal Company ¼d for every lock passed through when assistance was given by a lock keeper. More critical in this friendship, was the failure of the Ashton Canal Company to appoint Thomas Brown and Benjamin Outram as their two engineers. The exact reason for this lapse will probably never be known but it would appear that it was not economic.

On the 31 July 1792 the Ashton Canal Company placed an advertisement in the Manchester Mercury.

‘The Company of proprietors want an engineer to superintend the cutting of a canal, and contractors to execute the work. The cutting is to be let in several lengths. Applications are invited.’

While the company did not appear to have any difficulty in attracting contractors to cut the canal, it was unable to find two engineers. It is possible that their hard-pressed agent, James Meadows Senior, was called in to cover for both roles and that Thomas Brown and Benjamin Outram may have advised on a purely ad hoc basis. It is not even known whether or not they were ever offered appointments or, if they were, then why did they refuse?

In 1793 progress on cutting the Ashton Canal was progressing but key staff was still required. On the 27 August 1793 the Ashton Canal Company placed yet another advertisement in the Manchester Mercury.

‘The Company are in want of an engineer to superintend the cutting of the Canal and several branches. The cutting of the Canal from Clayton to Heaton Norris (Stockport Branch) and from Taylors Barn, Reddish to Beat Bank, Denton (Beat Bank Branch), is to be let in several different lengths.’

This advertisement was a cry for a resident engineer but they had not got a consulting engineer either. As far as the latter was concerned, it was as late as 1798 when this particular problem seems to have been finally resolved. At this juncture the Ashton Canal Company was actively promoting good relations with rival canal companies and they were looking forward to collaboration with the Peak Forest, Rochdale and Huddersfield Canal Companies. The outcome of this was that Benjamin Outram was finally appointed as their consulting engineer. This appointment took effect around the middle of 1798 and on the 21 June 1798 their Minute Book states,

‘The works of the canal have been in many instances improperly managed for want of the assistance of a proper engineer.’

The first reference to Benjamin Outram appears in their Minute Book in September 1798 but there is no mention of Thomas Brown.

Marple Lime Works and Hyde & Haughton Colliery
Concurrently with his canal building activities, Thomas Brown was probably collaborating in other private business ventures and the first mention of this is with the partnership of Messrs Wright and Brown. The precise nature of this partnership may never be unravelled but a little more light has now been shed onto it.

It has been established that the ‘Wright’ in this partnership was Strethill Wright the Younger of Knutsford, Cheshire. Strethill predeceased Thomas and the latter left bequests to his widow, Elizabeth, and daughter, Mary. However the use of the word ‘Younger’ denotes that there was a ‘Senior’ and it may be that Wright Senior was once Thomas Brown’s business partner. To compound matters, in the early years of the 19th century there was another Messrs Wright and Brown and this partnership was based at Macclesfield. Directories describe them as attorneys and they had premises at Market Place. Further investigation of directories showed that in 1816/17 the attorney David Brown had premises at Market Place and that the attorney John Wright had premises at the nearby Jordangate. From this evidence it was concluded that there was no connection between the two partnerships and that having the same name was merely a coincidence.

Samuel Oldknow was a proprietor and major shareholder in the Peak Forest Canal Company and he built a lime works (and a water-powered corn mill) at Marple, close to the top lock, in order that he could receive supplies of limestone along the Peak Forest Canal. Some of the coal to fire these kilns was supplied from the nearby Hagbank (Hagg Bank) Pit at Disley, which was situated on the offside of the canal. Coal was also mined around Marple and registration details from 1837 onwards demonstrate the presence of ‘collier’ as an occupation in the area. Oldknow’s interest in his lime works was, however, to wane and by 1805 it was reported that his business there was in decline. By 1808 the situation had worsened and Oldknow blamed the poor trading conditions on the Napoleonic war.

‘---- the war as it were swept away the means of effecting great designs.’

