Who could be next to have a statue in Congleton? 1. John Whitehurst
It has been a fortnight since the Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy statue was officially unveiled to Congleton.
Since then, heads have turned to wonder who may be the next great Congletonian that may receive recognition in our town. Be it a statue, mural or plaque.
So each month, Congleton Nub News will profile a notable person with connections to our town, which we believe our town should celebrate more.
Today, we are profiling John Whitehurst Jr the scientist, geologist and clockmaker.
Whitehurst was born on in Congleton and baptised April 10 1713.
His dad - of the same name - was the earliest recorded clockmaker for Congleton, as of 1711. His father also sold ale, along with being a burleyman and looker for Congleton.
Whitehurst Sr. was tasked with looking after the town clocks, a passion that would quickly be passed onto his son.
A bill from 1724 suggests repairing the church clock for one shilling, which one would assume was St. Peter's of Chapel Street.
Whitehurst Jr. was educated at home by his father John Whitehurst (b. 1867), who had moved to Congleton from Biddulph to pursue clockmaking.
This interest in clocks and time would spark a career of the young Whitehurst in inventing and theorising, including in relation to space and time.
In 1734 at aged 21, Whitehurst would leave Congleton for Ireland when working for his dad's clock-making firm.
Two years later, he would make more than just clocks for personal use, as he was commissioned to make the clock for Derby Town Hall.
Most of his clock-making work was in Derbyshire, and Derby gave him freedom of the town aged just 24.
The young Whitehurst was a keen meteorologist and in the 1740s developed a 0-60 scale to express barometric pressure.
Just shy of his 60th birthday, the Congletonian invented the pulsation engine. This was water-raising device which helped businesses with manufacturing.
The first pulsation engine was completed 23 miles from Congleton in Tarporley, to help a brewery raise water through a supply line up towards a tap.
At aged 62, he was one of the founding members of the newly-named Lunar Society of Birmingham, a dinner club of great minds with an interest in science.
At aged 65, he published a book about porposing to extract minurals from beneath the surface of the earth.
And at aged 74, he published a book about studying the shape of our planet, by measuring gravity.
He would die in February 1788, at the age of 75.
Whitehurst could also make mercury thermometers and weather barometers.
The latter of which made headlines in 2020, when a 1766 weather forecasting tool of Whitehurst's was valued at almost £20,000 at auction, after being discovered in a car boot sale.
The George III mahogany barometer was made the 18th century Congleton resident.
And was been described as "one of world's rarest barometers" according to Derby's Hansons Auctioneers.
Only three surviving examples of Whitehurst angle barometers bearing earlier dates are known to exist.
One, dated 1747, was sold in New York in 1985 while another, dated 1751, is displayed in a Derbyshire country house.
A total of 26 Whitehurst angle barometers were known, 11 being dated.
Whitehurst was also friends with Charles Darwin's grandfather Erasmus.
He had no surviving children. So his only legacy in the Congleton is history.
There is a blue plaque devoted to Whitehurst in Derby. But none in the town this great scientific mind developed in!
But unlike recognising John Bradshaw's Georgian Town House with a blue plaque. Getting on-location recognition is proving tricky.
According to Congleton Museum, in 1754 Whitehurst Sr. owned a pub called The George Inn 'in or near High Street in Congleton'.
However, we don't know where exactly or what this building is today. And by 1754, it is unlikely that Whitehurst Jr would've lived there. We have no address for where Whitehurst Jr. was born, raised, or even worked.
So what do you think Congleton? Should the town celebrate the Whitehurst legacy further?
You can find more about Whitehurst in Congleton Museum.
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