James Brindley mourning ring

DERSB : 2013.14

Gold mourning ring commissioned by James Brindley and made by William Nodes, London, 1722.

James Brindley was born in Tunstead, near Buxton, in 1716 and spent much of his life in Leek, in the Staffordshire Moorlands. He was the surveyor of the first important canal, The Bridgewater Canal, which opened in 1761, connecting Worsley to Manchester. Subsequently, as the demand for canals developed, his expertise and engineering innovation was greatly in demand.

In 1771, while surveying a new canal branch near his home in Leek, Brindley was taken ill after being drenched in storm. Charles Darwin's grandfather, Dr Erasmus Darwin attended Brindley and discovered that he was suffering from diabetes. Brindley died in 1772. He left mourning rings to all his friends, as was the fashion at the time.