266:
203:
422:, finding in favour of the one by Sir Edward Leader Williams. He acted as consulting engineer, visiting the site every month between 1885 and 1893, while Williams was Engineer-in-chief. His last major scheme overseas was the reclamation of Lake Aboukir in Egypt, between 1888 and 1889, although his regular dock work in Britain continued until his death, and work on the Bute Dock at Cardiff was still in progress when he died. It was completed later that year.
338:, who found in favour of Rendel. Following a takeover by Liverpool Corporation in 1855, Rendel's plans were implemented, but the sluices failed soon after the docks were completed in 1864. A new Act of Parliament obtained in 1866 authorised the rebuilding of the docks to Abernethy's plans. Throughout this period he was active with other schemes as well, including a shipyard for
278:
was obtained to implement the design, but
Abernethy first had to convince an independent assessor in London of its soundness. The meeting was inconclusive, but the chairman of the Harbour Trustees was satisfied, and tenders were sought for construction. The lowest tenderer was given the contract, but
282:
The
Preliminary Enquiries Act was passed to ensure that major new schemes were competently assessed before being implemented, and Abernethy worked as one of its Surveying Officers for eight years until 1852. During this time he held public enquiries into schemes for improvements to the
478:
Abernethy's cousin, also called James
Abernethy (1809-1879), was an iron founder based in Aberdeen, who was responsible for the production of a number of bridges in Scotland. He also had a son called James, and the business continued until the middle of the twentieth century.
279:
could not complete it, and
Abernethy took over after a year, using direct labour to finish the work. When it was built, the entrance lock was the largest in Britain, measuring 250 by 60 feet (76 by 18 m), with a navigable depth of 22 feet (6.7 m) at high water.
273:
Aberdeen had a tidal harbour at the time
Abernethy arrived, and he spent a year dredging and building embankments to improve the access channel. In the following year, a competition was held for the design of an enclosed dock, and his design was selected. An
466:
He married Ann Neill in 1838, and they had seven children, four sons and three daughters. Three of the sons worked with their father, and he formed a partnership with two of them, James and George, in 1893. He died at
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in 1844, and was its president between
December 1880 and December 1881. Although he only presented a single paper to it, he contributed to the discussions on a wide range of subjects, He was also made a
315:. In addition to obtaining skills in the conduct of such meetings, he met with the leading engineers of the time, and learned the best practices for marine engineering. He acted as a consultant to the
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792:
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which a friend had bought. He spent much of his spare time sketching the architecture and scenery of the area, until he was recalled to
England in 1835 by his father, to assist on the
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and
Swansea. He expanded his work to include overseas projects in 1862, although a number of his recommendations were not implemented, and the scheme that was eventually built at
458:
He sat on two Royal
Commissions. The first considered Metropolitan Sewage Discharge, and was held in 1882, while the second was held in 1889, and looked at Irish Public Works.
241:. Despite nearly drowning when a cofferdam collapsed, he devoted most of the rest of his career to marine engineering. He worked on improvements to the Aire and Calder between
824:
319:
from 1847, and became their
Engineer-in-chief in 1849, but continued to live in Aberdeen until 1851, when he moved to Birkenhead, where he held the same post as well.
191:, but was removed by his uncle, Revd. John Abernethy, two years later, when he discovered the awful conditions at the school. His uncle took him to London and then to
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where he spent two years at the Grammar School. He then went to work under his father, who was working on the construction of the Eastern Dock, which was part of the
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He set up an office in London in 1853, and acted as consulting engineer for a large number of schemes, while still maintaining his regular oversight of the docks at
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616:
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between 1862 and 1863, the Turin and Savona Railway in Italy, which was 120 miles (190 km) long and included a 4-mile (6.4 km) tunnel, and the
414:, a 54-mile (87 km) irrigation canal, which entailed him visiting Italy every four months. He used the opportunity this presented to visit
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on 8 March 1896, his first son James taking over the engineering practice and his second son John compiling his biography in 1897.
217:, where a timber pier was being constructed. However, he sailed to Sweden in 1833, to lay out new roads for a manganese mine near
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to George Abernethy, an engineer, and Isabella Johnston. In 1823, the family moved to South Wales, where his father managed the
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in London, because his father obtained a job as a foundry manager. While there, he watched the construction of
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in 1836, to work with George Leather on the construction of the steamship dock and lock which connected the
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harbour was rather less satisfactory than his own design. Major harbour schemes included those at
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in 1851, and for the Dean Forest, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool Railway in the following two years.
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229:. This appears to be the last time he worked with his father, as he moved to
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several times. In 1883, he reported on the three rival schemes for the
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253:. However, he resigned after 18 months, to become the engineer for the
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and Methley until 1838, and then became the resident engineer for the
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330:, were practicable. Both plans were assessed by Admiral Sir
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Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers Vol 2: 1830-1890
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Presidents of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers
726:(1896). Institute of Civil Engineers: 402–407. 1896.
