Having started taking an interest in manhole covers following a clue on a carnival Treasure Hunt years ago, this one caught my eye. In fact it turns out there are quite a lot of this design in Swanage, and no doubt in towns across the UK. If you spot one in your town, please contact me and we'll compile a list and see just how widespread they are.

Despite it's creativeness in whatever aspect of the cover it patented, all did not go well for the Cannop Foundry. Established in 1981, it nearly went bust in 2012 but was saved, having been bought by a Polish company, with a £4m cash injection. However it filed for insolvency in September 2017, finally closing in September 2018. The patent itself had been granted to the previous company of that name, in 1972. Ironworking around Cannop dates back to the 17th century, with the foundry at Cannop existing since at least 1835, the business transferring to Cinderford in 1957. Cannop Foundry still has a presence on LinkedIn, though the website at cannop.co.uk is no longer online, and its domain name expired on 15th May this year.