207:, produced for Sir John Ramsden in 1766, are variously attributed either to Brindley or to Whitworth, and by 1767, Whitworth had become the chief surveyor and draughtsman within Brindley's organisation. There are a number of cases where Brindley was able to obtain commissions for survey work because of his reputation, but the work was then delegated to Whitworth to carry out. During this period he produced plans for the
370:. The report was produced in June 1774, after which Whitworth became Surveyor to the Navigation Committee, a post which he held until 1784. Initially, he received £250 per year, although this was reduced to £100 in 1780, as the amount of work required of him reduced. Through much of this period, he continued to act as a consultant, assessing plans and producing reports. In 1777, he reported on the
246:. Nearly a year later, he collaborated with Brindley on the production of an estimate for the cost of the scheme. He assessed John Longbotham's plans for the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, and a year later reviewed plans for a more southern route for that canal, which was rejected when he pointed out flaws in the levels used for the route. After advising on a scheme for a canal from
180:, by which time he was a qualified land surveyor. He undertook a variety of tasks, which included measuring the stonework of Sowerby Church, so that the contractors who had built it could be paid the correct amount, and conducting a survey of the religious affiliations of families in Sowerby. Although its purpose is unknown, he surveyed part of the
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to Henry and Mary
Whitworth. He was baptised on 15 November 1734, and was their sixth child of seven. His father worked as a combsmith, and the family lived in a house called Waterside or Wheatleyroyd, where he probably lived until he married Sarah Irwin on 26 December 1765. After a brief period in
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approached him for information and plans to support a series of articles about proposed canals and those being constructed. He assisted in this way between 1771 and 1774. He continued to produce plans and reports, which covered the
196:. There is no direct evidence to connect the two men, but it seems likely that Whitworth would have taken an interest in such a significant project, and that he learnt a great deal from watching Smeaton's methods.
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around 1772, Whitworth and his family, which by now included two sons, returned to
Sowerby, and stayed there until the 1790s. During the latter part of this period he lived in Waterside, but moved to
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section between 1790 and 1799. Again, his duties were reduced from 1795, as was his salary, and he was involved with a number of other canal schemes, including the
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as the engineer for the Calder and Hebble project in 1765, and again there is no direct evidence to link the two men at this stage, but plans for the
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for the post, and later assisted him with the most difficult part of the engineering, which was the setting out and production of profiles for
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Recognition by his peers occurred in 1771, when they voted to admit him to the newly formed
Society of Civil Engineers, later renamed the
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282:, was supported by a 7-foot (2.1 m) long plan, drawn by Whitworth. He then surveyed a second bypass, from Monkey Island to
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350:, provided an opportunity for him to show how his canals could be integrated into a wider urban landscape.
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Details of
Whitworth's early life have not been found, but in 1761 he produced plans of an estate in
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460:. His sons Robert and William both worked on canal projects, and were assisted by their father.
168:, on which he was working. He died on 30 March 1799 at the White Lion Inn in Halifax, aged 64.
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473:
A Biographical
Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland: Vol 1: 1500 to 1830
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and the River Thames. Following a review of them, he found in favour of the extension of the
131:(1734 – 30 March 1799) was an English land surveyor and engineer, who learnt his trade under
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after its founder, John
Smeaton. Wider public recognition occurred when the editor of the
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His next projects were farther afield, as he went to
Ireland to assess proposals for the
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331:
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254:, he spent three months in Devon, surveying possible routes for a ship canal to link
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in 1770, and then joined
Brindley in London, to advise on improvements to the
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227:. He also attended Parliament to assist Brindley during the 1767–68 session.
414:. He gave evidence in Parliament in support of the bill for what became the
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270:. The joint report, suggesting that the river channel be bypassed from
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410:, on the basis that it was more fully planned than the alternative to
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374:, and between 1779 and 1780, on a possible route to extend the
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He went on to act as Chief
Engineer for the extension of the
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to produce plans and reports for a proposed canal to link
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route, the canal from
Coventry to Fradley Heath on the
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for its construction, which was eventually defeated.
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for the final years of his life, to be closer to the
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433:between 1785 and 1791, and as Engineer for the
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362:were asked to report on improvements to the
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471:Skempton, Sir Alec; et al. (2002).
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458:Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal
372:Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal
209:Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
330:in Essex. A plan to bypass the lower
295:Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers
7:
334:by the construction of a canal from
192:since 1759, working upstream from
184:and produced a plan. The engineer
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328:Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation
61:Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire
262:. Next he made a survey for the
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621:18th-century English engineers
1:
190:Calder and Hebble Navigation
113:Calder and Hebble Navigation
87:Robert and William Whitworth
637:
611:People from Sowerby Bridge
435:Leeds and Liverpool Canal
166:Leeds and Liverpool Canal
122:
117:Leeds and Liverpool Canal
91:
616:Engineers from Yorkshire
205:Huddersfield Broad Canal
199:Smeaton was replaced by
188:had been working on the
153:West Riding of Yorkshire
596:English canal engineers
591:English civil engineers
416:Thames and Severn Canal
358:In 1774, Whitworth and
404:Stroudwater Navigation
310:in collaboration with
217:Trent and Mersey Canal
147:Whitworth was born in
454:Dearne and Dove Canal
450:Wilts and Berks Canal
431:Forth and Clyde Canal
221:Droitwich Barge Canal
299:Gentleman's Magazine
507:, pp. 778, 781
366:between London and
346:, with a branch to
158:Norton in the Moors
550:, pp. 779–780
519:, pp. 778–779
475:. Thomas Telford.
380:Bishop's Stortford
274:in West London to
213:Aldersley Junction
93:Engineering career
354:Canal engineering
211:'s Birmingham to
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57:(aged 64–65)
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244:Stockton-on-Tees
129:Robert Whitworth
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22:Robert Whitworth
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388:Oxford Canal
364:River Thames
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225:Oxford Canal
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186:John Smeaton
182:River Calder
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172:Early career
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133:John Smeaton
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55:(1799-03-30)
15:
606:1799 deaths
601:1734 births
446:Ashby Canal
304:River Trent
232:Lagan Canal
68:Nationality
585:Categories
492:References
456:, and the
442:Accrington
412:Tewkesbury
348:Marylebone
340:Moorfields
326:, and the
99:Discipline
76:Occupation
384:Cambridge
272:Isleworth
194:Wakefield
178:Erringden
143:Biography
44:, England
438:Gargrave
408:Lechlade
390:between
223:and the
109:Projects
84:Children
79:Engineer
396:Banbury
368:Staines
322:in the
284:Reading
258:to the
240:Winston
162:Burnley
149:Sowerby
71:English
42:Sowerby
33: (
479:
452:, the
448:, the
392:Oxford
320:Kendal
314:, the
308:Newark
256:Exeter
219:, the
378:from
278:near
252:Selby
248:Leeds
103:Civil
477:ISBN
394:and
288:bill
135:and
50:Died
35:1734
31:1734
28:Born
440:to
406:to
382:to
338:to
318:to
306:at
250:to
242:to
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524:^
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37:)
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