Memorial to a Trent and Mersey Company man

We stayed put at Church Lawton today. The boat, that is; we walked around a bit exploring our environs.

First we walked past the church and Lawton Hall to Lawton Hall Lake; then on through bluebell woods to Scholar Green where we went down onto the Macclesfield Canal.

Lawton Hall Lake

Bluebell woods

We looked in at the Bleeding Wolf Inn to see if I could get a coffee but, despite a sign claiming that the bar was open "all day", the pub was shut. So we walked down the Macc. to Pool(e) (Lock) Aqueduct (the inscription reads "Pool Lock Aqueduct"; Nicholson has it as Poole Aqueduct) and then down to the Red Bull Hotel where I had a coffee and Jan a hot chocolate. Both were good.

In the graveyard of All Saints' Church a couple of hundred yards from our mooring is a memorial stone to a canal man.

The inscription reads:

"In memory of Hugh Lanyon of Truro, in the county of Cornwall. He died at Lawton, on the 15th of June, A.D. 1846; aged 41 years. He was an Assistant Surveyor to the Trent and Mersey Company. As a record of his Zeal in the discharge of his duties, the Company have raised this Stone."

I wonder what an Assistant Surveyor did, given that the canal was built 28 years before he was born. Even the second, Telford, Harecastle Tunnel was completed when Lanyon was only 22. Perhaps he had been taken on as a young man to assist in its construction. Also, how did he die? Was it while zealously discharging his duties?

The gravestone itself was beautifully legible, unlike many of that age.

In the afternoon we walked into Kidsgrove for provisions and a look round a town which seems past its best. The 1897 Victoria Hall looked good, though.

In the evening there was a sudden knocking on the roof. It was our friend Buff, out walking her dog, paying us a surprise visit. Her husband, Martin, came later with something for us to take to The Taft as we pass in a few days time. It was good to see you both.

Tomorrow I expect we'll move on, through Harecastle Tunnel and into Stoke-on-Trent.