Joseph Elkington
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Joseph Elkington
| honorific_suffix =
| image = Joseph Elkington.jpg
| caption =
| alt = black and white reproduction of a painted, bust-length portrait of a white male
| birth_name =
| birth_date = Baptised 1 January 1740
| birth_place = Warwickshire, England
| death_date = October 1806
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| resting_place = Graveyard of All Saints' Church, Madeley, Staffordshire, England
| resting_place_coordinates =
| monuments = In All Saints' churchyard, Stretton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire
| nationality = English
| other_names =
| education =
| alma_mater =
| occupation = {{Plainlist|
- Farmer
- Drainage engineer
}}
| known_for = Improvements to land drainage
| notable_works =
| spouse =
| children =
| parents =
| relatives = George Elkington (grandson)
| awards = £1,000 and gold ring
}}
Joseph Elkington (baptised 1 January 1740H. S. Torrens, 'Elkington, Joseph (bap. 1740, d. 1806)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2009 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/61000, accessed 16 Feb 2013] at Stretton-on-Dunsmore in Warwickshire, died October 1806) was an English agriculturalist, lauded by parliament for his reforms to land drainage.{{Cite web| title = Farm engineer Joseph Elkington was an expert in his field| last = Upton| first = Chris| work = Birmingham Post| date = 15 February 2013| accessdate = 2013-02-16| url = http://www.birminghampost.net/life-leisure-birmingham-guide/postfeatures/2013/02/15/farm-engineer-joseph-elkington-was-an-expert-in-his-field-65233-32809502/| archive-date = 17 May 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130517014303/http://www.birminghampost.net/life-leisure-birmingham-guide/postfeatures/2013/02/15/farm-engineer-joseph-elkington-was-an-expert-in-his-field-65233-32809502/| url-status = dead}}
Career
While farming at Princethorpe, Warwickshire he devised a way of using boreholes to drain boggy land. For this innovation, and concerned that his frail health would result in the loss of his knowledge before it was shared, parliament awarded him, in 1795, £1,000 and a gold ring. Edinburgh land surveyor John Johnstone (d. 1838) was employed by the Board of Agriculture to study Elkington's methods.
Elkington subsequently worked in partnership with Lancelot "Capability" Brown to develop drainage plans for the latter's landscaping schemes, starting with one at Fisherwick Park near Lichfield.
Elkington moved to Hey House in Staffordshire in 1797 to farm {{convert|500|acres|ha}} of land at Madeley, which became known as Bog Farm.
Personal life
Elkington was the eldest son of Joseph Elkington (1697–1758), a yeoman farmer, and Mary, née Gallimore (died 1750). He had epilepsy. He married Sarah Webb (baptised 1738, died 1821), daughter of Richard and Mary, on 26 December 1760. Nine of their children survived Elkington. His grandson was the industrialist George Elkington. He died at Hay House on 17 October 1806 and was buried in the churchyard at All Saints' Church, Madeley on 20 October. A monument to him in All Saints' churchyard, Stretton-on-Dunsmore, calls him a "pioneer of land drainage".
Further reading
- {{cite book|last=Johnstone|first=John|title=Account of the Mode of Draining Land According to the System Practised by Mr Joseph Elkington|edition=1st|year=1797}}
- {{cite book|last1= Holland|first1=Christopher John|last2=Langley|first2=Anne D.|last3=Moore|first3=Adam|title=Joseph Elkington: Warwickshires Land Drainage Pioneer|year=2006|publisher=Stretton Millennium History Group|isbn=9780953746248}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.stretton-on-dunsmore-history.org.uk/pages/photo_gallery_02.html Stretton-on-Dunsmore History Society page] with pictures of the memorial
- {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070326171103/http://www.elkingtonfamily.com/josephelkington.htm Elkington family history page]}} with picture of the ring
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elkington, Joseph}}
Category:People from Warwickshire (before 1974)
Category:People from Madeley, Staffordshire
Category:English civil engineers
Category:18th-century English farmers