Iron-Mad man remembered

1:30pm Saturday 19th July 2008

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LINDALE dignitaries gathered today to unveil a new plaque in remembrance of an eccentric pioneer of the Industrial Revolution.

Cumbrian-born John ‘Iron-Mad’ Wilkinson was buried at Castle Head, a home he built on the shore of Morecambe Bay, 200 years ago.

A cast iron obelisk originally marking his burial place was moved from the house further inland and can still be clearly seen from the B5277 road.

The new plaque installed next to the obelisk marks 200 years since his death, and also the start of a fundraising scheme to help pay for repairs to the obelisk itself.

John Wilkinson led an extraordinary life, driving forward the Industrial Revolution with dozens of inventions and patents, including a more accurate technique for boring a cannon barrels and incredibly accurate cylinders without which James Watt could not have built the earliest steam engines.

His obsession with iron developed into a mania near the end of his life, to the point of insisting all around him was made of the material, and even casting his own iron coffin.

His funeral itself was a bizarre affair, and his remains were exhumed and moved years after his death. Their location are still somewhat of a mystery, and rumors abound of where John now rests.

For a full story on John Wilkinson with expert historian theories, see this week’s Westmorland Gazette.