By 1811 Oldknow had had enough of it and he decided to move out of the lime burning business. Consequently, he leased his lime works to Messrs Wright & Brown and this included the canal basin by the top lock, the works tramway, lime sheds and other assets. Note that he did not sell the lime works so he would have still received a chief rent from it. Oldknow died in 1828 and, as he was in deeply in debt to the Arkwright family, the whole of his estate around Marple and Mellor became their property and this would automatically have included his lime works and neighbouring corn mill. At a later date the corn mill was converted to a mineral mill and merged with the lime works to become one enterprise.

It is unclear for how long Messrs Wright and Brown worked Marple Lime Works but in 1834 a John Clayton & Company was working them. The name ‘John Clayton’ produces yet another quandary that cannot be satisfactorily resolved. Following on from the death of Strethill Wright, Thomas Brown refers to a William Clayton as being his business partner but William Clayton was also in a partnership with a David Shaw Clayton. Were John, David Shaw and William Clayton related to each other or was this just a coincidence? If the three men were related, then it is possible that Thomas Brown still had an interest in Marple Lime Works during the time that John Clayton & Company worked it. To compound matters it is understood that John Clayton was the half-brother and successor of Samuel Oldknow.

The land around the Peak Forest Canal in Hyde was rich in coal deposits, particularly to the south of the canal down to the river Tame and up the other side of the valley into the village of Haughton, which is now part of Denton. Initially there were many shallow pits and drift mines in this area but as these became exhausted deeper shafts were sunk to exploit even richer seams and three coal mines in particular were prominent among these deeper pits. One was Hyde & Haughton Colliery, adjacent to the Peak Forest Canal at Hyde change bridge, the second was Kingston Colliery, close to the river, and the third was Broomstair Colliery on the far side of the river at Haughton. It is now known that Thomas Brown and William Clayton worked Hyde & Haughton Colliery (Hyde Lane pit). At that time a Joseph Holford was the Manager and a Charles Ogden was the Collector. There was formerly a large gravel pit close by this colliery and it is a matter of speculation as to whether or not Messrs Brown & Clayton had an interest in this as well.

An examination of the 1816/17 Commercial Directory of 'Merchants, Manufacturers, Tradesmen, &c', for the Manchester area does make a connection between the three men. Under the heading of 'Coal Dealers', Messrs Wright, Brown, and Clayton had premises at Ayton Street (now Aytoun Street), Manchester. William Clayton and Thomas Brown owned Hyde & Haughton Colliery jointly and a good outlet for coal mined here would be their Ayton Street premises. The Wright referred to is most likely to be the one who was Thomas Brown's business partner at Marple Lime Works. Initially, the kilns at Marple were fired using coal mined locally but it is possible that this was augmented by coal from Hyde & Haughton Colliery, which would be shipped along the Peak Forest Canal. The Peak Forest Canal Company was always anxious that boats travelling back from Manchester and Ashton should not be empty.

His Good Relations with the Peak Forest and Macclesfield Canal Companies
It has been possible to explore the kind of relationship that Thomas had with the Proprietors of the Peak Forest and Macclesfield Canals. It is clear that they held him in high regard and this is reflected in presentations that the two companies made to him. The Peak Forest Canal Company presented him with two silver tureens, complete with ladles, and the Macclesfield Canal Company presented him with four silver side dishes, complete with covers. Additionally, George Hyde Clarke Esquire (father of Captain Hyde John Clarke RN), who was a prominent shareholder of the Peak Forest Canal Company, presented him with a silver cup.

His Personal and Real Estate and similar matters
With regard to Thomas Brown’s holding of personal and real estate this consisted of a variety of land and buildings either owned individually or jointly with William Clayton.

In the late 1820s Thomas resided at Sidney Street, Chorlton Row (off Oxford Road), and by 1841 he had moved to 16 Ardwick Green, Chorlton-upon-Medlock, which was in Allerton Place.
His country residence was ‘Mow Hole’, Disley, Cheshire.

