 Text and photographs copyright of Jim Shead. |
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Engineer on navigations and assistant to Brunel on the building of the Bristol & Exeter Railway. Was recommended by Bryan Donkin.
1832 | He was appointed as engineer on the recommendation of Bryan Donkin. He stayed only a matter of months despite his "Talents un-questionably of a superior Order" in favour of someone "of more experience in the management of Workmen in this part of the Country". | |
Summer 1836 | Was appointed engineer. |
Surveyor to the Exeter corporation.
January 1790 | Was engineer for the canal. | |
1792 | He surveyed a proposed line from Four Mills, Crediton, to the River Exe just below Exe Bridge. |
West country canal engineer
1810 | He prepared a plan for a canal from Torrington along the eastern side of the River Torridge past Weare Giffard to enter the river above Hallspill and oposite Landcross. | |
1813 | He suggested that two drainage channels in Braunton Marsh should be connected by a lock so that boats could have access to the north part of the marsh. | |
1817 | Together with Thomas Shearn he surveyed the line for the canal. | |
1818 | He was asked to report on possible improvements to the canal. | |
1819 | Following the passing of the canal Act he subscribes £3,000 to the scheme. | |
October 1820 | He made his report on the state of the canal and was asked to dredge and straighten the channel and to repair the Double Locks. | |
1821 | Made a survey of the route and recommended a tub-boat canal with 5 inclined planes and 4 tunnels. | |
Late 1821 | He finished the dredging, straightening and repair work on the canal. | |
1823 | He was called in to advise on the making of a canal, railway and turnpike road, all of which he said were possible. On the question of a canal he ruled against locks and recommended a tub-boat canal with inclined planes at an estimated cost of £14,000. | |
1823 | He is appointed engineer and starts the cutting of the navigation with the Torridge river lock and basin. | |
Early September 1823 | He asked to prepare a report to support the planned Bill for the authorisation of the canal. | |
1824 | He took part in a survey of the route, under the leadership of Thomas Telford, and signed the plans. | |
1824 | He recommended that the canal should be extended 2 miles down the estuary to Turf so that craft drawing up to 12 feet could enter the canal on all tides. | |
Autumn 1825 | He surveyed a line for the Taunton branch of the canal. | |
1827 | He was asked how the approach to Newton could be improved and he proposed a mile long canal from a basin in the town centre, across the shallows, to a tide-lock at the entrance. | |
April 1828 | He reported to Lord Bute who had requested his advice on improving the port of Cardiff. Green thought that the entrace to the canal was too high up the River Taff so that vessels had difficulty in navigating the winding tidal channel. He proposed a ship canal to get vessels off of the tidal waters, this was to be authoised in the Bute Ship Canal Act of 1830. | |
1 May 1829 | He presented to the shareholders his idea for extending the canal to Taunton as a tub-boat canal with inclined planes. He was then asked to make a survey on the basis of the line set out in the 1796 Act. | |
March 1830 | He reported that the canal would cost £61,324 with seven lifts and one inclined plane. | |
1831 | He examined a proposal for the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal Company to build the main drain at Westmoor as part of their navigation and suggested it would be better for them to make a branch direct to Chard. | |
Mid 1831 | He carried out a survey and proposed a canal leaving the Bridgwater & Taunton at Creech St Michael with five pounds separated by inclined planes and lifts. The cost was estimated at £57,000 andthe completion time as five years. | |
1833 | He recommended that the canal should be extended to Pembrey New Harbour, a new tramroad connection should br made and that the Gwendrath valley line should be extended for over 5 miles, with three inclined planes. | |
Late 1833 | He surveyed the line of the canal. | |
Mid 1834 | He reported that to prevent alterations of the levels of the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal affecting the working of the boat lifts (which depended on constant levels) locks would be needed at Lowdwells and Taunton. | |
June 1835 | The committee criticise him in their annual report because of problems with the boat lifts, saying he had "with too much confidence on theoretical principles, never subjected it to a full and fair trial". Five lifts were working on the open part of the canal to Wellington. | |
August 1835 | The extension to the old main line that he proposed in 1833 was now complete. | |
27 January 1836 | He is replaced as engineer after problems with one of the lifts and a complete failure of the Wellisford inclined plane. | |
30 January 1836 | He left his post of engineer having failed to complete the inclined planes for the estimated cost. | |
February 1836 | He ceased being engineer for the Burry Port company after a failure of the walls caused the harbour to be closed. | |
Early April 1836 | The company decided he should make a survey of the line but he seems not to have done the survey. | |
1 July 1837 | His Gwendraeth valley line had been built at a cost of £55,918. It incuded 3 inclined planes with 57, 56 and 84 feet rises plus two locks. |
Engineer and probably the father of the Westcountry engineer. Assistant to James (Woolaton) Green.
