Perpetual Arthur and the Mysteries of Blands Farm

On 1 February this year, myself and Geoff set off to find out if Blands Farm at Wennington was still standing having read that it had burned down a few years ago with the owner inside.  It certainly does still stand, although the new owner, Andy (who we imagine picked it up for a song) has his work cut out.  He was nice enough to show us inside, outside and even in the cellars where the famous tunnel starts.  He told us he had dug up all sorts of artifacts - also that a sarcophagus dated back to c1300 had turned up in an old pig sty!

Arthur Burrow was Geoff's great-great-great-great-grandfather and he was by all accounts a bit of a local celebrity in his day:

"PERPETUAL ARTHUR was the nickname of Arthur Burrow (1759-1827) who owned the Blands from 1787.  This relatively uneducated but multi-talented man became a local legend for his many activities: blacksmith by trade, he mined coal surruptiously under The Blands, an entrance to the shaft being conveniently close to the fireside; he knew the bible better than many theologians, after being taught to read in one night by an angel (according to him); he built mysterious niches in his sunken garden, possibly to intrigue gullibela antiquarians; he distilled liquor, he ran plum fairs; and he fathered 13 children.

But the activity for which he was best known was his unceasing quest to develop a perpetual motion machine, an endeavour that attracted the interest of emminent engineers of the day.  Arthur would talk eloquently, enthusiastically and at great length on his ideas for perpetual motion (and on the bible, for that matter) if given half a chance.  This was, of course, in the early days of the Industrial Revolution, when self taught engineers were rapidly developing new forms of power from coal and water.  He redirected the nearby beck to run under his house, which may have helped to sustain the illusion of perpetual motion.

The History of the Parish of Tunstall considers that "he had a touch of genius which, had his education been sufficiently good, might have ranked him amongst the world's greatest men."  No doubt, if he had actually invented a perpetual motion machine then he wouldn't be all but forgotten today."

See more photographs of our trip to Wennington in the photo album.