Thomas Dadford Sr. (died 1809) was an English canal engineer as were his sons, Thomas Dadford Jr., John Dadford, and James Dadford.

Biography

Thomas Dadford probably originated from Stewponey or Stourton, Staffordshire, near

Stourbridge Stourbridge () is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Situated on the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour, the town lies around west of Birmingham, at the southwester ...

. He started as one of James Brindley's many pupil-assistants, in which capacity he worked on the

Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a navigable narrow canal in Staffordshire and Worcestershire in the The Midlands, England, Midlands of England. It is long, linking the River Severn at Stourport in Worcestershire with the Trent a ...

and the

Birmingham Canal Navigations Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) is a network of canals connecting Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and the eastern part of the Black Country. The BCN is connected to the rest of the English canal system at several junctions. It was owned and opera ...

. He was engineer and surveyor on the Dudley Canal until 1783, and consulted by them later when they were extending through Dudley Tunnel. *1774 – with John Priddy he surveyed the

Stroudwater Canal The Stroudwater Navigation is a canal in Gloucestershire, England which linked Stroud, Gloucestershire, Stroud to the River Severn. It was authorised in 1776, although part had already been built, as the proprietors believed that an Act of Pa ...

*1782 – with Thomas (Junior), he made recommendations for improvements to the

River Trent The Trent is the third Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands ...

. *1784 – advised on the

Coventry Canal The Coventry Canal is a navigable narrow canal in the Midlands of England. It starts in Coventry and ends to the north at Fradley Junction, just north of Lichfield, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal. It also has connections with the ...

's aqueduct over the River Tame. *1789 – cutting contractor on the Cromford Canal. *1791, he became a

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the ...

of the Neath Canal. The latter part of his career was spent in Monmouthshire, Glamorganshire, and Montgomeryshire, for example on the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal in the early 1790s, often working with his two sons. He worked on many canal projects, including the Neath and the Aberdare, in many of which he was also a shareholder. Until 1794, with his son and Thomas Sheasby, he was engineer and contractor on the Glamorganshire Canal, until they had a row with the company and were

arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be question ...

ed for alleged overpayments. The matter was later resolved in their favour and they were exonerated. His last canal was the

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

, where he succeeded his son John as engineer in July 1797.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dadford, Thomas Sr. 1809 deaths English canal engineers People from South Staffordshire District Year of birth missing 18th-century English engineers

Biography

See also

References