William Jessop
William Jessop | |
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Canals, Cromford Canal, West India Docks
Oxford Canal, Grand Canal (Ireland), Dublin |
William Jessop (23 January 1745 – 18 November 1814) was an English
Early life
Jessop was born in
Jessop worked as Smeaton's assistant for a number of years before beginning to work as an engineer in his own right. He assisted Smeaton with the Calder and Hebble and the Aire and Calder navigations in Yorkshire.[1]
Grand Canal of Ireland
The first major work that Jessop is known to have carried out was the
Relationship with other engineers
Jessop was a very modest man, who did not seek
Cromford Canal
In 1789 Jessop was appointed chief engineer to the Cromford Canal Company. The proposed canal was intended to carry limestone, coal and iron ore from the Derwent and upper Erewash valleys and join the nearby Erewash Canal. The important features of this canal are the Derwent Viaduct, which was a single span viaduct carrying the canal over the River Derwent, and the Butterley Tunnel (formerly the Ripley Tunnel). In 1793, the Derwent Viaduct partially collapsed, and Jessop shouldered the blame, saying that he had not made the front walls strong enough. He had the viaduct repaired and strengthened at his own expense. The Butterley Tunnel was 2,966 yards (2712m) long, 9 ft (2.7 m) wide and 8 ft (2.4 m) high and required thirty-three shafts to be sunk from the surface to build it. Jessop built the Butterley Reservoir above the tunnel, extending for 50 acres (20 ha).[1]
Butterley Company
In 1790 Jessop founded, jointly with partners Benjamin Outram, Francis Beresford and John Wright, the Butterley Iron Works in Derbyshire to manufacture (amongst other things) cast-iron edge rails – a design Jessop had used successfully on a horse-drawn railway scheme for coal wagons between Nanpantan and Loughborough, Leicestershire (1789). Outram was concerned with the production of ironwork and equipment for Jessop's engineering projects.[2]
Grand Junction Canal
The
Two tunnels also had to be built, at Braunston and Blisworth. The Blisworth Tunnel caused great problems, and was unfinished when the rest of the canal was ready. In fact Jessop considered abandoning it and using locks to carry the canal over the ridge. Jessop's temporary solution was a railway line laid over the ridge to carry traffic until the tunnel was completed. The Grand Junction Canal was enormously important in encouraging trade between London and the Midlands.[1]
West India Docks
The
Surrey Iron Railway
In 1799 separate proposals were put forward for a canal from London to Portsmouth and for a tramway carrying horse-drawn carriages over the same route. The first part of the proposed Surrey Iron Railway was to be from Wandsworth to Croydon, and Jessop was asked for his opinion on the two opposing schemes. He declared that the tramway was a better scheme, as a canal would require too much water and would unduly reduce the supply in the River Wandle. It was agreed to build a tramway from Wandsworth to Croydon, as well a building a basin at Wandsworth. Jessop was appointed Chief Engineer of the project in 1801. In 1802 the Wandsworth Basin and the line were completed. There seems to be doubt as to the gauge of the line with some estimates stating 4 ft 2 in (1.27 m) and others stating 4 ft 8½ in.[1]
In 1803, the next phase was authorized for a line from Croydon via Merstham to Godstone in Surrey. Jessop was again appointed Chief Engineer, with his son Josias as his assistant. The line reached Mestham but was never continued to Godstone. The total distance of the tramway from Wandsworth was 18 miles (29 km). The tramway was eventually overtaken by the advent of steam locomotives.[1]
Later life
From 1784 to 1805 Jessop lived in
In his later life, Jessop became increasingly inflicted by a form of paralysis, and 1805 marked the end of his active career. He died at his home, Butterley Hall, on 18 November 1814. His son Josias became a successful engineer in his own right.[1]
Legacy
Jessop was in the unusual position of bridging the gap between the
List of Jessop's engineering projects
- the Aire and Calder Navigation
- the Calder and Hebble Navigation (1758–1770)
- the Caledonian Canal
- the Ripon Canal (1767)
- the Chester Canal (May 1778) as a contractor with James Pinkerton
- the Leicester Navigation(1791-1794)
- the Barnsley Canal (1792–1802)
- the Grand Canal of Ireland between the River Shannon and Dublin(1773–1805)
- the Grand Junction Canal (1793–1805), later part of the Grand Union Canal
- the Cromford Canal, Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire
- the Nottingham Canal (1792–1796)
- the River Trent Navigation
- the reservoirsfor its water supply
- Engineer of the Ellesmere Canal (1793–1805), detailed design undertaken by Thomas Telford)
- the Rochdale Canal (1794–1798)
- the Sleaford Navigation (1794)
- the John Renniewas a consultant on the Docks project
- the Surrey Iron Railway, linking Wandsworth and Croydon (1801–1802), arguably the world's first public railway—albeit horse-drawn
- the 'Floating Harbour' in Bristol (1804–1809)
- the Act of Parliament)
- harbours at Shoreham-by-Sea and Littlehampton, West Sussex[2]
See also
References
External links
- Codnor & District Local History & Heritage website – Jessop Monument webpage