The Stone Pipe Company

The Stone Pipe Company was based in the quaint Cotswold village of Guiting Power, Gloucestershire. In 1812 the company secured a contract to supply some sixty miles of water mains to the Manchester Water Works Company. Oolitic limestone was quarried at Guiting Power and cut into hexagonal columns that were then mounted on a lathe and hollowed out to produce the pipes. However the product was completely untested and turned out to be a disaster. Not only was the limestone extremely porous but it was also too brittle to bear the water pressure it was required to withstand. Manchester Water Works had to replace the entire network with cast iron pipes but not before the Stone Pipe Company had received nearly £37,000 in payment for their useless product. This section of a pipe is preserved in the Manchester Museum of Science & Industry. Other sections of stone pipe can be found to this day in and around Guiting Power, sometimes built into dry stone walls. 21st October 2005.

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