Joseph Elkington | |
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Born | Baptised 1 January 1740 Warwickshire, England |
Died | October 1806 |
Resting place | Graveyard of All Saints' Church, Madeley, Staffordshire, England |
Monuments | In All Saints' churchyard, Stretton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire |
Nationality | English |
Occupations |
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Known for | Improvements to land drainage |
Relatives | George Elkington (grandson) |
Awards | £1,000 and gold ring |
Joseph Elkington (baptised 1 January 1740 [1] at Stretton-on-Dunsmore in Warwickshire, died October 1806) was an English agriculturalist, lauded by parliament for his reforms to land drainage. [2]
While farming at Princethorpe, Warwickshire he devised a way of using boreholes to drain boggy land. [2] For this innovation, and concerned that his frail health would result in the loss of his knowledge before it was shared, [1] parliament awarded him, in 1795, £1,000 and a gold ring. [2] Edinburgh land surveyor John Johnstone (d. 1838) was employed by the Board of Agriculture to study Elkington's methods. [1]
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. [2]
Elkington moved to Hey House in Staffordshire in 1797 to farm 500 acres (200 ha) of land at Madeley, [2] which became known as Bog Farm. [1]
Elkington was the eldest son of Joseph Elkington (1697–1758), a yeoman farmer, and Mary, née Gallimore (died 1750). [1] He had epilepsy. [1] He married Sarah Webb (baptised 1738, died 1821), daughter of Richard and Mary, on 26 December 1760. [1] Nine of their children survived Elkington. [1] His grandson was the industrialist George Elkington. [2] He died at Hay House on 17 October 1806 [1] and was buried in the churchyard at All Saints' Church, Madeley [2] on 20 October. [1] A monument to him in All Saints' churchyard, Stretton-on-Dunsmore, calls him a "pioneer of land drainage". [2]