Autobiography of Sir John Rennie, F.R.S., Past President of the Institute of Civil Engineers / Comprising the history of his professional life, together with reminiscences dating from the commencement of the century to the present time.

by Sir John Rennie

I have never deemed wealth desirable for mere personal gratification, but only in so far as it would have enabled me to help others, to promote the advancement of science and the well-being of my fellow creatures; this would have conferred the greatest happiness upon me, but it has been denied by the Almighty Disposer of events, and most probably with justice, that it might be done better by other hands. I therefore humbly bow to the Almighty’s decision; and if I have done the best I could in His sight, I am amply rewarded. I, however, most deeply regret that I have not done more. I return my most fervent thanks to the Almighty that He, out of His great mercy, has allowed me to do the little I have done; and I most devoutly hope that He through His Son Jesus Christ will pardon my shortcomings; and I say with all reverence, Bless the Lord for all His mercies!

Dawlish, December 9, 1867.

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INDEX.

• Aberdeen, [10], [15].
• Acts of Parliament, [7], [159], [199], [200], [204], [205], [208], [209], [212], [223], [238], [399], [405].
• Adventures in Greece, [102].
• Adventures in Portugal, [352].
• Adventures in Spain, [266], [269], [273].
• Ægina, [78].
• Africa an island, [141].
• Aga, a Turkish, [118], [120], [131].
• Aiasolok, [114].
• Albion flour mills, [286].
• Alderson, Baron, [238].
• Alexandria, [131].
• Alpheus, river, [98].
• Ancholme level, [224].
• Ancona, [44], [46].
• Antiparos, [107].
• Antwerp, [29].
• Apollo, temple of, [119].
• Approaches, London Bridge, [183-188], [197].
• Aqueducts, [325], [369].
• Arches, [6], [22], [25], [32], [150], [173], [178-180], [189], [275].
• Ardres, [27].
• Argos, [82].
• Assouan, [144].
• Astonishing the natives, [66].
• Athenæum Club, [250].
• Athens, [73], [104].
• Athens, Maid of, [105].
• Atmospheric railway, [421].
• Atreus, hall of, [81].
• Austria, [279].
• Baden, [282].
• Bairam, the, [124].
• Baird, Mr., [254].
• Balloon, [190].
• Bangor Suspension Bridge, [244].
• Banks, Sir Joseph, [248].
• Bar at Portsmouth Harbour, [411].
• Barcelona, [274].
• Barrier banks, [216].
• Barrow, Sir John, [249].
• Bedford, Duke of, [199], [202], [205].
• Bedford level, the, [158].
• Belem, [324], [326].
• Belgium, [26].
• Benching, [167].
• Bentinck, Lord George, [208].
• Bentinck, Lord William, [207], [208].
• Berne, [37].
• Bessemer, [233].
• Beveland, St., [317], [321].
• Bey of Tunis, [373].
• Bitter lakes, [139].
• Blackett, [234].
• Black Sluice Commissioners, [221].
• Blackwall Railway, [293].
• Blast-pipe, [243, note].
• Blenkinsop, [233].
• Boats, bridge of, [129].
• Boiler, multitubular, [242].
• Boston Corporation, [219].
• Boswell, Captain, [33].
• Boulton, [233], [413].
• Bouyukderé, [126].
• Bradley, Dr., [5], [31].
• Bradshaw, Mr., [237].
• Braga, [364].
• Bramley fall, [177].
• Breakwaters, [165], [397], [410].
• Breakwaters, natural, [427].
• Bridges, [6], [7], [22], [27], [30], [37], [40], [129], [150], [180], [275].
• Bridges, suspension, [244].
• Bridgewater Canal, [236], [237].
• Brigands, [54], [55], [69], [92], [267].
• Brindisi, [57].
• Brindley, [237].
• Bristol and Chepstow Railway, [299].
• ‘British and Foreign Harbours,’ [20], [75], [78], [198], [367], [415].
• Brooke, Sir Arthur de Capel, [248].
• Bronsted, Chevalier, [61].
• Broussa, [121].
• Brown, Mr. James, [290].
• Bruges, [29].
• Brunel, [239].
• Brussels, [28].
• Buckenshaw, [241].
• Bull fight, [329].
• Burge, Mr., [301], [310], [344].
• Burney, Dr., [3].
• Business, introduction to, [4].
• Byron, Lord, [87].
• Cadiz, [264].
• Cairo, [132].
• Calamata, [87], [96].
• Canals, [39], [132], [138], [237], [244], [261], [284], [308].
• Canova, [48].
• Cannock Chase Railway, [296].
• Cardiff docks, [367].
