Grace's Guide To British Industrial History

Registered UK Charity (No. 115342)

Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 167,009 pages of information and 246,691 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 147,919 pages of information and 233,587 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Edwin Thomas

From Graces Guide

Edwin Thomas (1827-1897)


1898 Obituary [1]

EDWIN THOMAS, born at Birmingham on the 14th October, 1827, was the youngest son of the late Mr. James Thomas, who for many years occupied the position of engineer to the Wyrley and Essington and Cannock portions of the Birmingham Canal Company’s system. In that capacity he constructed the Cannook and Hendsford Extension Canals, and also the Churchbridge flight of locks, forming the communication between the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and the Birmingham Canal Company’s Cannock Branches. In all of those works Edwin Thomas was closely associated with his father as Assistant Engineer and practically designed and set out the Churchbridge locks.

In 1853, Mr. Edwin Thomas, then 26 years of age, was appointed Engineer to the Regent's Canal, the property of the North Metropolitan Railway and Canal Company. The Canal at that time was barely adequate for the passage of a 50-ton vessel, whereas, owing to improvements suggested and carried out by him, craft of 105 tons can now navigate the canal with ease. During the forty-four years Mr. Thomas was connected with the Company, he practically remodelled the canal from Limehouse to Hampstead Road, and also Sir George Duckett’s Canal, now known as the Hertford Union Canal. In 1861, Mr. Thomas was appointed General Manager, in addition to Engineer to the Company, both of which posts he held until within three months of his death.

In 1860, Mr. Thomas suggested the utilization of the spare lands of the Company for the construction of a railway to run alongside the canal. The first of such projects was a line from Limehouse to join the present Metropolitan Railway at King’s Cross, in which scheme he was associated with Sir John Fowler, Past-President, as Joint Engineer. For many years it had been found that the capacity of the Limehouse Basin was inadequate for the work it was called upon to perform, this being due, in a great measure, to the smallness of the old ship entrance, and the increasing size of vessels frequenting the Basin. Acting on the advice of Mr. Thomas, the Company obtained an Act of Parliament, in 1865, for the alterations and extensions which were found to be requisite, and plans and specifications were prepared for : (1) the enlargement of the Basin (by about 18 acres) to 10 acres in extent ; (2) the construction of a new ship entrance of 350 feet long and 60 feet 7 inches wide at coping level; and (3) the erection of 260 feet of river-wall, which would form an extensive wharfage front, 100 feet in depth, extending down the river from the new lock to the entrance to the Limehouse Cut. Mr. Thomas received instructions from the Board of Directors to undertake these works, which were commenced on the 22nd May, 1867, and carried out without the intervention of a contractor. The ship entrance was divided into two chambers, 120 feet and 230 feet in length, separated from one another, and closed off from the river and the basin by three wrought-iron gates, the object of so dividing the lock being to economize water and to save time in passing vessels from and to the river. Spanning the ship entrance is a swing bridge, 129 feet long. The works were completed in 1866, the total cost amounting to about £250,000.

In 1878, the Limehouse Basin was again greatly extended in area and capacity under Mr. Thomas’s supervision, the works including large warehouses and a complete system of quick-action coal-transhipping jetties. In 1874 Mr. Thomas in his official capacity, was actively engaged in respect to the disastrous explosion of gunpowder, which occurred at Gloucester Gate Bridge, Regent’s Park, and resulted in an enormous amount of damage and destruction to property. During his extensive career he was continuously engaged in connection with many works affecting the property of the Regent’s Canal Company which were carried out by railway companies, the County Council, vestries and other bodies.

In August, 1897, Mr. Thomas retired from the service of the North Metropolitan Railway and Canal Company, in order to seek rest and change for the purpose of restoring his health, which had been failing for some months. He proceeded to Bournemouth, where he passed away somewhat suddenly on the 12th November, 1897, aged 70, the cause of death being congestion of the lungs. Mr. Thomas was elected a Member on the 8th January, 1865.


See Also

Loading...

Sources of Information