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1 Brindley, James
SUBJECT AREA: Canals[br]b. 1716 Tunstead, Derbyshire, Englandd. 27 September 1772 Turnhurst, Staffordshire, England[br]English canal engineer.[br]Born in a remote area and with no material advantages, Brindley followed casual rural labouring occupations until 1733, when he became apprenticed to Abraham Bennett of Macclesfield, a wheelwright and millwright. Though lacking basic education in reading and writing, he demonstrated his ability, partly through his photographic memory, to solve practical problems. This established his reputation, and after Bennett's death in 1742 he set up his own business at Leek as a millwright. His skill led to an invitation to solve the problem of mine drainage at Wet Earth Colliery, Clifton, near Manchester. He tunnelled 600 ft (183 m) through rock to provide a leat for driving a water-powered pump.Following work done on a pump on Earl Gower's estate at Trentham, Brindley's name was suggested as the engineer for the proposed canal for which the Duke of Bridge water (Francis Egerton) had obtained an Act in 1759. The Earl and the Duke were brothers-in-law, and the agents for the two estates were, in turn, the Gilbert brothers. The canal, later known as the Bridgewater Canal, was to be constructed to carry coal from the Duke's mines at Worsley into Manchester. Brindley advised on the details of its construction and recommended that it be carried across the river Irwell at Barton by means of an aqueduct. His proposals were accepted, and under his supervision the canal was constructed on a single level and opened in 1761. Brindley had also surveyed for Earl Gower a canal from the Potteries to Liverpool to carry pottery for export, and the signal success of the Bridgewater Canal ensured that the Trent and Mersey Canal would also be built. These undertakings were the start of Brindley's career as a canal engineer, and it was largely from his concepts that the canal system of the Midlands developed, following the natural contours rather than making cuttings and constructing large embankments. His canals are thus winding navigations unlike the later straight waterways, which were much easier to traverse. He also adopted the 7 ft (2.13 m) wide lock as a ruling dimension for all engineering features. For cheapness, he formed his canal tunnels without a towpath, which led to the notorious practice of legging the boats through the tunnels.Brindley surveyed a large number of projects and such was his reputation that virtually every proposal was submitted to him for his opinion. Included among these projects were the Staffordshire and Worcestershire, the Rochdale, the Birmingham network, the Droitwich, the Coventry and the Oxford canals. Although he was nominally in charge of each contract, much of the work was carried out by his assistants while he rushed from one undertaking to another to ensure that his orders were being carried out. He was nearly 50 when he married Anne Henshall, whose brother was also a canal engineer. His fees and salaries had made him very wealthy. He died in 1772 from a chill sustained when carrying out a survey of the Caldon Canal.[br]Further ReadingA.G.Banks and R.B.Schofield, 1968, Brindley at Wet Earth Colliery: An Engineering Study, Newton Abbot: David \& Charles.S.E.Buckley, 1948, James Brindley, London: Harrap.JHB -
2 Egerton, Francis, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater
SUBJECT AREA: Ports and shipping[br]b. 21 May 1736d. 9 March 1803 London, England[br]English entrepreneur, described as the "father of British inland navigation".[br]Francis Egerton was the younger of the two surviving sons of Scroop, 1st Duke of Bridgewater, and on the death of his brother, the 2nd Duke, he succeeded to the title in 1748. Until that time he had received little or no education as his mother considered him to be of feeble intellect. His guardians, the Duke of Bedford and Lord Trentham, decided he should be given an opportunity and sent him to Eton in 1749. He remained there for three years and then went on the "grand tour" of Europe. During this period he saw the Canal du Midi, though whether this was the spark that ignited his interest in canals is hard to say. On his return to England he indulged in the social round in London and raced at Newmarket. After two unsuccessful attempts at marriage he retired to Lancashire to further his mining interests at Worsley, where the construction of a canal to Manchester was already being considered. In fact, the Act for the Bridgewater Canal had been passed at the time he left London. John Gilbert, his land agent at Worsley, encouraged the Duke to pursue the canal project, which had received parliamentary approval in March 1759. Brindley had been recommended on account of his work at Trentham, the estate of the Duke's brother-in-law, and Brindley was consulted and subsequently appointed Engineer; the canal opened on 17 July 1761. This was immediately followed by an extension project from Longford Brook to Runcorn to improve communications between Manchester and Liverpool; this was completed on 31 December 1772, after Brindley's death. The Duke also invested heavily in the Trent \& Mersey Canal, but his interests were confined to his mines and the completed canals for the rest of his life.It is said that he lacked a sense of humour and even refused to read books. He was untidy in his dress and habits yet he was devoted to the Worsley undertakings. When travelling to Worsley he would have his coach placed on a barge so that he could inspect the canal during the journey. He amassed a great fortune from his various activities, but when he died, instead of leaving his beloved canal to the beneficiaries under his will, he created a trust to ensure that the canal would endure; the trust did not expire until 1903. The Duke is commemorated by a large Corinthian pillar, which is now in the care of the National Trust, in the grounds of his mansion at Ashridge, Hertfordshire.