Hugh Myddelton (Middleton) (c.1560-1631), Welsh goldsmith and canal builder. The son of the governor of Denbigh castle, Wales, he built a canal to supply fresh drinking water for London. Myddelton ran a successful goldsmith's shop in London, and had interests in cloth making and lead & silver mines. He was a member of parliament for Denbigh for 25 years. In 1609 he took over from the Corporation of London to build a canal from a spring near Ware in Hertfordshire to a reservoir in Islington, London. The project took 4 years, with the canal running for 61 kilometres. In 1622 King James I recognised his services by making him a baronet.