72/365: John Varley

Walked up to Harthill, through Kiveton Community Woodland, with mum and Holly this afternoon. Called for a drink at The Beehive then crossed over the road to the church to find this plaque (on the Old Schoolroom).

John Varley is a much overlooked engineer, overshadowed by more famous people such as Brindley. The remains of his house (Pennyholme), at one end of the Norwood Tunnel, was close to where I grew up and when I was little the arches in the cellar were still visible. They used to fascinate me. There's not much to see of it now and Varley's grave is also sadly unmarked. I'm glad this plaque has been put up to honour "one of the forgotten heroes of the early Industrial Revolution".