1776 | Was appointed to assist Thomas Dadford junior as engineer. | |
1800 | Was working as engineer. | |
1800 | Was appointed engineer. |
Engineer who worked for Lord Middleton at Woolaton. Assistant to James (Birmingham) Green.
June 1791 | Surveyed a line for the canal under William Jessop's supervision. | |
1792 | Was appointed engineer at 300 guineas a year under William Jessop. | |
1793 | He was appointed engineer for the section of canal from the Trent to the Leicestershire border. |
Engineer of Wroxham, Norfolk.
October 1777 | He was the engineer responsible for extending the navigation by building locks. He reported that about £3,600 had been spent and that another £2,951 was required to complete the navigation. |
Engineer.
1804 | He was appointed engineer when Thomas Sheasby left due to ill-health. |
Engineer. Son of James, senior Griggs.
1844 | He assists Francis Giles with a survey of the river. |
Engineer. Father of James, junior Griggs.
April 1791 | He had previously been foreman but was now acting as surveyor due to John Glynn's illness. | |
September 1791 | He was formally appointed surveyor. |
Born at Congerstone near Market Bosworth. Engineer who work on the River Witham and suveyed various navigations. Was assisted by Samuel Allam.
October 1756 | He reported on his preliminary survey of the proposed navigation. | |
June 1759 | He was asked to give a second opinion on Langley Edwards survey for the navigation but was too busy to take on the task immediately. He did however set out his terms for the work which proved too expensive for the commissioners to consider. | |
7 August 1760 | Went though his proposal for a 9 lock, 11 mile, navigation with John Smeaton. | |
1761 | Together with Langley Edwards and John Smeaton he presented the results of their survey of the river between Lincoln and Boston. | |
6 December 1762 | A petition was presented to parliament for a navigation based on his proposals and an Act was passed in March 1763. | |
1765 | He was asked to prepare proposals for the navigation but was too busy to accept. | |
18 December 1766 | His report proposes a 10 mile navigation, half river and half canal at an estimated cost of £7,000. This was the basis of the Act passed in the following year. | |
Early 1767 | He gave evidence on the Bill for the navigation estimating the cost as £19,844. | |
After 1769 | He proposed a line from Chesterfield to the Trent that was over five miles shorter and £23,430 cheaper than the line that Brindley proposed but it did not include Worksop or Retford on the route. | |
12 June 1772 | The commissioners decide not to employ Grundy as consultant as his terms were considered too expensive. | |
August 1772 | A group of landowners ask him to check John Smith's plans and estimats or the canal and he writes a critical report. He proposes locks of around 8 foot fall, about half the fall of some of the locks Smith planned. He is soon afterwards taken on as Consultant Engineer in place of Smith. |
Engineer. Assistant to Josiah Clowes.
June 1790 | Appointed engineer under Josiah Clowes. |
Engineer.
November 1761 | He and Matthias Scott were appointed as surveyors. | |
November 1762 | He was assigned to collect tolls on for the newly opened part of the lower river. | |
January 1765 | He was dismissed when Brindley took over responsibility from Smeaton. |
Engineer from West Bromwich and an expert on waterwheel driven pumps. Worked on the Aire & Calder Navigation.
1695 | He surveyed the river and concluded it could be made navigable for less expence than expected. | |
1699 | He was appointed engineer at £420 per year. | |
July 1699 | He was engaged to survey the river and concluded a lock was needed ay Naburn. |
Engineer from the Dartford, Kent, area.
November 1835 | He proposed a ship canal from the entrance to Dartford Creek to the town of Dartford. This was to take vessels of 300 - 400 tons. |
Surveyor.
1793 | He surveyed the route under John Rennie's direction. |
Surveyor.
1789 | He made a survey and proposed a line for the canal from the Severn at The Haw above Gloucester through Tirley, Corse, Staunton, Redmarley d'Abitot, Dymock, Ashperton, Yarkshill, Lugwardine and Tupsley to Hereford. | |
1792 | He and Robert Mylne surveyed a line for a canal from Bristol to join the Thames & Severn near Cirencester. | |
1792 | He made a survey of a route for the proposed canal. |
Engineer who was a pupil of George Edwards of Lowestoft then of William Cubitts. Was pupil of William Cubitt and was assisted by Issac Whitewood.
1834 | He was appointed engineer. | |
1842 | He was working on the Chard Common incline. | |
July 1842 | By this time he had left the company. |
Engineer.
