Thomas Hawksley
Thomas Hawksley (1807-1893) was an English civil engineer of the 19th century, particularly associated with water engineering projects.
1807 July 12th. Born in Arnold, near Nottingham, Hawksley was largely self-taught from the age of 15 onwards, having at that point become articled to a local firm of architects that also undertook a variety of water-related engineering projects.
He remains particularly associated with schemes in his home county. He was engineer to the Nottingham gas and water companies for more than half a century, having, early in his career, completed the Trent Bridge waterworks (1831). This scheme delivered Britain's first high pressure "constant supply", preventing contamination entering the supply of clean water mains.
This achievement led him to be appointed to many major water supply projects across England, including schemes for Liverpool, Sheffield, Leicester, Leeds, Derby, Darlington, Oxford, Cambridge, Sunderland, Wakefield and Northampton. He also undertook drainage projects, including schemes for Birmingham, Worcester and Windsor.
1840 Thomas Hawksley of the New Trent Waterworks, became a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers.[1]
In 1852, Hawksley set up his own engineering practice in Westminster, London.
1854 of 30 Great George Street, Westminster.
He was the first president of the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (serving for three years from 1863), a Fellow of the Royal Society, and was elected President of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1872 (a post his son Charles later occupied in 1901).
1863 of 30 Great George Street, Westminster. [2]
In 1873 he was the president of the Institution of Civil Engineers.[3]
In 1876 he was the president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
Between 1869 and 1879, Hawksley acted as consultant to the construction of Lindley Wood, Swinsty and Fewston reservoirs for the Leeds Waterworks Company.
1885 Thomas Hawksley received a gold medal for invention of instrument for assistance of the deaf
1893 September 15th. He died in Kensington, London
1894 Obituary [4]
THOMAS HAWKSLEY, F.R.S., was the son of a manufacturer in Nottingham, and was born at Arnold near that town on the 12th of July, 1807.
He was educated at the old Grammar School, Nottingham, under Dr. Wood; but his school days were comparatively brief, for in 1822 he was removed, with a view to practical training. He, however, always kept up the kindliest interest in the school and aided in founding scholarships there.
It being originally intended that he should follow the profession of architecture, he was articled to Mr. Staveley, an architect and surveyor at Nottingham, whom he subsequently joined, together with Mr. Jalland, in a partnership as Staveley, Hawksley and Jalland, engineers, architects, &c.
The business was subsequently continued by Mr. Hawksley and Mr. Jalland until their partnership terminated in 1850, after which it was carried on by Mr. Hawksley alone until he removed to London in 1852.
During the earlier portion of this time he had occupied his naturally active mind in further studies of a scientific nature, particularly mathematics, geology and chemistry, clearly with the view of qualifying himself for work of an engineering character. And such was his success that in 1830 he ventured to undertake the construction of new waterworks for the town of Nottingham. The first supply to Nottingham had been given much earlier by a company taking its water from the River Leen near the Castle, and subsequently from springs at Basford ; but these works being insufficient, Mr. Hawksley was made engineer to a new scheme called the Trent Waterworks, with a pumping-station adjoining the river at Trent Bridge, whence the water was obtained by filtration through natural beds of sand and gravel.
In 1845 the two companies amalgamated by Act of Parliament, and Mr. Hawksley then took charge of the joint enterprise, which bore the name of the Nottingham Waterworks Company.
He afterwards constructed more extensive works for obtaining water from wells in the New Red Sandstone, and remained the Engineer till the water-supply was taken over by the Corporation in 1880.
Although it was not strictly within his province as an engineer, he is gratefully remembered at Nottingham for his erection, in 1832, of a cholera hospital, which he energetically superintended during the prevalence of the epidemic. And at another time he promoted and carried through Parliament a measure for the enclosure of lands surrounding the town over which there existed common rights and by which the town had been hemmed in on three-fourths of its circumference. This enclosure facilitated great extensions of buildings within the borough.
In 1852 Mr. Hawksley removed to London, and there entered into a tentative partnership with the late Mr. Charles May at No. 3 Great George Street, Westminster, on the expiration of which, in the following year, he established himself at No. 30 in the same street where he continued to follow the profession of a civil engineer until his death forty years later.
