William Jessop

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William Jessop (born January 23, 1745 in Devonport , Devon , † November 18, 1814 in Butterley Hall ) was an English civil engineer , best known for his canals , ports and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Life

Newark Castle and Bridge in the early 19th century

Jessop was the son of Josias Jessop, a foreman in a shipyard. Josias Jessop was responsible for the maintenance of Rudyerd's Tower , a wooden lighthouse on Eddystone Rock . He carried out this job for 20 years until 1755 when the lighthouse burned down. John Smeaton , a senior civil engineer, made plans for the new stone Eddystone lighthouse and Josias oversaw the construction. The two became friends, and when Josias died in 1761, two years after the lighthouse was completed, William Jessop became a student and assistant to John Smeaton while working on various canal construction projects in Yorkshire .

Jessop worked as Smeaton's assistant for several years before becoming self-employed. He assisted Smeaton in the shipping routes of Calder and Hebble and Aire and Calder in Yorkshire. Jessop was a member of the Society of Civil Engineers , which Smeaton founded in 1771.

From 1784 to 1805 Jessop lived in Newark , Nottinghamshire , where he was twice mayor.

Jessop later fell ill with paralysis, so that from 1805 he could no longer work. A year after his death in 1814, a monument in the form of a 21 m high Doric column was erected for him at Ripley in Codnor Park. His son Josias Jessop also became a successful engineer.

Dublin Great Canal

The Great Canal in Dublin

Jessop's first important work was the Great Canal of Ireland . It began as a government project in 1753, and in 17 years it had been built 13 miles from Dublin. In 1772 a private company was formed to complete the canal and John Smeaton was brought in. Smeaton hired Jessop to be the site manager. This re-measured the line and led the canal with an aqueduct over the River Liffey and with a high dam over the Allen Marsh, comparable to George Stephenson's crossing of the Chat Moss Marsh with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway . Jessop also found sources of water and built reservoirs so that the canal would not run dry. After arranging everything, he left the work to a commissioner and returned to England. The canal was finally completed in 1805. Apparently Jessop was only intensely involved with the canal until 1787, after which others continued.

Relationship with other engineers

Jessop was very humble and did not seek self-glorification. Unlike others, he was not jealous of young aspiring engineers, but encouraged them. He also recommended other engineers when he was too busy himself. He recommended John Rennie senior for the engineering post with the Lancaster Canal Company, which helped Rennie's reputation. When Jessop was a consulting engineer with the Ellesmere Canal Company in 1793 , the company hired the relatively unknown Thomas Telford . He had no experience of channels, but with Jessop's advice and help, Telford made it a success. He even supported Telford when society found its aqueduct designs too demanding.

Cromford Canal

Map showing the Butterley Tunnel on the Cromford Canal

In 1789, Jessop was appointed chief engineer of the Cromford Canal Company. The planned canal was to carry limestone, coal and iron ore from the Derwent and upper Erewash valleys and connect to the nearby Erewash Canal. The main features of this canal are the Derwent Viaduct, which led the canal over the Derwent (Derbyshire) with a single arch , and the Butterley Tunnel (formerly the Ripley Tunnel). In 1793 the Derwent Viaduct partially collapsed and Jessop took the blame, saying he hadn't made the front walls strong enough. He had the viaduct repaired and reinforced at his own expense. The Butterley Tunnel was 2,712 m long, 2.7 m wide and 2.4 m high and required 33 shafts that had to be lowered from the surface to build it. Jessop built the Butterley Reservoir over the tunnel, which stretched over 20 acres.

The Butterley Society

Butterley Company plaque in St. Pancras Station

In 1790, Jessop and his partners Benjamin Outram , Francis Beresford and John Wright founded the Butterley Iron Works company in Derbyshire to manufacture cast iron rails, among other things - a construction that Jessop successfully used in 1789 on a horse-drawn coal-wagon railway between Nanpantan and Loughborough , Leicestershire had started. Outram handled the production of the ironwork and equipment for Jessop's engineering projects.

Grand Junction Canal

Cosgrove Aqueduct

The Oxford Canal was built by James Brindley and was used to transport coal to large parts of southern England. But it was not a sufficient direct link between the Midlands and London . Therefore a new canal was planned, which started from the Oxford Canal at Braunston near Rugby and ended at the Thames at Brentford , a distance of 90 miles. Jessop was appointed chief engineer for the sewer company in 1793. This canal was particularly difficult to plan because, while other canals followed river valleys and only crossed watersheds when it was inevitable, the new canal had to cross the Great Ouse , Nene, and others. At Wolverton an aqueduct was built to guide the canal across the Ouse valley. While the three-arch stone aqueduct was being built, nine temporary locks were used to lead the canal down on one side of the valley and up on the other. The aqueduct failed in 1808 and was replaced by an iron one in 1811. The iron trough had a similar design as the aqueduct at Longdon-on-Tern and the Pontcysyllte aqueduct by Thomas Telford and Jessop. Known as the Cosgrove Aqueduct , it was designed and built by Benjamin Bevan.

Two tunnels also had to be built, at Braunston and Blisworth . The Blisworth Tunnel was causing major problems and was unfinished when the rest of the canal was finished. Jessop considered abandoning it and using locks to guide the canal over the ridge. Jessop's temporary solution was a railroad that would take over traffic until the tunnel was completed. The Grand Junction Canal was enormously important in promoting trade between London and the Midlands.

West India port facilities

West India Docks by Augustus Charles Pugin and Thomas Rowlandson (figures) by Rudolph Ackermanns Microcosm of London, or, London in Miniature (1808–11)

The West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs were the first large harbor basin with constant water levels in the port of London. Between 1800 and 1802 a port basin with an area of ​​119 hectares and a depth of 7.2 m for 600 ships was created. Jessop was the chief engineer with Ralph Walker as his assistant.

Surrey Iron Railway

In 1799 two different projects were carried out: a canal from London to Portsmouth and a railway with horse-drawn carts on the same route. The first leg of the Surrey Iron Railway went from Wandsworth to Croydon , and Jessop was asked for his opinion on the conflicting plans. He explained that the railroad was a better deal because a canal used too much water and would excessively reduce the flow of water in the Wandle River . It was agreed to build a railroad from Wandsworth to Croydon and also a basin at Wandsworth. Jessop was appointed chief engineer in 1801. In 1802 the Wandsworth Basin and Line were completed. There are doubts about the gauge of this line, some estimating it to be 4 feet and 2 inches, others saying it was 4 feet and 8½ inches.

In 1803 the next phase was approved. That was a line from Croydon via Merstham to Godstone in Surrey . Jessop was again chief engineer, with his son Josias as his assistant. The line reached Mestham but was never extended to Godstone. The total distance of the tram from Wandsworth was 18 miles. In the end it was taken over by the steam locomotives.

legacy

Jessop filled the void between the canal engineers and the railroad engineers who came later. His name has not become as famous as it deserves because of its modesty. Some of his works have been mistakenly assigned to others who were his assistants. Unlike some others like George Stephenson, he did not indulge in undignified scuffles with colleagues. He was highly regarded by almost everyone who worked with or for him.

List of Jessop's engineering projects

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j L.TC Rolt: Great Engineers . G. Bell and Sons Ltd, 1962
  2. ^ A b c C. Hadfield, AW Skempton: William Jessop, Engineer . Newton Abbot 1979
  3. ^ Butterley Company in the English language Wikipedia
personal data
SURNAME Jessop, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English civil engineer; Canal construction, port construction, early railways
DATE OF BIRTH January 23, 1745
PLACE OF BIRTH Devonport
DATE OF DEATH November 18, 1814
Place of death Butterley Hall