John Varley (canal engineer)

The route of the canal was surveyed by James Brindley and John Varley, who estimated the cost at £94,908 17s.

An application was made to Parliament and the Act of Parliament received the Royal Assent on 28 March 1771, entitled An Act for making a navigable Cut or Canal from Chesterfield, in the county of Derby, through or near Worksop and Retford, to join the River Trent, at or near Stockwith, in the county of Nottingham.

They were incorporated by the name of The Company of Proprietors of the Canal Navigation from Chesterfield to the River Trent, and empowered to raise among themselves the sum of £100,000, in one thousand shares of £100 each, to fund the construction.

However, the building of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway line parallel to the canal (1849) left much of the navigation redundant, and the Worksop to Chesterfield stretch ceased to serve commercial traffic in 1908, when problems with mining subsidence necessitated the closure of Norwood Tunnel.

Varley was also instructed by the Canal Company to build a house near to the east end of the Norwood Tunnel which later was known as Pennyholme.

John Varley died at Pennyholme on 16 February 1809 and was buried in Harthill Parish Churchyard.

A plaque dedicated to Varley in commemoration of the two hundredth anniversary of his death was unveiled in the presence of the Mayor and Mayoress of Rotherham on 28 February 2009.