In Manchester his property and land included:

Land at a place called ‘the Horrocks’. (The whereabouts of this is unknown).
Land situated near London Road. (Close to the canal basins at Ducie Street).
Land at Granby Row. (Off London Road).
A dwelling at Canal Street. (By the side of the Rochdale Canal between Minshull Street and Princess Street).
Three dwellings in Acton Street. (This was near Granby Row and it no longer extant but Back Acton Street survives).
Three dwellings at Back Pump Street. (This was near Granby Row and is no longer extant but Pump Street survives).
Two dwellings in the court behind Back Pump Street.
Two shops situate in and adjoining London Road.

In Heaton Norris, Lancashire:
Land and buildings that had been converted into a Boiler Yard. The location of this is unknown, other than it being at the side of the Stockport Branch of the Ashton Canal. The Ashton Canal Company (and its successors) paid Thomas an annual rent of £2 0s 10½d for this.

In Hyde, owned jointly with William Clayton:
Hyde & Haughton Colliery.

In Haughton and in Manchester, owned jointly with William Clayton:
Lands, tenements, rents, monies and real estate. (The nature, extent and whereabouts of these are unknown).

Minerals, et cetera:
Mines, quarries, minerals, stone, clay, sand or earth previously opened or worked or not. (The nature, extent and whereabouts of these are unknown but it is possible that some of them were along the route of the Peak Forest Canal).

Stock holdings:
Corporations, Railways, Canals and Docks. (It is known that he was a shareholder of the Macclesfield Canal Company but whether or not he owned shares in the Ashton and Peak Forest Canal Companies is unknown. However, it is highly likely that he was a shareholder in both companies but this can only be ascertained by an examination of the Acts of Parliament for their construction).

His appointments as a Canal Surveyor and Engineer
The links between five neighbouring canal companies in the Manchester area cannot be separated, even if their proprietors had wanted it to be that way. These were the Ashton, Peak Forest, Macclesfield, Rochdale and Huddersfield Canals. Even prior to their construction they were linked because of a limited number of surveyors and engineers who were capable of doing the work. With this in mind, it is possible to examine their relationship with each other.

Thomas Brown - the Man
Although no details of his education are known, the foregoing shows that Thomas Brown was a naturally gifted man whose abilities ranged from mathematical and surveying skills, through civil engineering and supervising to that of a businessman. However, some aspects of life are beyond human control and so it was with Thomas Brown whose long life was tinged with some sadness and misfortune. It is practically impossible for us to look back from the 21st century and think in the way that people did in those days. One thing that is certain though is that people in those days were more stoic about adversity and they derived comfort from a strong religious belief.

Thomas born in 1772 and he had at least one brother who predeceased him. Details about his parents are unknown and his place of birth is uncertain. He was born at Disley, Cheshire, and it is likely that his place of birth was at Mow Hole, which later became his country residence, especially while the Peak Forest Canal and Tramway and the later Macclesfield Canal were being constructed. It is known that the Brown family were landowners at Disley but this must be contrasted with Mow Hole, which, because of its modest size, does not fit the image of the family residence of yeomen who once cultivated a small landed estate at Disley. The inscription on Thomas's tomb at St Mary's Church, Disley, commences, 'Thomas Brown of Manchester' and available evidence suggests that this statement refers to his principal residence as being at Manchester, the city from where he managed his business affairs and not his place of birth. Both Thomas and his wife, Elizabeth, died at Manchester.

He married his wife, Elizabeth Hancock, on the 28 October 1800, but it little is known about her. She died in 1830, aged 55 years, leaving Thomas a widower for the next 20 years until his death in 1850. She had two brothers, John Hancock (1778/79 - 1 May 1821) and Richard Hancock (1779/80 - 29 October 1826). The former was described as a merchant of Liverpool and the latter as a merchant of Manchester.

Four of his children, Thomas, John Hancock, Frances and Francis, died in infancy but a daughter, Elizabeth, and two sons, William and Richard Hancock, survived him.

His son, William, was of deep concern to him and, to use modern terminology, he was ‘special needs’. Thomas was apprehensive about William’s welfare so he left a substantial amount of money,

‘---- for the maintenance, clothing, board, medicine, attendance and general comfort of and upon my son William Brown for and during the term of his natural life ----.’

