Between 1991 and 2007, the Institution of Civil Engineers’ Panel for Historical Engineering Works (PHEW; see https://www.ice.org.uk/knowledge-and-resources/ice-library-and-digital-resources/historical-engineering-works) coordinated a series of nine books on the civil engineering heritage of Great Britain and Ireland (which are still in print or available in e-format). Barry Barton is a member of PHEW and has produced this excellent book – independently of the Institution’s publisher Thomas Telford – as the first of a new series based on new regional boundaries, which will eventually replace the previous series.
The book is divided into two sections. The first half deals with the civil engineering history of the region under six main headings: transport; bridges and tunnels; weirs, dams and reservoirs; land drainage and flood defence; maritime engineering; and power generation and public utilities. Buildings unfortunately are consigned to half a page in the ‘Miscellaneous’ chapter, hardly a just dessert given their richness and the world importance of William Strutt’s first use of iron to create ‘fireproof’ construction. The second half is a gazetteer, grouped by county – Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire, each prefaced with a simple map.
Each of the thematic essays is very well condensed and tells a good readable story, although they can be difficult to follow if you are not familiar with the geography and, especially, the waterways of the region. The simple maps in the gazetteer do not show waterways, roads or railways. The gazetteer contains short notes on 185 works and more than half are illustrated with good colour photos. Each work includes a map reference as well as the Historical Engineering Work number, where relevant. The book concludes with a useful glossary, a one-page bibliography and indices of places and persons. The book will be an admirable companion when making plans to visit the area.
