Beaumont, Huntingdon

Beaumont, Huntingdon
[br]
b. c.1560 Coleorton (?), Leicestershire, England
d. 1624 Nottingham, England
[br]
English speculator in coal-mining, constructor of the first surface railway in Britain.
[br]
Huntingdon Beaumont was a younger son of a landed family whose estates included coal-mines at Coleorton and Bedworth. From these, no doubt, originated his great expertise in coal-mining and mine management. His subsequent story is a complex one of speculation in coal mines: agreements, partnerships, and debts, and, in trying to extricate himself from the last, attempts to improve profitability, and ever-greater enterprises. He leased mines in 1601 at Wollaton, near Nottingham, and in 1603 at Strelley, which adjoins Wollaton but is further from Nottingham, where lay the market for coal. To reduce the transport cost of Strelley coal, Beaumont laid a wooden wagonway for two miles or so to Wollaton Lane End, the point at which the coal was customarily sold. In earlier times wooden railways had probably been used in mines, following practice on the European continent, but Beaumont's was the first on the surface in Britain. The market for coal in Nottingham being limited, Beaumont, with partners, attempted to send coal to London by water, but the difficult navigation of the Trent at this period made the venture uneconomic. With a view still to supplying London, c.1605 they took leases of mines near Blyth, north of Newcastle upon Tyne. Here too Beaumont built wagonways, to convey coal to the coast, but despite considerable expenditure the mines could not be made economic and Beaumont returned to Strelley. Although he worked the mine night and day, he was unable to meet the demands of his creditors, who eventually had him imprisoned for debt. He died in gaol.
[br]
Further Reading
R.S.Smith, 1957, "Huntingdon Beaumont. Adventurer in coal mines", Renaissance \& Modern Studies 1; Smith, 1960, "England's first rails: a reconsideration", Renaissance
\& Modern Studies 4, University of Nottingham (both are well-researched papers discussing Beaumont and his wagonways).
PJGR

Biographical history of technology. - Taylor & Francis e-Librar. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Huntingdon Beaumont — ( c. 1560 1624) was an innovative entrepreneur in coal mining, who built what is currently credited as the world s first wagonway. Regrettably he was less successful as a businessman and died having been imprisoned for debt. Huntingdon Beaumont… …   Wikipedia

  • Beaumont (Familie) — Das Haus Beaumont war eine Familie des normannischen Adels, die im Zusammenhang mit der Eroberung Englands zu einer der ersten Familien auf der Insel aufstieg. Ihre Angehörigen sind vor allem als Earl of Warwick bekannt. Ihre wesentlichen Titel… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Beaumont Baronets — There have been four Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Beaumont, all in the Baronetage of England. One creation is extant as of 2008.The Beaumont Baronetcy, of Cole Orton in the County of Leicester, was created in the Baronetage of …   Wikipedia

  • Beaumont Inn —    In the parish of St. Benet, in the ward of Baynardescastell, I Ed. IV. 1462 (Cal. P.R. Ed. IV. 1461 7, p. 103).     Newe Inne alias Beaumontes Inne, 1475 (Cal. Ch. I. p.m. IV. 322).    In Thames Street at the south eastern end. Edward IV. gave …   Dictionary of London

  • Francis Hastings, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon — (1514 – 20 June 1561) was the eldest son of George Hastings, 1st Earl of Huntingdon and Anne Stafford, Countess of Huntingdon, the ex mistress of Henry VIII. His maternal first cousins included Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford and Henry… …   Wikipedia

  • Henry Hastings, 5th Earl of Huntingdon — (1586 ndash; November 14, 1643) was a prominent English nobleman and literary patron in England during the first half of the seventeenth century. He was the first and only son of Francis Hastings, Baron Hastings and Lady Sarah Harrington. Henry… …   Wikipedia

  • Maud, Countess of Huntingdon — Maud of Northumbria (1074–1130), Countess of the Honour of Huntingdon and Northampton, was the daughter of Waltheof II, Earl of Northumbria and Judith of Lens, the last of the major Anglo Saxon earls to remain powerful after the Norman conquest… …   Wikipedia

  • Haus Beaumont — Das Haus Beaumont war eine Familie des normannischen Adels, die im Zusammenhang mit der Eroberung Englands zu einer der ersten Familien auf der Insel aufstieg. Ihre Angehörigen sind vor allem als Earl of Warwick bekannt. Ihre wesentlichen Titel… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester — and Count of Meulan (1049 ndash; June 5, 1118) was a powerful English and French nobleman, revered as one of the wisest men of his age. Chroniclers speak highly of his eloquence, his learning, and three kings of England valued his counsel.He… …   Wikipedia

  • Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester — Infobox Officeholder honorific prefix = name =Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester honorific suffix = imagesize = small caption = order = office = Chief Justiciar of England term start =October 1155 term end =April 5, 1168 vicepresident =… …   Wikipedia

  • Robert de Beaumont, 2. Earl of Leicester — Robert de Beaumont, 2. Earl of Leicester, genannt Le Bossu (der Bucklige) (* 1104; † 5. April 1168), war ein englischer Adliger französischer Herkunft. Er war der Sohn von Robert de Beaumont, 1. Earl of Leicester und Elisabeth von Vermandois;… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”