[br]Further ReadingH.Malet, 1961, The Canal Duke, Dawlish: David \& Charles.JHBBiographical history of technology > Egerton, Francis, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater
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3 Gilbert, Thomas
[br]b. 1720 Cotton Hall, Cotton, Staffordshire, Englandd. 18 December 1798[br]English politician, mine and canal entrepreneur.[br]He was the older brother of John Gilbert and, trained as a lawyer, he became Land Agent to Earl Gower and Legal Adviser to the Duke of Bridgewater (Francis Egerton). Brindley had carried out work for Gilbert on the Gower estates and the standard of work impressed him. In 1759 he recommended Brindley to his brother at Worsley as a competent engineer who would be valuable in the construction of the new canal. Gilbert became Member of Parliament for Newcastle under Lyme in 1763 and was thus able to sponsor the Trent and Mersey Bill when it came before Parliament. He joined the committee of the Trent and Mersey, representing the interests of both Earl Gower and himself. He was also involved with the East Shropshire mines and canals with his brother. He continued as a Member of Parliament (until 1768 for Newcastle and afterwards for Lichfield) until December 1794.[br]Further ReadingP.Lead, 1990, Agents of Revolution: John and Thomas Gilbert—Entrepreneurs, Keele University Centre for Local History.JHB -
4 Longbotham, John
SUBJECT AREA: Canals[br]b. mid-seventeenth century Halifax (?), Yorkshire, England d. 1801[br]English canal engineer.[br]The nature of Longbotham's career before 1766 is unknown, although he was associated with Smeaton as a pupil and thus became acquainted with canal engineering. In 1766 he suggested a canal linking Leeds and Liverpool across the Pennines. The suggestion was accepted and in 1767–8 he surveyed the line of the Leeds \& Liverpool Canal. This was approved by the promoters and by Brindley, who had been called in as an assessor. The Act was obtained in 1770 and Longbotham was first appointed as Clerk of Works under Brindley as Chief Engineer. As the latter did not take up the appointment, Longbotham became Chief Engineer and from 1770 to 1775 was responsible for the design of locks and aqueducts. He also prepared contracts and supervised construction. Meanwhile, in 1768 he had proposed a canal from the Calder and Hebble to Halifax. In 1773 he was elected to the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers. As soon as a part of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal was opened he started a passenger packet service, but in 1775, after completing both 50 miles (80 km) of the canal and the Bradford Canal, he was dismissed from his post because of discrepancies in his accounts. However, in the early 1790s he again advised the Leeds and Liverpool proprietors, who were in difficulties on the summit level. Longbotham had colliery interests in the Uphol-land area of Wigan, and in 1787 he surveyed a proposed route for the Lancaster Canal. In 1792 he was also associated with the Grand Western Canal. Details of his later life are scarce, but it is known that he died in poverty in 1801 and that the Leeds \& Liverpool company paid his funeral expenses.JHB -
5 Berry, Henry
[br]b. 1720 Parr (?), near St Helens, Lancashire, Englandd. 30 July 1812 Liverpool, England[br]English canal and dock engineer who was responsible for the first true canal, as distinct from a canalized river, in England.[br]Little is known of Berry's early life, but it is certain that he knew the district around St Helens intimately, which was of assistance to him in his later canal works. He became Clerk and Assistant to Thomas Steers and proved his natural engineering ability in helping Steers in both the construction of the Newry navigation in Ireland and his supervision of the construction of Salthouse Dock in Liverpool. On Steers's death in 1750 Berry was appointed, at the age of 30, Dock Engineer for Liverpool Docks, and completed the Salthouse Dock three years later. In 1755 he was allowed by the Liverpool Authority—presumably because his full-time service was not required at the docks at that time—to survey and construct the Sankey Brook Navigation (otherwise known as the St Helens Canal), which was completed in 1757. Berry was instructed to make the brook navigable, but with the secret consent and connivance of one of the proprietors he built a lateral canal, the work commencing on 5 September 1755. This was the first dead-water canal in the country, as distinct from an improved river navigation, and preceded Brindley's Bridgewater Canal by some five or six years. On the canal he also constructed at Blackbrook the first pair of staircase locks to be built in England.Berry later advised on improvements to the Weaver Navigation, and his design for the new locks was accepted. He also carried out in 1769 a survey for a Leeds and Liverpool Canal, but this was not proceeded with and it was left to others to construct this canal. He advised turnpike trustees on bridge construction, but his main work was in Liverpool dock construction and between 1767 and 1771 he built the George's Dock. His final dock work was King's Dock, which was opened on 3 October 1788; he resigned at the age of 68 when the dock was completed. He lived for another 24 years, during which he was described in the local directories as "gentleman" instead of "engineer" or "surveyor" as he had been previously.