William was an inmate of the lunatic asylum at Manchester, which stood on the corner of Piccadilly and Portland Street, and he died there on the 6 September 1862, aged 56 years.

Thomas was also anxious about his son Richard Hancock. The 1841 census shows that Richard, who was then in his thirties, was occupied as a clerk. He evidently had few of his father’s abilities and was unmarried. By 1848 the situation appears to have deteriorated somewhat and,

‘after the decease of my same Son (Richard Hancock) upon trust for such person and persons (other than and except Harriett Williams now of Chorlton-upon-Medlock aforesaid Public House Keeper) and for such estates ----.’

Thomas then goes on to say,

‘Provided nevertheless that in case my said Son (Richard Hancock) shall at any time before or after my decease intermarry with the said Harriett Williams then the trusts lastly before touching the said sum of ----.’

These words leave readers in no doubt about Thomas’s opinion of Harriett Williams and how he was going to deal with the situation if Richard ever married her.

Thomas held his daughter, Elizabeth, in high regard and she married Joseph Scott Moore, a Dublin Solicitor. He trusted and respected his son-in-law sufficiently to appoint him as a Trustee and Executor of his Will. The other Trustees and Executors were James Meadows Junior and Alan Royle. The former was the Agent for the Ashton and Peak Forest Canal Companies and, in 1846, when these were taken over by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company he was appointed Secretary and Clerk of the railway company to become their General Manager in 1848. For unknown reasons he resigned shortly afterwards to return to canals.

Thomas was also concerned that his grandnephew (and Godson), Thomas Brown, should have as good an education as possible and he made a bequest for this specific purpose. The young Thomas was the son of a John Brown. It is likely that John Brown had other children besides Thomas and their education was also taken care of. Thomas Brown also had another nephew, James Brown, but is not known whether John and James were brothers or cousins.

Thomas was a man of good taste with a liking for the arts and books. His favourite was a large painting ‘---- commonly called ‘Tom Jones’ which was heretofore the property of the Father of my late Wife ----.’ In addition to this he had other paintings as well as silver, china and glass. He referred to his surveying equipment as ‘---- my mathematical instruments ----’ and he directed that these were to be sold. Obviously no-one in the family was following in his footsteps. Among his books were the Repertory of Arts, Beauties of England and Wales, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Volumes of Mechanics Magazines and Volumes of Blackwoods Magazines.

His household staff was not forgotten either and he left his servant, Catherine Newton, and cook, Dinah, the sum of £10 each.

Thomas Brown and his Family - a Summary

Manchester and Salford Directories, 1828 to 1830
These directories list Thomas Brown as a surveyor with premises in Essex Street (St George’s, Hulme) and residing at Sidney Street, Chorlton Row (off Oxford Road). He variously referred to himself as either a surveyor or as being of independent means. There are earlier references to him in 1817 and in 1819/20 but in both cases no occupation is given. In the former the address is 51 Quay Street and the latter is 18 Velvet Street.

1841 census, 6/7 June
Piece HO 107/580/7, Folio 8.
Enumeration Districts 13 and 15 covered Ardwick Green (South).
16 Ardwick Green (South), Chorlton-upon-Medlock

Thomas Brown was not listed, so it is reasonable to assume that he was either working away or at Disley.

Piece HO 107/580/19, Folio 7. Enumeration District 34
Green Hill, Chorlton-upon-Medlock

The census return for James Meadows has been included because he was a colleague and friend of Thomas Brown and also one of his Executors.

Manchester and Salford Directories, 1851 and 1861
Even though Thomas died in 1850, he was still listed in the 1851 directory. This showed that he was living at 16 Ardwick Green, Chorlton-upon-Medlock and that James Meadows Junior had moved to 13 York Place, Oxford Street and had become the Agent for the Rochdale Canal Company.

The 1861 directory lists two Browns living in the same part of Chorlton-upon-Medlock. One was a Mr Thomas Brown residing at 16 Monton Street, Green Heys, and the other was Thomas Brown, Agent, residing at 14 Green Hill Street, Green Heys. It is tempting to suppose that one of these was the grandnephew and Godson of Thomas. The title ‘Mr’ signified a person of higher social status so, if this was the case, then Mr Thomas Brown is the most likely.