410:. Between 1862 and 1867, he was responsible for the
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346:. He produced plans for improvements to the Irish
155:MICE (12 June 1814 – 8 March 1896) was a Scottish
835:Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers
213:His next move with his father was in 1832 to
8:
183:. In 1827, he was sent with his brothers to
668:Cross-Rudkin, Peter; Chrimes, Mike (2008).
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825:Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
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778:Professional and academic associations
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295:, and for the construction of docks at
716:"Obituary. James Abernethy, 1814-1896"
615:: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
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7:
752:The life and work of James Abernethy
400:Alexandra Dock at Kingston upon Hull
14:
749:Abernerthy, John Scott (1897).
652:Cross-Rudkin & Chrimes 2008
560:Cross-Rudkin & Chrimes 2008
548:Cross-Rudkin & Chrimes 2008
533:Cross-Rudkin & Chrimes 2008
512:Cross-Rudkin & Chrimes 2008
495:Cross-Rudkin & Chrimes 2008
124:
801:December 1880 – December 1881
797:Institution of Civil Engineers
432:Institution of Civil Engineers
119:Institution of Civil Engineers
1:
765:www.scottisharchitects.org.uk
631:"Basic Biographical Details"
871:
761:"James Abernethy & Co"
720:Minutes of the Proceedings
691:. London: Thomas Telford.
441:Royal Society of Edinburgh
430:He became a member of the
235:Aire and Calder Navigation
208:Aire and Calder Navigation
134:Aire and Calder Navigation
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790:
782:
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404:Swansea and Neath Railway
189:North Riding of Yorkshire
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845:Scottish civil engineers
807:William George Armstrong
733:10.1680/imotp.1896.19590
402:. He also worked on the
317:Swansea Harbour Trustees
193:Haddington, East Lothian
93:James and John Abernethy
187:Boarding School in the
175:, and in 1826 moved to
16:Scottish civil engineer
687:Watson, Garth (1988).
408:Hayling Island Railway
322:He produced plans for
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255:Aberdeen Harbour Trust
223:Start Point lighthouse
210:
167:Abernethy was born in
443:. His proposers were
420:Manchester Ship Canal
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247:North Midland Railway
205:
830:People from Aberdeen
786:William Henry Barlow
455:and Michael Scott.
354:Consulting engineer
313:Newcastle upon Tyne
672:. Thomas Telford.
635:www.codexgeo.co.uk
597:on 2 February 2017
412:Grand Canal Cavour
271:
261:Marine engineering
211:
99:Engineering career
813:
812:
804:Succeeded by
679:978-0-7277-3504-1
390:in South Africa,
336:Robert Stephenson
276:Act of Parliament
251:George Stephenson
173:Dowlais Ironworks
147:
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783:Preceded by
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641:on 19 July 2011.
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269:James Abernethy
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150:James Abernethy
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722:(obituary).
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661:Bibliography
647:
639:the original
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599:. Retrieved
592:the original
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344:River Mersey
328:James Rendel
321:
293:River Ribble
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197:London Docks
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121:(president),
115:Institutions
98:
60:(1896-03-08)
58:8 March 1896
43:12 June 1814
18:
855:1896 deaths
850:1814 births
572:Watson 1988
535:, p. 5
514:, p. 4
497:, p. 3
469:Broadstairs
380:Portpatrick
364:Fraserburgh
285:River Clyde
225:project in
185:Cotherstone
74:Nationality
66:Broadstairs
819:Categories
689:The Civils
601:8 February
483:References
388:Port Natal
372:Alexandria
301:Birkenhead
289:River Tyne
105:Discipline
82:Occupation
49:, Scotland
793:President
742:1753-7843
708:Biography
309:Liverpool
243:Wakefield
219:Jönköping
215:Herne Bay
199:complex.
177:Southwark
163:Biography
611:cite web
398:and the
384:Falmouth
291:and the
169:Aberdeen
126:Projects
90:Children
85:Engineer
77:Scottish
47:Aberdeen
795:of the
439:of the
392:Watchet
376:Silloth
368:Newport
360:Cardiff
342:on the
305:Glasgow
297:Belfast
237:to the
740:
695:
676:
462:Family
451:, Sir
437:fellow
416:Venice
396:Boston
287:, the
239:Humber
68:, Kent
595:(PDF)
588:(PDF)
231:Goole
227:Devon
109:Civil
738:ISSN
693:ISBN
674:ISBN
617:link
603:2021
473:Kent
334:and
311:and
153:FRSE
55:Died
40:Born
728:doi
724:124
471:in
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763:,
736:.
718:.
633:.
613:}}
609:{{
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
