CONTENTS.

[CHAPTER I.]
My birth and early education—I enter my Father’s office—Commencement of Waterloo and Southwark Bridges—Anecdotes of Mr. Ferguson, of Pitfour—The Stockton and Darlington Railway, and Surveys between Port Patrick and Donaghadee—Account of the mode of erecting the arches of Southwark Bridge—Journey to the Continent and Field of Waterloo—Account of the building of Waterloo Bridge—It is opened in State by the Prince Regent, 1817.[Page 1]
[CHAPTER II.]
Travels in Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Asia Minor, Constantinople, and Egypt—Return to England—Death of Mr. Rennie[36]
[CHAPTER III.]
Eau Brink Cut—Ramsgate Harbour—Sheerness Dockyard—Plymouth Breakwater—Anecdote of the late Mr. J. Fox—London Bridge and Approaches—Sir F. Trench’s Plan for Quaying the Thames—Nene Outfall—Cross Keys Bridge—Norfolk Estuary—Improvement of the Witham—Ancholme Drainage[157]
[CHAPTER IV.]
Sketch of the Rise and Progress of the Railway System—The Manchester and Liverpool, London and Birmingham, and other early Lines[228]
[CHAPTER V.]
Travels in the North of Europe and Spain[252]
[CHAPTER VI.]
Ship Canal from Portsmouth to London—Machinery and Engine Making—Screw Steam Ships—Hartlepool and Coquet Harbours—Railways round London—Railway Mania—South-Eastern Railway—London, Chatham, and Dover Railway[284]
[CHAPTER VII.]
Swedish Railways—Surveys in Holland and Portugal[304]
[CHAPTER VIII.]
Surveys in Portugal and Tunis[343]
[CHAPTER IX.]
Surveys at Odessa and Vienna—Harbour at Ponta Delgada—Ramsgate—Dagenham[377]
[CHAPTER X.]
Retrospect—London Bridge—Sheerness Dockyard—Plymouth Breakwater and Victualling Yard—Steam Vessels for the Navy—Harbours—Railways—Broad and Narrow Gauge—Atmospheric Railway—Water Supply and Sewage[407]
[CHAPTER XI.]
The Formation of Natural Breakwaters—The Society of Civil Engineers—The Education of a Civil Engineer—Some Hints on Practice—Estimating—Conclusion[427]
Index[459]

AUTOBIOGRAPHY
OF
SIR JOHN RENNIE.

CHAPTER I.

My birth and early education—I enter my Father’s office—Commencement of Waterloo and Southwark Bridges—Anecdotes of Mr. Ferguson, of Pitfour—The Stockton and Darlington Railway and Surveys between Port Patrick and Donaghadee—Account of the mode of erecting the arches of Southwark Bridge—Journey to the Continent and Field of Waterloo—Account of the building of Waterloo Bridge—It is opened in State by the Prince Regent, 1817.

I was born at 27, Stamford Street, Blackfriars, London, on the 30th of August, 1794. Having been taught my letters at home, I was sent to the care of Dr. Greenlaw, who kept a boys’ school at Isleworth. It was a large house, formerly belonging to the Bishop of London. To the house were attached excellent gardens and playground. The situation, moreover, was open and healthy, and the total number of boys was about fifty, ranging from eight to sixteen years of age. They were well fed and taken care of by the Doctor’s excellent wife, and his sister-in-law, Miss Hodgkins. The Doctor’s eldest daughter, Miss Greenlaw, taught the youngest boys their letters; whilst the Doctor and his assistants devoted themselves to the education of the others, which education consisted chiefly of classics, writing, arithmetic, French, and occasionally geography and the elements of astronomy. During the time that I was there the most remarkable scholar was the celebrated poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley, who was then about twelve or thirteen (as far as I can remember), and even at that early age exhibited considerable poetical talent, accompanied by a violent and extremely excitable temper, which manifested itself in all kinds of eccentricities. His figure was of the middle size, although slight, but well made. His head was well proportioned, and covered with a profusion of brown locks; his features regular, but rather small; his eyes hazel, restless, and brilliant; his complexion was fair and transparent; and his countenance rather effeminate, but exceedingly animated. The least circumstance that thwarted him produced the most violent paroxysms of rage; and when irritated by other boys, which they, knowing his infirmity, frequently did by way of teasing him, he would take up anything, or even any little boy near him, to throw at his tormentors. His imagination was always roving upon something romantic and extraordinary, such as spirits, fairies, fighting, volcanoes, &c., and he not unfrequently astonished his schoolfellows by blowing up the boundary palings of the playground with gunpowder, also the lid of his desk in the middle of schooltime, to the great surprise of Dr. Greenlaw himself and the whole school. In fact, at times he was considered to be almost upon the borders of insanity; yet with all this, when treated with kindness, he was very amiable, noble, high-spirited, and generous; he used to write verse, English and Latin, with considerable facility, and attained a high position in the school before he left for Eton, where, I understand, he was equally, if not more, extraordinary and eccentric.

Cotemporary with Shelley there was another peculiar character, named Tredcroft, from the same county, viz. Sussex; he also had considerable poetical talent, but unfortunately lost his health, and ultimately, I understand, died completely imbecile at an early age. I remained at this school until the year 1807, by which time I had acquired a tolerable knowledge of the Greek and Latin classics, and arithmetic as far as vulgar fractions and decimals. I was then sent to the celebrated Dr. Burney’s, at Greenwich, where there were about 100 boys, varying from ten to eighteen.

Dr. Charles Burney was considered one of the best Greek and Latin scholars of the day, and was the intimate friend of Porson and numerous other literary celebrities. His school was therefore very highly esteemed for classics, but for little or nothing else; for although a certain quantity of arithmetic and the elements of algebra and geometry were taught, yet these were quite secondary to the classics.