His practice was so large that it would be impossible to give here even it summary of his works. He himself was accustomed to say that he had constructed above 150 waterworks, many of the largest character; it may indeed be fairly said that there were no important towns in Great Britain in regard to which he had not been professionally consulted in some way or other, besides having been engaged in relation to the water-supply or lighting of many of the chief cities in other parts of the world.
All that can be done here is to notice briefly some of the principal works on which he was engaged during his long career ; and the notice will comprise the three chief objects of municipal engineering, namely, water-supply, gas-supply, and main drainage. Of these the most important will be Water-Supply. The state of engineering knowledge and practice in regard to this was not much advanced when Mr. Hawksley undertook his first work at Nottingham, but he made his mark there in a most memorable way and: even before he came to the Metropolis he had acquired a considerable reputation as an hydraulic engineer.
One of the large towns he early became connected with was Liverpool. He was first called in by the Corporation in 1846. The town had been supplied by wells in the New Red Sandstone, and as large extensions and improvements were necessary, the question arose whether the existing well system should be extended, or whether it would be more expedient to provide for the rapidly-growing requirements from some other source. Mr. Hawksley, after mature consideration, advised that water should be obtained by gravitation from the Rivington district, about 29 miles distant. His project, known as the Rivington Pike scheme, met with considerable opposition and was warmly debated for several years. Some engineers recommended the extension of the wells, and others a supply from the Bala Lake in North Wales ; but after a reference to Robert Stephenson, the Rivington scheme was adopted as the most suitable for the requirements of the district as they were estimated in those days. Mr. Hawksley, in the face of many difficulties and much further opposition, carried out the work, and in August, 1857, the water was brought into the town. These works were then considered the largest water undertaking in existence.
After the lapse of years, however, the population had grown so rapidly that the Rivington watershed was found insufficient. Public attention was sharply directed to the condition of affairs, and the Corporation decided to seek for some other source. A number of projects were suggested and were investigated by Mr. Joseph Jackson, whose report was submitted in 1874 to Mr. Hawksley and to Mr. Bateman. Much further investigation ensued and eventually, at the request of the Water Committee, the then Borough and Water Engineer to the Corporation, Mr. G. F. Deacon, reported on the suggested sources of supply from Haweswater and from the head waters of the River Severn in North Wales, which latter had been recommended by Mr. Bateman some years previously for the supply of London.
The committee having considered these reports requested Mr. Hawksley and Mr. Bateman to respectively state their opinions on the merits of the alternative schemes. Mr. Hawksley expressed himself in favour of the Vyrnwy scheme, which was adopted by the Corporation, he being subsequently appointed Engineer-in-Chief of the undertaking-a position which he occupied until his relinquishment of the duties in 1886.
At Sheffield Mr. Hawksley was first called in on the occasion of the terrible accident which occurred on the 11th of March, 1864, at the great dam of the Dale Dike Reservoir. He had not only to report conjointly with Messrs. James Simpson, J. F. Bateman, John Fowler and T. E. Harrison, on the causes of the accident, but also with them to examine most carefully several other works of the kind, for the satisfaction of the Directors of the Sheffield Water Company.
Mr. Hawksley was from that time installed as Engineer-in-Chief, and designed and carried out the large reservoirs subsequently constructed by the Company, including a new embankment in substitution for that to which the accident happened.
In 1887 the undertaking of the Company was transferred to the Corporation of Sheffield, on whose behalf Mr. Hawksley continued to act in regard to waterworks matters until the time of his death.
With the town of Leicester Mr. Hawksley was professionally associated for a long period. He planned and constructed between 1852 and 1860 a large reservoir at Thornton. In 1868 he made large extensions called the Bradgate Works; and he aided the town in many other ways in regard to sanitary arrangements. In times of drought, when the inhabitants became anxious as to the supply, he was accustomed to console them by a sentence which became a proverb in the town. He used to say, 'Rain always pays its debts; the amount may be overdue, but it will be paid in the long run in full.'
Other towns supplied by him from high gathering grounds are Leeds, Huddersfield, the Weardale district (including Durham), Rochdale, Barnsley, Boston, Haslingden, Merthyr, Waterford, Wexford and Bridgetown (Barbados).