• Carlists, [264], [269], [271], [273], [275].
• Carrara, [151].
• Carthage, [369].
• Cartwright, General, [123].
• Cast-iron dock gates, [165].
• Cast-iron rails, [228], [240].
• Catchwater drains, [52], [219], [226], [240].
• Central Kent Railway, [300].
• Chæronæa, lion of, [101].
• Chapman, William, [243].
• Charles XV. of Sweden, [308].
• Chatham dry dock, [22], [165], [410].
• Chatmoss, [238].
• Cholera, [270], [278].
• ‘Chronicles of Old London Bridge,’ [193].
• Church, General, [54].
• Civil Engineers, Institute of, [428].
• Civita Vecchia, [46].
• Clarence Yard, Portsmouth, [46].
• Cleopatra’s needle, [133], [145].
• Coal tax, [184], [196].
• Cobden, Mr., [299].
• Cofferdams, [175], [409].
• Cog-wheels, [231], [233].
• Coimbra, [347].
• Commissioners, Eau Brink, [158].
• Conduits, [127].
• Conolly, [252].
• Conservators of the Thames, [7].
• Consort, the late Prince, [208], [358].
• Constantinople, [122], [126].
• Continent, tours on the, [26-30], [36-154], [252-283], [304-399].
• Convents, [68], [77], [82], [99], [104], [274], [275], [330], [364].
• Conway Suspension Bridge, [244].
• Copeland Islands, [18], [19].
• Copenhagen, [314].
• Copais, lake, [101].
• Coquet river, [291].
• Corfu, [57].
• Corinth, [71].
• Cornish high-pressure engines, [413].
• Corporation of London, [7], [173], [174], [182].
• Coronation in Lisbon, [341].
• Cort, Mr., [233].
• Crampton and Morris, [301].
• Croker, John Wilson, [156], [158], [195], [250].
• Cronstadt, [257].
• Cross Keys bridge, [204].
• Dagenham lake, [403].
• Danube, [377].
• Daunemora, [305].
• Davy, Sir H., [31], [48], [248], [250].
• Death of Mr. Rennie, Sen., [155].
• Demetrius, [64], [144].
• Denver Sluice, [198], [199].
• Deptford Dockyard, [21], [22].
• Diving bell, [162], [286], [409].
• Docks, [257], [403], [442-445].
• Dog, anecdote of, [39, note].
• Donaghadee, [19], [198], [415].
• Donaldson, Professor, [113].
• Downie, Colonel, [271].
• Drainage, [51], [199], [421], [422], [438].
• Durham, Earl of, [292].
• Dutch system of embanking, [217], [318].
• Duty on stone, [34].
• Eastern Counties Railway, [293].
• Eau Brink Commissioners, [158], [199], [212].
• Eau Brink drainage, [198], [309].
• Edfou, temple of, [136].
• Edge rails, [240].
• Education for Civil Engineer, [433-455].
• Egypt, [133].
• Elvas, [351].
• Embankments, [132], [140], [214-218], [446].
• Embankment, Thames, [192], [196].
• Engineering works, [407-426].
• Engineers, [294], [428], [431], [433].
• Engineers, Dutch, [323].
• Engineer to the Admiralty, [158].
• Engines (see [Locomotives], [Steam engines]).
• Engines, condensing, [171].
• Engines, high-pressure, [171], [230].
• Ephesus, ruins of, [114].
• Epidauros, [79].
• Estimating, [454].
• Estremoz, [350].
• Evaporation, [142].
• Everest, Sir George, [3].
• Evidence before Parliamentary committee, [185].
• Exeter, Marquis of, [298].
• Exhibition, International, [381].
• Fens, drainage of the, [199].
• Ferguson, Mr. James, [16].
• Fernando, Dom, [325].
• Field of the Cloth of Gold, [27].
• Fischa Dagnitz, [383].
• Fish Street Hill, [183].
• Fishmongers’ Hall, [186].
• Fleet, Russian, [252].
• Florence, [150].
• Foley, Mr., [86].
• Fontes, M., [325], [335], [339], [349].
• Foulkes, Sir William, [207], [211].
• Fox, Williams, and Co., [168].
• Francis, Emperor of Austria, [281].
• Freibourg, [37].
• Frere, Mr., [122].
• Fruit vessels of St. Michael’s, [392].
• Gallery of Illustration, [195].
• Gantry crane, [287], [289].
• Gauges, railway, [239], [418].
• Gell, Sir W., [48], [78].
• Geneva, [36].
• Genoa, [152].
• Geographical Society, Royal, [248].
• Geology, [445].
• George III., [20].