Mid 1828 | He became engineer following the death of Joseph Atkinson. | |
January 1830 | He completed the programme of bridge raising so that "Billy Boys" coasting vessels could use the canal. | |
July 1842 | As the company manager he reports the effects of the depressed state of trade in the country and on the competition from the railways. | |
1853 | As Company Engineer he was told to survey and estimate for a railway from the canal near Barugh locks to a proposed new colliery near Mapplewell, northeast of Barugh. |
Surveyor from Somerset.
1826 | He suggested two routes for the canal one, along the River Brue, was rejected but the other, which incuded making existing drains navigable, was close to the route adopted by the promoters. |
Engineer. He was also one of the appointed valuers for the Warwick & Napton Canal and was described as a yeoman of Barford in Warwickshire.
Mid 1793 | Surveyed a route for the canal. | |
August 1795 | He suggested that if the canal's line was altered so that it joined the Oxford Canal at Napton instead of Braunston a saving of £50,000 would be made. This suggestion was adopted and he was given 300 guineas for the work he did in surveying the altered line. | |
Spring 1796 | He was appointed engineer at 350 guineas a year including valuation fees, plus five free shares on the satisfactory completion of the work. | |
19 March 1800 | The canal was completed, he was given his five free shares and was retained as engineer on £150 a year. | |
1802 | The commissioners called on his services to prove that there was a sufficient water supply to enable the Northampton Arm to be built to connect the river to the Grand Junction Canal. | |
1819 | The company gave permission for him and John Tomes to make a private cut from the canal near Long Itchington. |
Engineer.
1801 | The Deeping Fen Act was passed based on two reports, one of which he prepared with George Maxwell. |
Engineer.
March 1773 | He gave evidence to a House of Lords committee during the passage of the Bill. |
Engineer. He was surveyer and engineer of Liverpool Docks.
1835 | Was appointed engineer. | |
November 1835 | He produced plans for inner and outer docks at Port Carlisle. | |
June 1836 | He proposed to start work at Port Carlisle by enclosing the ground and building the outer dock with a single gate. |
Engineer. Was assistant to William Jessop.
1782 | Under Jessop's direction he starts work on replacing the single Brooksmouth lock and the two-rise Salterhebble locks with three new locks. | |
1793 | He was appointed engineer and had a long running dispute with the contractor John Pinkerton. | |
January 1805 | He was ordered to lay out the line for a 2.5 mile tramway to Silkstone but it was not to be built for several years due to lack of money. | |
1820 | Because of water shortages he is told to enlarge the pumping engine that lifts water from the Cold Hiendley reservoir. | |
February 1823 | He leaves his post of resident engineer. |
Engineer. A colliery engineer who worked at Chesterfield.
24 June 1824 | He issued his prospectus for the 44 mile canal. |
Engineer.
1875 | Did a survey for a new dock in Cardiff which would be connected to the Great Western Railway. |
Engineer.
1865 | He approves Edward Leader Williams' plans for river improvements. | |
1881 | He reported on the canal's condition to the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. |
Canal engineers Worked with James Abernethy.
22 August 1888 | Commissioned to report, with James Abernethy, on the construction of a canal between the Trent and Sheffield.In October they recommended new larger locks on the existing waterway. |
Engineer and brother-in-law of James Brindley. Brother-in-law of James Brindley, surveyed a tramroad with Thomas Dadford junior and worked with William Hammond Bartholomew.
May 1765 | He and Robert Pownall were asked to survey routes between Winsford and Lawton, near Kidsgrove, via either Middlewich or Nantwich. | |
Early 1766 | Did the survey for the Act with Samuel Simcock. | |
3 May 1766 | Appointed Clerk of Works at £150 p.a. to included the cost of a clerk. | |
Autumn 1772 | Was appointed to act as consultant following Brindley's death. | |
Autumn 1772 | He suceeded to the post of engineer on Brindley's death. | |
May 1777 | Completes the canal started by Brindley. | |
1787 | With two other engineers he investigated the flooding and noted that the navigable depth at Hollins Ferry was 2 feet to 2 feet 9 inches, whereas it had been 1 foot 8 inches sixteen years previously. | |
October 1791 | He reported on the survey he had done in preparation for a Bill and said that the canal could be supplied by floodwater reserviors and rivulet water without interfering with mills. He estimated a cost of £42,400 for an 11 mile canal with 16 locks. | |
September 1792 | He re-surveyed the line of the canal and suggested that the draught of boats should be increased by a foot to 4 feet 6 inches. | |
1793 | He seems to have worked for William Jessop when he was advising on the line of the canal. | |
1793 | He and Charles McNiven survyed the navigation and reported that if the locks and cuts were kept in good order and the millers prevented from lowering the water level the navigation could be even more successfull and more reliable. | |
1794 | He and Thomas Dadford junior surveyed the line for a tramroad from Llan-march Coal and Mine Works to the Clydach ironworks. |
Text and photographs copyright of Jim Shead.
