Gravestone Of John Blenkinsop Approximately 2 Metres North Of Tower Of Church Of The Holy Trinity

This gravestone, located approximately 2 metres north of the tower of the Church of the Holy Trinity, is dedicated to John Blenkinsop and dates from 1831. It is made of sandstone and features a rectangular slab that is slightly raised. The inscription commemorates John Blenkinsop, who was the steward of the Middleton Estate and passed away in 1831. An additional inscription added in 1931 marks the centenary of his death, noting that he "invented the rack railway in 1811" and that four Matthew Murray locomotives operated on a line he constructed between Leeds and Middleton from 1812 to 1835. His railway system was later adopted in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1813 and Wigan in 1814, making these railways the first on which steam locomotion achieved commercial success.