The Surname ‘Hancock’
Two of Thomas's children, John Hancock and Richard Hancock, were given these names to commemorate the names of his brothers-in-law. As mentioned previously, all that is known is that John Hancock was a Liverpool merchant and that Richard Hancock was a Manchester merchant. When John Hancock died he left Thomas a large silver cup.

The Will of Thomas Brown
The Will of Thomas Brown, late of Chorlton-upon-Medlock, Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Gentleman deceased, was proved at London with three Codicils on 8 February 1850.

It was necessary to prove Thomas’s Will at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury in London because he held property in more than one diocese in which case it had to be proved by an archbishop, rather than by a diocesan bishop. Even so, following its proving, it went before the Diocese of Chester to prove the value of his property at Disley. Only then, on the 25 February 1850, was Probate finally granted to the Executors, James Meadows (Junior), Joseph Scott Moore and Alan Royle.

His Will is deposited at Lancashire Record Office.

The Village of Disley in the County of Chester
An early occurrence of Disley as an English place name was in 1285, in the form Distislegh. By 1288 it was Distelee and in 1308 it was Disteslegh. By the beginning of the 19th century it was known in its present form of Disley. Other variations are Distley, Dysley Dene and Dystelegh-Stanlegh. For administrative purposes the village was in the Hundred of Macclesfield and for church purposes it was a Chapelry of the Parish of Stockport (Stopford).

Sir Piers Legh of Lyme founded the Church of St Mary-the-Virgin. Building work commenced in 1510 and it was completed in 1524. A ‘Humble Pettition’ presented by the inhabitants of Disley Dene and Sir Peter Legh resulted in the consecration of St Mary’s as the parish church on the 23 July 1558.

Disley is on the A6 trunk road about 2½ miles south of Marple and close by is the famous Lyme Hall. The river Goyt and the Peak Forest Canal lie to the east of the village and the Macclesfield Canal lies to the west.

Photographs

Photo: the late Jack Brady Collection	Brabyns change bridge, Marple locks, early 20th century. A boat, loaded with limestone, has just passed through lock 8 on its way down the flight. Behind the bridge is Oldknow's warehouse and a lock keeper's house in on the right.
Photo of Painting: the late Jack Brady Collection.	A painting of Marple Aqueduct, c1809. The piers are built of red sandstone, rough hewn from the nearby Hyde Bank quarry and the upper part is of white-hewn masonry. The abutments widen in well proportioned curves and batter or diminish upwards in the same manner. The skillful use of architectural features such as pierced spandrels and string courses, arch rings and pilasters of ashlar stone, oval piers and stone of different type and colour have created a graceful structure, which is superlative in its class. Its position amidst the wooded valley of the Goyt give it a bold and romantic character and it is deservedly scheduled as an ancient monument.
Photo: the late Jack Brady Collection	Marple Lime Works, early 20th century. The lime kilns actually included dwellings and the 1881 census shows that there were nine of these. It is not known whether or not Samuel Oldknow incorporated these into the original design or if they were a later addition. The 1901 census shows that some of these dwellings were still occupied at the beginning of the 20th century. Gravestones in All Saints' churchyard bear the names of people whose addresses were given as The Lime Kilns.
Photo: Author's Collection	The grave of Thomas Brown and his family outside the entrance to St Mary's Church, Disley, 2002.

Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements and thanks are due to the following for sources of information:
Lancashire Record Office.
Greater Manchester County Record Office.
Cheshire & Chester Record office.
Macclesfield Local History Library.
Stockport Local Heritage Library.
Manchester Central Library, Local Studies Unit.
The Genealogical Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Manchester Register Office.
The Family History Society of Cheshire, for assistance with the interpretation of Thomas Brown's Will.
Manchester District Probate Registry.
The late Jack Brady, former Chairman of the Peak Forest Canal Society Ltd, for extracts from the Manchester Mercury and photographs.