Peter Perez Burdett was an 18th-century cartographer, surveyor, artist, and draughtsman originally from Eastwood in Essex where he inherited a small estate and chose the name Perez from the birth surname of his mather, his maternal grandfather was the clergyman there.
He would have been notable just for his many appearances in Joseph Wright's pictures but he was also involved with numerous projects including surveying the route for one of the major projects of the industrial revolution, the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, in 1769. He has been described as "if not in the centre at least in the penumbra of the Lunar Society of Birmingham".
He spent the last years of his life in Karlsruhe, avoiding debtors, but still active in German society. His German daughter married a Count.
Peter and his wife Hannah by Joseph Wright of Derby.
Two Boys Blowing a Bladder by Candle-light. An early aquatint by Burdet after Joseph Wright of Derby.
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool.
Ainscoughs mill in Burscough
Bingley Five Rise Locks
A concrete pillbox by the canal
1890s warehouse - Weavers' Triangle - Leeds and Liverpool Canal