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Introduction
The Duke of Bridgewater, to whom this column is dedicated, was the person who initiated the building of the United Kingdom's canal system.
It is also interesting when you consider that what was once the 'life blood' of the country, and held in such high regard by people, are now either lost or forgotten in a lot of instances. Those that are in use, are used now almost entirely for leisure, something not anticipated when the Duke built his first one.

The Column
The column itself is in the Doric style and was erected in 1832, some 12 years after the Duke's death. It is 108 foot tall, and if you feel energetic enough to climb all of its 170 steps to the viewing platform, you will be rewarded with good views of the Chiltern Hills.
The column was designed by Sir Jeffry Wyatville eight years before his own death. It was Wyatville who was responsible for a lot of the alteration to Windsor Castle on behalf of King George IV.

    Photo: Colin Lee of Southampton

The Duke
Francis Egerton was born on May 21st 1736 and was only nine when his father the first Duke died. Francis's brother John succeeded him but died three years later, leaving the then twelve year old Francis as the third Duke of Bridgewater, and incidentally, also the last person to hold the title of Duke of Bridgewater.

A larger full quality image is available here   

The First Canal
A little later he embarked on a Grand Tour of Europe and it was while he was in the Languedoc area of France that he saw first-hand their canal system.
Up until that time we utilised rivers and enlarged or altered their course in places to aid the navigation of boats. We had not up to that point however, constructed a purpose built waterway.

Following a romance and then subsequent breakup with the widowed Duchess of Hamilton, the Duke remained a confirmed bachelor.
The Duke then decided he needed a method to get the coal from his mines around Worsley to Manchester, a place which now found itself at the heart of the industrial revolution. Thinking back to his Languedoc experiences the Duke got consent from Parliament on 23rd March 1759 for his first canal.
With the help and inspiration from both the Duke's land agent, a John Gilbert, and self taught engineer James Brindley his plans came to fruition in 1764. The canal was later extended to the Mersey estuary in 1776. His first canal also included the bold idea [for this country] of an aqueduct over the river Irwell.

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Another Egerton, another folly...........
Fifty-seven years after the death of the Duke, in 1803, another Francis Egerton had a memorial built to himself. This particular Egerton was originally called Francis Leveson-Gower, and was a member of the family who had inherited the third Duke's estate upon his death.
Francis Leveson-Gower became the first Earl of Bridgewater in 1846 and it was then that he changed his name.

    Photo:
Courtesy of Bolton Evening News

The monument was erected in 1860, and was recently for sale for £225,000. It is a Grade 2 listed structure, and has a spiral staircase inside for access to the top. The owners had applied at one time to knock it down, but this was refused.

See the full story in the 'Bolton Evening News' article here.

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