• George IV., [34], [146], [195].
• Gibraltar, [264].
• Giles, Mr. Francis, [5], [17], [20], [21], [220], [285], [297].
• ‘Gipsey Queen,’ the, [302].
• Gonsalvi, [50].
• Gotha Canal, [308].
• Gothenburg, [305].
• Government workshops, [289].
• Granada, [265].
• Grand Sluice, [221].
• Granite, [10], [15], [144], [177], [335].
• Great Northern Railway, [224], [297].
• Greece, adventures in, [102].
• Greenlaw, Dr., [1].
• Grey, Earl, [189], [291].
• Groves, Dr., [145].
• Guildford, Lord, [58].
• Guimaraens, [363].
• Gwilt, Mr. Joseph, [26].
• Gwynne, Nell, [287].
• Hackworth’s engine, [242].
• Harbours, [54], [152], [198], [274], [290], [333], [336], [386], [399], [415], [437].
• Hartlepool, [291].
• Hartley, Sir Charles, [338].
• Hellespont, [129].
• Hetton Colliery railways, [235].
• High-pressure engines, [171], [230].
• Holland, [316-324].
• Hollingsworth, Mr. James, [5].
• Hollow walls, [164], [408].
• Holyhead road, [244].
• Hospitality, Portuguese, [353].
• Humber, [224].
• Huskisson, Mr., killed, [246].
• Imperial Elisabeth Railway, [377].
• Inventions, new, [232].
• Ionian Islands, [54], [56].
• Ireland, drainage in, [422].
• Iron mines, [305], [310], [315].
• Irrigation, [137].
• Ismaila, lake, [139].
• Ivens, Mr. Thomas, [386].
• Jackson, Colonel, [249].
• Jackson, Sir John, [26].
• Jeffreys, Mr., [191].
• Jessop, Jonas, [167], [243], [285].
• Jessop, William, [241].
• John, King, [205].
• Jolliffe and Banks, [8], [34], [160], [192], [200], [222], [226], [409].
• Jones, Mr., [6].
• Jones, Mr. R. L., [173], [178], [183], [185].
• Kalavatha, [85], [101].
• Kennet and Avon Canal, [20].
• Kurds, adventure with, [116], [120].
• Lagoons of Venice, [41].
• Lakes, [37], [101], [138], [139], [403].
• Land, reclaiming from the sea, [214], [216], [318], [322].
• Leghorn, [151].
• Leicester, Earl of, [211].
• Leonardi da Vinci, [39].
• Lerna, [183].
• Lesseps, M., [140].
• Levelling, [445].
• Lisbon, [324].
• Litigation, [212], [296].
• Livadia, [100].
• Liverpool, Lord, [182].
• Locomotives, [230-234], [240], [302].
• London and Birmingham Railway, [243], [247].
• London and Brighton Railway, [245].
• London Bridge, [172-192], [263], [407].
• London, Chatham, and Dover Railway, [286], [301].
• London streets, [194].
• Lonsdale, Earl of, [236].
• Lowther, Lord, [243].
• Lynn, [199], [212].
• Lynn Corporation, [210].
• Lunzi, Count, [61].
• Machinery, [286], [287], [412].
• Madrid, [271].
• Magnesia, [115], [121].
• Mahmoud, Sultan, [123].
• Maid of Athens, [75].
• Maina, [88].
• Maitland, Sir Thomas, [54], [58].
• Malaga, [265].
• Malta, [145].
• Mamelukes, [134].
• Manchester and Liverpool Railway, [246].
• Man, Isle of, [290].
• Mantinea, [85].
• Manzanilla wine, [269].
• Marathon, [102].
• Marathonesi, [90].
• Marble, Parian, [106].
• Marcet, Dr., [37].
• Marine engines, [414].
• Marriage, Oriental, [123].
• Marsh fever, [320].
• Marshland drainage, [199].
• Martin, Sir T. B., [414].
• Mayo, Dr. H., [3].
• Mediterranean, [140].
• Mehemet Ali, [133].
• Melville, Lord, [17], [22], [158], [164].
• Menai Straits bridge, [180].
• Merthyr Tydvil, [231].
• Messenia, [97].
• Meston, Mr., [8].
• Metropolitan Railway, [303].
• Metternich, Prince, [280].
• Mezzofanti, [44].
• Middle Level Corporation, [206], [210].
• Milan, [39].
• Miletus, ruins of, [119].
• Milman, Dr., [3].
• Mint, [30], [286].
• Mitylene, [109].
• Mola di Gaeta, [149].
• Moles, hollow, [46].
• Montague, Mr., [85].
• Monte Serrata, [275].
