Henry Beighton facts for kids
Henry Beighton (born around August 20, 1687 – died October 9, 1743) was a clever English engineer and surveyor. He helped make important maps and improved how we understood early steam engines.
Early Life and Engineering Work
Henry Beighton was born in a village called Chilvers Coton, near Nuneaton in Warwickshire. He later worked in the nearby village of Griff. In 1717, he shared a detailed drawing of a Newcomen engine. This was an early type of steam engine that had been built in Griff in 1714 by Thomas Newcomen.
In 1718, Beighton built another Newcomen engine at a coal mine called Oxclose colliery. This was located in Washington, County Durham. He carefully measured how much work the Griff engine could do. Based on his measurements, he created a table. This table showed how much water an engine could lift if its piston moved six feet and it made 16 strokes per minute. He published this helpful table in a magazine called The Ladies' Diary, which he edited at the time.
Mapping Warwickshire County
After his work with engines, Henry Beighton returned to his home county of Warwickshire. He used a special tool called a plane table to help him create a detailed map of the area. This map was published in 1728. It was drawn at a scale of one inch to one mile, which means one inch on the map represented one mile in real life.
Beighton's map of Warwickshire was truly outstanding. It was one of the first maps to be based on accurate trigonometrical survey methods. This made it very precise for its time. The map showed a wide variety of features, giving a clear picture of life and the economy in the county. It included things like churches, chapels, old deserted places, homes of important families, hunting grounds, parks, royal houses, monasteries, castles, and even old Roman roads. Beighton's map was far ahead of its time in how detailed and accurate it was.
Royal Society and Other Works
Henry Beighton became a member of the famous Royal Society in 1720. This is a group of important scientists and thinkers. He wrote four papers for their scientific journal, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. One of his papers described his plane table, the tool he used for mapping. Another paper described the waterworks built by George Sorocold at London Bridge.
Beighton's interest in how the Griff engine worked led him to connect with J. T. Desaguliers. Beighton provided details and drawings of machines that used water power for Desaguliers' book, Course of Experimental Philosophy. This book was published in 1744. Beighton's contributions included a description of an overshot mill. This is a type of water mill where water flows over the top of the waterwheel. He also provided a drawing of a corn mill near the abbey in Nuneaton. This drawing is the earliest known picture of a mill where one waterwheel powered more than one set of machinery.