Among the towns which he supplied by pumping are Nottingham, Derby, Darlington, Stockton, Middlesbrough, Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Sunderland, York, Southport, Cambridge, Coventry, Oxford, Worcester, Lowestoft, Barnstaple, Bridgwater, Hinckley, Lichfield, Newark, Northampton, Southend, Weymouth, Stockholm and Altona. At the time of his death he had large extensions in hand for several of the towns above named, as well as for Newcastle-on-Tyne and Bristol.
In all these Waterworks, whether by gathering grounds or by pumping systems, Mr. Hawksley’s long experience and scientific knowledge gave great confidence to his clients in regard to the sufficiency of the supplies provided. In the complicated questions as to rainfall, evaporation, and storage, he was guided by data most carefully obtained, and by calculations prepared with mathematical precision ; and in regard to the quality of the water, although he always obtained the best chemical support, yet his own judgment, according to the nature of the source, was peculiarly keen and accurate. He yielded to no one in the weight he attached to wholesomeness and practical purity, but he did not carry his demands in this respect to the degree of fastidiousness often fashionable; he had no sympathy with those who objected to water containing a few millionths of a grain of inoffensive foreign matter per gallon. This led him in many cases to recommend river supplies, where he could clearly prove that the water was practically wholesome or could be made so by careful filtration. He always insisted, on this principle, that the Thames was the natural and proper source for the London supply.
The great feature of all his work was its substantiality. His scientific knowledge, sound judgment and ripe experience were the main factors contributing to the success of the undertakings with which he was connected, and probably largely explained the confidence reposed in him by so many municipalities and water and other companies. In his designs, especially in the case of reservoir-embankments, he would not swerve from those dimensions which long experience had established in his mind as ensuring safety.
But though Mr. Hawksley was great in all matters relating to the provision of water, he took equal pride in its distribution to the consumers. He had the merit of being practically the first to introduce the system of 'constant service.' This system has been one of the greatest benefits conferred on urban populations, as it combines the most free and ample supply with the almost perfect repression of waste, and with improved sanitary conditions. Mr. Hawksley was accustomed to speak of his work in this matter with much satisfaction and pride, and therefore it is worth while to notice somewhat fully what he had to do.
The most natural and obvious way of supplying water is to keep the pipes constantly charged under pressure, so that any consumer has only to open his tap to draw fresh water from the main. And no doubt this was the first thing attempted ; but the taps and fittings would soon leak and get out of order, causing, if neglected, such waste as would speedily exhaust the capability of the works.
This was cured by the ingenious plan of introducing cisterns, of given size, to be filled intermittently once a day; so that, if the waste continued, it would be the affair of the consumer and not of the water authority. But then arose sanitary troubles by the fouling of the water in the cisterns, and the question became one of much difficulty.
Such was the state of things when Mr. Hawksley undertook the engineering of the water-supply at Nottingham in 1830. He saw the desirability of returning to the original plan of keeping the supply-pipes always charged under pressure, the only problem being to prevent the waste by leakage. The difficulties were considerable, but by ingenuity and perseverance he overcame them, and from the day in 1832, when, as a youthful engineer, he turned on the water, it has never ceased to flow, direct and pure, into the houses of the inhabitants.
It may be asked by what means he contrived to effect this, when no one had effected it before? The answer may be expressed in very simple words, though it took long study and perseverance to carry it effectually into practice. It was merely by contriving fittings which would not readily get out of order, and by so arranging them that if they did get out of order, they could and should be easily repaired. There were great difficulties with the plumbers, but Mr. Hawksley’s plan was to begin by getting them under reasonable control, when all else became easy. The system has since been advocated and adopted by him, often in the face of powerful opposition, and it is now considered a necessary condition in all well-supplied towns.
It was a natural thing that, having taken up so earnestly and so early the question of water-supply to towns, he should also pay attention to the somewhat allied subject of Gas-Supply.
Early in his career he designed the Nottingham Gas-works and subsequently became well known in this branch of municipal engineering.
The number of gas-works built by him was very large, comprising those of Nottingham, Derby, Cambridge, Chesterfield, Sunderland, Lowestoft, Newark, Bishop-Auckland, Folkestone, Normanton, Gosport, Barnsley, Burton-on-Trent, Oxford, Radcliffe and Pilkington, Bombay, and some of those of the Danish Company.