[br]Further ReadingS.A.Harris, 1937, "Liverpool's second dock engineer", Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire 89.JHB -
6 Canals
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7 Gilbert, John
[br]b. 1724 Cotton Hall, Cotton, Staffordshire, Englandd. 3 August 1795 Worsley, Lancashire, England[br]English land agent, mining engineer and canal entrepreneur.[br]Younger son of a gentleman farmer, Gilbert was apprenticed to Matthew Boulton, a buckle maker of Birmingham and father of the Matthew Boulton who was associated with James Watt. He also gained mining experience. Through the influence of his older brother, Thomas Gilbert, he became Land Agent to the Duke of Bridgewater (Francis Egerton) for the Worsley estate. He proposed extensions to the underground waterway system and also made a preliminary survey for a canal from Worsley to Salford, a project which Brindley joined as Assistant Engineer. Gilbert was therefore the prime mover in the construction of the Bridgewater Canal, which received its Act in 1759. He then collected evidence for the second Act to permit construction of the aqueduct across the Irwell at Barton. He was involved in a consortium with his brother Thomas and Earl Gower to develop the Earl's East Shropshire mines and to build the Shrewsbury and the Shropshire Coal Canals. He also excavated the Speedwell Mine at Castleton in Derbyshire between 1774 and 1781 and constructed the underground canal to serve the workings. With his brother, he was involved in the promotion of the Trent \& Mersey Canal and was a shareholder in the undertaking. Among his other entrepreneurial activities, he entered the canal-carrying business. His last work was beginning the underground inclined planes at Worsley, but these were not completed until after his death. His important place in the historical development of the inland navigational system in England has been very much overlooked.[br]Further ReadingP.Lead, 1990, Agents of Revolution: John and Thomas Gilbert-Entrepreneurs, Keele University Centre for Local History.JHB -
8 Williams, Sir Edward Leader
[br]b. 28 April 1828 Worcester, Englandd. 1 June 1910 Altrincham, Cheshire, England[br]English civil engineer, designer and first Chief Engineer of the Manchester Ship Canal.[br]After an apprenticeship with the Severn Navigation, of which his father was Chief Engineer, Williams was engaged as Assistant Engineer on the Great Northern Railway, Resident Engineer at Shoreham Harbour and Engineer to the contractors for the Admiralty Pier at Dover. In 1856 he was appointed Engineer to the River Weaver Trust, and among the improvements he made was the introduction of the Anderton barge lift linking the Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal. After rejecting the proposal of a flight of locks he considered that barges might be lifted and lowered by hydraulic means. Various designs were submitted and the final choice fell on one by Edwin Clark that had two troughs counterbalancing each other through pistons. Movement of the troughs was initiated by introducing excess water into the upper trough to lift the lower. The work was carried out by Clark.In 1872 Williams became Engineer to the Bridgewater Navigation, enlarging the locks at Runcorn and introducing steam propulsion on the canal. He later examined the possibility of upgrading the Mersey \& Irwell Navigation to a Ship Canal. In 1882 his proposals to the Provisional Committee of the proposed Manchester Ship Canal were accepted. His scheme was to use the Mersey Channel as far as Eastham and then construct a lock canal from there to Manchester. He was appointed Chief Engineer of the undertaking.The canal's construction was a major engineering work during which Williams overcame many difficulties. He used the principle of the troughs on the Anderton lift as a guide for the construction of the Barton swing aqueduct, which replaced Brindley's original masonry aqueduct on the Bridgewater Canal. The first sod was cut at Eastham on 11 November 1887 and the lower portion of the canal was used for traffic in September 1891. The canal was opened to sea-borne traffic on 1 January 1894 and was formally opened by Queen Victoria on 21 May 1894. In acknowledgement of his work, a knighthood was conferred on him. He continued as Consulting Engineer until ill health forced his retirement.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsKnighted. Vice-President, Institution of Civil Engineers 1905–7.JHBBiographical history of technology > Williams, Sir Edward Leader
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