At 12:26 31/08/04 +0100, ml01rlf (Rebecca Ford) wrote:
>As part of my PhD on Diderot's "Encyclopedie" (1751-72) and mineralogy, I am
>currently looking at the Encyclopedie's representation of mining. Although
>very little reference is made to English innovation and developments in this
>area, I have come across a number of references to a 'machine de Sutton'.
Rebecca,
From the information to hand, the only 'Sutton' that I'm aware of with a
connection to coal mining (and it is a presumption, that the ventilation
machine was for use in coal mines as it did attract attention as a way of
dealing with gas accumulations in the 18th century and earlier) was Sir
Thomas Sutton, holder of the 'Grand Lease' for the Crown demense in
northern coalfield during the late 16th / early 17th century; but I've seen
nothing to link him to advances in ventilation. See Galloway, A History of
Coal Mining in Great Britain, (London, 1882: reprint David and Charles,
1969) and Hatcher, John. The History of the British Coal Industry, Vol. I,
Before 1700: Towards the Age of Coal, (Oxford, 1993).
Peter
______________________________________________
Dr Peter Claughton,
Blaenpant Morfil, nr. Rosebush, Clynderwen, Pembrokeshire, Wales SA66 7RE.
Tel. +44 (0)1437 532578; Fax. +44 (0)1437 532921; Mobile +44 (0)7831 427599
Hon. University Fellow
School of Historical, Political and Sociological Studies (Centre for South
Western Historical Studies)
University of Exeter
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Mining History Pages - http://www.exeter.ac.uk/~pfclaugh/mhinf/
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