He made no pretensions to novelty in gas manufacture, but all his works were excellently designed and constructed, and thoroughly efficient for their purpose. And they possessed features not too common in gas-works. A11 the buildings were substantial and sometimes even ornamental in appearance, and were so laid out as to be easily kept clean. Associated as he was with so many important gas-undertakings, he was, of course, engaged in most of the parliamentary and other public gas investigations of his time. He was one of the arbitrators in the great inquiry on the transfer of portions of the Birmingham gas undertaking from the Corporation to some of the adjacent local authorities, and was also largely concerned in carrying out the districting arrangements of the London gas companies.
His position in the profession of gas engineering was recognized by his colleagues, when at the first general meeting of the newly formed British Association of Gas Managers, in 1864, he was elected President, which office he retained until 1867.
An experience in connection with gas-works, illustrating the prompt energy of his character, is worth mentioning. At the time of the Chartist riots at Nottingham the gas-works were attacked by the mob in the hope of putting the town in darkness; but the young engineer proved equal to the unusual demand on his resources. He marshalled his small staff, barricaded the entrance to the works, coupled up pipes, connected them with the gas-supply, and was prepared to play through a nozzle a great tongue of fire on the attacking party in addition to receiving it with shot and hot tar. On these defensive preparations being explained to the rioters they prudently retired from the works.
Mr. Hawksley also did much municipal work in regard to Main Drainage, and its many attendant elements referring to the collection and disposal of sewage. He directed and carried out sewerage works for many towns, among which may be mentioned Birmingham, Worcester, Hertford, Windsor, Whitehaven and Aylesbury.
He strongly advocated the ample treatment of sewage before being discharged into rivers, and he held the belief that by chemical treatment (by lime or other suitable agents) and subsequently where needful, by passing the effluent over land, it might be rendered practically harmless. He foresaw at an early period the difficulties which the sanitary arrangements of large towns would produce, as more attention became directed to the subject; and he noticed the great mischief that would arise by the meddling of uneducated and unqualified public authorities without proper professional guidance. He gave important evidence on a government sanitary inquiry as early as 1844 and for years afterwards entered warmly into discussions on the subject.
He opposed very strongly certain views and plans put forward by a public body called the General Board of Health, and exposed with great force the fallacies they were promulgating and the mischief they would do. In April, 1853, he addressed a letter to the Marquis of Chandos on this subject.
After the establishment of the Metropolitan Board of Works there arose controversies as to the arrangements for the Main Drainage of the Metropolis, and in 1857 Mr. Hawksley was appointed, in conjunction with Mr. Bidder and Mr. (afterwards Sir) Joseph Bazalgette, to study and report on the subject. The works were carried out according to their proposals.
In 1867 he gave valuable evidence before the Royal Commission on Water- Supply, presided over by the Duke of Richmond.
As late as 1892 he was examined by another Royal Commission on the Metropolitan Water-Supply, and a few days before his death he had the satisfaction of reading, in an epitome of its report which appeared in The Times of the 16th of September, 1893, a confirmation of his often-expressed opinions in favour of the Thames as a source for the water-supply of London.
Mr. Hawksley’s studies in sanitation led him to extend his enquiries to statistics generally, and he held some original views which he believed modified in an important degree the inferences usually drawn from the Official Registration Tables.
In 1876 he was President of the Health Section of the National Association of Social Science, holding its meeting at Liverpool; and he gave an address on the 16th of October of that year at St. George’s Hall which was especially remarkable for its happy application of statistics to sanitation. He never ceased to urge the need of effort towards the better housing of the people, contending that thus only might be destroyed the zymotic diseases fostered by insanitary conditions; and he believed the death rate was materially affected by the pernicious effects of overcrowding and habitual inebriety.
A considerable portion.of Mr. Hawksley‘s time was occupied by a kind of business necessarily arising out of large engineering undertakings-namely, attending and giving technical evidence on Parliamentary and other inquiries, arbitrations, and valuations of works for sale and transfer. He was an excellent witness, not only on account of the clearness of his evidence, but from the well-known independence of his character, which gave especial weight to the opinions he expressed. He had, moreover, by long experience and acute observation, made himself so well acquainted with legal forms and proceedings that his judgment on those points was always respected even by lawyers.
Mr. Hawksley was a good mathematician. He had studied mathematics among other sciences in his early days, and had acquired such facility as to enable him to master the practical uses of the differential and integral calculus. And he had, what many persons of greater theoretical attainments have not, the knack of perceiving exactly the right way of adapting these higher mathematics to practical problems and to practical uses. He established many useful formulas for professional purposes.