• Moore, [50].
• Morat and Bienne lakes, [37].
• Morgan, Lady, [50].
• Morea, tour through, [77].
• Moscow, [261].
• Mosques, Turkish, [125].
• Murchison, Sir Roderick, [250].
• Mycene, [81].
• Napier, Sir Charles, [59].
• Naples, [53], [147].
• Napoleon, Louis, [308].
• Napoli di Romania, [79].
• Nash, [194].
• Natur Geforsches, [280].
• Negropont, [101].
• Nene outfall, [199], [205].
• Newcomen, [228].
• Newry ship canal, [423].
• Nicholas, Emperor, [253], [259].
• Nile, [131], [134], [137], [138], [141], [143].
• Norfolk Estuary, [208], [218].
• Northfleet, [21].
• Nyanza, lake, [138].
• Oçana, [351].
• Odessa, surveys at, [377], [378].
• Old London Bridge, [172], [174], [181], [192].
• Olympus, Mount, [121].
• O’Neil, Mr., [349].
• Oporto, [325], [331].
• Orchomenus, [101].
• Order of knighthood, [308].
• Oscar, King of Sweden, [307].
• Oscillating engines, [413].
• Ostend, [30].
• Ottoman troops, [125].
• Ouse, [158], [206], [212].
• Ovar, [342].
• Owen, Colonel, [332].
• Pæstum, [147].
• Palmerston, Lord, [196].
• Paris, [194].
• Paris, cholera in, [279].
• Parliamentary committees, [185], [295], [297].
• Parliament, petition to, [191].
• Paros, quarries at, [106].
• Parthenon, the, [74], [75].
• Patras, [64], [98].
• Pedro, Dom, [339].
• Peel, Sir Robert, [247].
• Penn, Mr. John, [414].
• Perceval, Mr., death of, [168].
• Perkins, Mr., [172].
• Peterhead, [11], [15], [17].
• Petersburg, St., [253], [256].
• Peter the Great, [257].
• Peto, Betts, and Co., [211], [302], [340], [348].
• Phigalian marbles, [96].
• Picture galleries, [150].
• Piers, curved, [53].
• Piers, open, [147].
• Piles for London Bridge, [175].
• Pinto, Basto, and Co., [344].
• Piræus, [72], [75].
• Pitfour, [16].
• Pitt, Mr., [17], [22], [163].
• Pius VII., [51].
• Platen, Count, [308].
• Plymouth Breakwater, [165], [410].
• Polyænus, [129].
• Pompey’s Pillar, [133].
• Ponta Delgada harbour, [385-398].
• Pontine Marshes, [51].
• Pont Sans Pareille, [27].
• Porcelain manufactory, [344].
• Port Patrick, [19], [20].
• Port Said, [139].
• Portsmouth Harbour, [410].
• Portugal, [324], [352].
• Portuguese bull fight, [329].
• Portuguese railways, [339], [343], [345], [353].
• Port wine district, [341].
• Prevot, M., [67], [73].
• Priene, [118].
• Quarries, ancient Egyptian, [144].
• Quarries, granite, [11].
• Quarries, marble, [106], [151].
• Rails, [240-242].
• Railways, [132], [228], [243-248], [284], [292], [294], [299], [328], [339], [367], [415-418], [436].
• Railway gauges, [239].
• Railways in Sweden, [304], [307].
• Railway mania, [294], [307].
• Rainhill, competition of engines at, [240].
• Raleigh Club, [250].
• Ramadan, the, [127].
• Ramsgate Harbour, [161], [399].
• Reclaimed land, [421], [422].
• Red Sea, [139].
• Regent Street, [194].
• Religious fanaticism in Turkey, [125].
• Remington, Mr., [291], [404].
• Rennie, Mr. George, [167], [244], [263], [287].
• Rennie, Mr., Sen., [7], [20], [21], [31], [36], [145], [162], [163], [165], [168], [172], [180], [193], [198], [199], [205], [219], [286].
• Reservoirs, [127].
• Retaining walls, [451].
• Rhone, [38].
• Rigby, Messrs., [405].
• Roads in Portugal, [344].
• Robbers (see [Brigands]).
• ‘Rocket,’ the, [240].
• Rolling machinery at the Mint, [30].
• Romans, the, [192].
• Rome, [47].
• Rosen, Count, [304], [309].
• Roskilly, Dr., [148].
• Royal Society, [248].
• Royal William Yard, Stonehouse, [170], [410].
• Rubens, [29].
• Rummery Mill, [199].
• Russia, [252].
• Russian society, [256].
• Rutland, Duchess of, [196].
• Sadlier, John, M.P., [310].
