We had never seen another manhole cover just like this one, and we still haven't. Instead of the boring round cover, this one is square. Patented, the idea behind the design is that it is manufactured in two halves, each half is hinged at the corner and swings up on the hinge. This would make it a little easier to open and harder to lose. The idea must not have caught on, as we've seen only a couple of these in Digby and nowhere else. At to its age, the church behind the manhole cover was built in 1876, if that helps. In fact, these were made in the thousands by the Angel Manufacturing & Supply Company of North Sydney, NS from 1949 until ???.
Angel Manufacturing & Supply Company
North Sydney, NS
Circa 1949-
In 1949, John Angel formed Angel Manufacturing to take over the operations of the Thompson & Sutherland Company Foundry in North Sydney. As a foundry, one of the most famous products turned out from the plant were the Silent Knight manhole covers that we've based this design on.
The Silent Knight was designed & patented by William Taylor of Ohio, and Angel acquired the patent and produced thousands of manhole covers such as this for municipalities across Canada.
Angel also made sheet metal products such as stove pipe - one of the many products sold at Stevens General Store in Louisbourg - another of our designs, and further evidence of how interdependent the economies of rural Nova Scotia once were.
From the Lost Cod Clothing Company