In his first speech at the Institution in April, 1845, he entered at much length into the scientific calculations of the working of the Atmospheric Railway, and he drew from them the conclusion, 'that the atmospheric principle was inapplicable to long sections of tube, and, therefore, was generally inapplicable to the traffic of a long line.'
One instance of the application of his mathematical knowledge is worth mentioning, In the year 1871 he was consulted by the authorities of Birmingham as to the disposal of the sewage of the town, and he proposed a plan involving the construction of a very large sewer-culvert, 6.25 miles long and 8 feet in diameter. There was much discussion as to what quantity, with a certain inclination, this sewer ought to discharge. Mr. Hawksley knew that the ordinary rules were very antiquated and rough, and sought more accurate modes of calculation. He found some modern investigations by French engineers, almost entirely unknown in England, and with the aid of Dr. Pole, F.R.S., these were thoroughly investigated and were found to give results very favourable to his scheme. The evidence he produced before Parliament on the point somewhat surprised English engineers, but completely proved Mr. Hawksley’s case ; the plan was, however, on other grounds thwarted by local opposition.
He was a clever and lucid writer, and his reports and addresses were usually full of original matter and admirable in style. Everything of importance he wrote was, as was well remarked by a brother engineer, both suggestive and argumentative.
In the year 1887 a peat mark of respect was paid to Mr. Hawksley by his many friends in the engineering and legal professions. In June a committee of the leading engineers and barristers was convened by Sir Frederick Bramwell, to consider the expediency of presenting some mark of esteem to Mr. Hawksley on his reaching the age of eighty. The proposal was received with acclamation; and it was decided that, as no good portrait existed of him, this would be a suitable form for the present to take. This being arranged, on Mr. Hawksley’s birthday, the 12th of July, a deputation waited on him to tell him of this resolution and to offer him their congratulations. The Attorney- General, Sir Richard Webster, &.C., addressed him in an eloquent speech, to which Mr. Hawksley made a feeling rep1y.
Intimation of the proposal having been given to Mr. Hawksley’s friends, in a short time above two hundred persons had volunteered to subscribe. The portrait, painted by Mr. Herkomer, R.A., was presented to Mr. Hawksley at a dinner of the subscribers on the 7th of December, and the funds proving considerably in excess of the cost, a replica was painted for the Institution. A reproduction of the portrait forms the frontispiece to this volume.
Mr. Hawksley was one of the oldest members of the Institution ; in fact, at the time of his death there were only three members living whose names had been longer on the roll than his. He was elected a Member on the 7th of April, 1840. He gave his address as 'The New Trent Waterworks, Nottingham,' and the qualification stated was 'having for many years been practising as a civil engineer in the Midland counties.' He was elected on the Council in December, 1853, and became a Vice-President ten years later. On the 19th of December, 1871, he was elected President, an office which he filled for two years.
It is worthy of remark that according to seniority he should have been nominated for the Presidency two years earlier; but with great generosity he waived his right in favour of the veteran engineer, Mr. Vignoles.
His address a on taking the chair, was delivered on the 9th of January, 1872. He began by some appropriate remarks on the great war between France and Germany, and on the lessons to be learnt from it by the English nation. He then spoke of the recent opening of the Mont Cenis Tunnel and of the Suez Canal ; on railways in India, and on other engineering works, including those specially in his own branch; and concluded with some general advice to the Students of the Institution. He had at first opposed the creation of this class, yet when it had been formed he accepted it loyally and tried to raise its character. He virtually originated the Students’ visits to engineering works by his almost royal entertainment when he took them to see his Leicester waterworks in 1872.
He never directly presented any Paper to the Institution, but a reference to the Proceedings will show that he frequently took part in the discussions when matters were brought forward which he felt interested in. But he never spoke unless he had something important to say, and then he said it tersely and clearly. It was always fruitless to try to get him to speak unless he himself felt the inclination to do so. He took the greatest interest in the affairs and the business of the Institution, and-his office being so near-nothing pleased him more than that its officers should run in and consult him whenever they felt inclined. While President he held the annual Conversazione- which had previously been given in the rooms of the Institution - at South Kensington Museum ; and he introduced the custom of inviting ladies, which being continued by succeeding Presidents remained popular and gave great eclat to the Institution for many years.
Mr. Hawksley was President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1876-77. He belonged to other technical bodies and in June, 1878, he received the honour of election into the Royal Society. His experience and ability were laid under contribution by various foreign Governments. His services were acknowledged by the decoration of Commander of the Order of Francis Joseph of Austria. The Emperor of Brazil, who was elected an Honorary Member of the Institution while Mr. Hawksley was President, sought his counsel on several questions and acknowledged his merit by creating him a Commander of the Rose.
The construction of the waterworks at Stockholm and other services brought him the knighthood of the Swedish Order of the Polar Star, while still another noble decoration, that of a knight of the Danebrog, was bestowed in recognition of his ability in the execution of engineering works in Denmark. It may incidentally be mentioned, too, that with the honours he shared the risks, for during the revolution in 1863 he was engaged on a project for waterworks and sewerage at Warsaw. Being guarded by gendarmes, he was singled out as a suitable object of attack on several occasions and had some narrow escapes from the hands of the revolutionists.
Of Mr. Hawksley’s character, both professionally and personally, nothing can be said but praise. He was very positive in his opinions and very determined in his actions; but this arose simply from the fact that he did not form his opinions or resolve on his actions without due consideration; and it was seldom indeed that either his opinions were found to be erroneous or his actions other than reasonable. He never thrust his views forward unless they were likely to be useful. He obtained the suppression of a pamphlet by some German engineer, in which he was praised in what he considered a fulsome manner. He was liberal and often generous in his dealings; and with his subordinates, although he insisted on getting the best work, he was always willing to pay for it liberally.
During his long professional career Mr. Hawksley frequently rendered signal service to young engineers of ability by his thoughtful recommendations to positions of responsibility ; whilst in a quiet way his purse was often open to the needy and struggling. As an employer he was generous to a degree, and his character for strict uprightness and justice was conspicuous to all.
A striking instance of the warmth of his friendship is related by a very intimate friend, who had one evening to give an important scientific address in a town more than 100 miles from London. On seeing Mr. Hawksley he asked him where he was staying? 'Nowhere,' answered he. 'I am too busy to be away from my work, but I have just come here by the afternoon express, because I knew you would like me to be here to support you; and I am now going to London by the midnight train.' At this time he was in his eighty-first year.
Mr. Hawksley was blessed with a strong constitution and did an immense amount of personal work, both in his office and out of doors. In 1866 he took into partnership his son, Mr. Charles Hawksley, with whose aid he pursued his labours till within a week of the close of his long life, continuing his work, even away from home, as regularly as before. Indeed, only a few weeks before his death he had taken long journeys of inspection to distant parts of the country, displaying great vitality at his age.
But the natural decay due to his years told upon him. On the 15th of September, 1893, he was attacked by diarrhoea, and though every medical care was paid him, he failed to rally from the exhaustion which supervened; and he gently passed away at his residence, No. 14 Phillimore Gardens, Kensington, on the 23rd of that month, at the ripe age of eighty-six years.
Mr. Hawksley married in 1831 Phillis, daughter of Mr. Francis Wright, of Nottingham. She died in 1854, and in the following year he married Eliza, daughter of Mr. J. Litt, who predeceased him by a few months. By his first wife Mr. Hawksley had a numerous family, of whom two sons and one daughter survive.
1893 Obituary [5]
THOMAS HAWKSLEY was born at Nottingham in 1807, and died on September 23, 1893. He was one of the most eminent civil engineers of his day, having begun practice by the construction of waterworks in his native town at the early age of twenty-three. During his lifetime he constructed over 150 waterworks, amongst which were some of the most important in the country. He was also largely consulted in the construction of gas and water works, sewerage, drainage, and hydraulic works generally, by the principal cities and towns, not only in this country, but all over the civilised world. He was also frequently engaged in giving evidence and advice on technical matters before Royal Commissions, Parliamentary Committees, Arbitrations, &c., which always carried much weight.
Mr. Hawksley joined the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1840, and was at the time of his death one of its oldest and most esteemed members. He took an active interest in its proceedings, and was elected a Member of Council in 1853, Vice-President in 1863, and President in 1871, which high position he held for two years. He was also President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1876-77, and in 1878 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.
He became a member of the Iron and Steel Institute in 1882.
1893 Obituary [6]
See Also
Sources of Information
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