• Saldanha, Duke de, [325].
• Salisbury, Marquis of, [182].
• Salvatierra, [349].
• Samuda, Messrs., [302].
• Sandeman, Messrs., [333], [362].
• Savery, [228].
• Scalo, [99].
• Scheldt, the, [316].
• Schleswig, [312].
• Schooldays, [2].
• Scott, Mr., [121], [188].
• Scotland, surveys in, [17].
• Screw steamers, [288], [413].
• Sea-walls, [448].
• Sebastopol, [258], [287].
• Serpent charmers, [136], [375].
• Seville, [269].
• Sewage, [425].
• Sewers, [401].
• Shaw, Waring, and Co., [341], [349].
• Sheerness Dockyard, [22], [163], [408], [453].
• Shelley, [2].
• Ship canal, [284].
• Sierra Morena, [270].
• Simplon Pass, [37].
• Smeaton, [162], [193], [228].
• Smeatonian Society, [429].
• Smirke, Sir Robert, [195], [197].
• Smyrna, [110], [121].
• Smyth, Admiral, [60], [66].
• Society at Rome, [48].
• Society in London, [263].
• South Eastern Railway, [286], [300].
• South Wales Railway, [299].
• Southwark Bridge, [7], [17], [22-26], [30], [34].
• Spain, [264].
• Spanish peasantry, [268].
• Sparta, [87].
• Spezzia, [151].
• ‘Spry’ sloop of war, [133], [145], [154].
• Stages, floating, [31].
• Stationary engines on railways, [294].
• Steam engines, [228-235], [287], [413].
• Steam engine, Watt’s experiments with, [229].
• Steam gun, the, [172].
• Steam pumping, [161].
• Steam vessels, [171], [258], [287], [302].
• Stephenson, George, [235], [240], [247], [293].
• Stephenson, Robert, [32], [132], [180], [206], [210], [247].
• St. Michael’s, [385], [398].
• Stockton and Darlington Railway, [20], [235].
• Stroganoff, Count, [126].
• Suez Canal, [138-143].
• Sulina, [378].
• Sun-and-planet wheel, [229].
• Surveying, [445].
• Sweden, [304].
• Swedes, character of, [314].
• Swedish iron, [316].
• Swedish railways, [310].
• Switzerland, [36].
• Sword manufactory, Toledo, [272].
• Tagus, [324], [327].
• Taste, Committee of, [95].
• Taygetus, Mount, [88], [92], [95].
• Teddington Lock, [193].
• Telford, Mr., [167], [180], [191], [198], [200], [221], [244], [247], [308].
• Temples, [71], [74], [77], [82], [119], [136].
• Terracina, [53].
• Tertulia, Spanish, [271].
• Thames, [193], [404], [422].
• Thames frozen over, [6].
• Thames Street, [183], [185].
• Thames Tunnel shield, [412].
• Thorwaldsen, [49].
• Thurtle, Mr., [146].
• Tide gauge, [401].
• Tide level of Thames, [193].
• Timsah, lake, [139].
• Tiryns, [81].
• Toledo, [272].
• Trafalgar Square, [195].
• Travellers Club, [248].
• Travels, [26-30], [36-154], [252-283], [304-399].
• Tredcroft, [2].
• Trevithick, [230], [233].
• Trench, Sir F., [196].
• Trent, [224].
• Trent Valley line, [247].
• Tripolitza, [84].
• Trophonius, cave of, [101].
• Tunis, surveys in, [367].
• Turks, [65], [71], [76], [79], [86], [99], [102], [112], [125], [126].
• Tyne, [20].
• Ubes, St., [360].
• Utica, [371].
• Valley of the Po, [39].
• Vandyke, [29].
• Vauxhall Bridge, [6].
• Venice, [40].
• Vent-pipes on conduits, [127].
• Venus, temple of, [71].
• Vermuyden, [324].
• Verona, [40].
• Viana, [337].
• Vienna, [280].
• Vienna, water supply of, [384].
• Vignolles, Mr., [236], [246].
• Vivian, [230], [233].
• Vostizza, [99].
• Walker, Mr. James, [209].
• Wallace, Lord, [410].
• Warehouses, [442].
• Warsaw, [262].
• Wash, the, [204], [207], [214].
• Water-carriers in Portugal, [326].
• Waterloo Bridge, [30-35], [50].
• Waterloo, field of, [28].
• Water supply, [127], [128], [369], [384], [401], [423].
• Waterwheels, [193].
• Waterworks, [441].
• Watt, [171], [228], [413].
• Welland, river, [207].
• Wellington, Duke of, [182], [184], [188], [246], [282].
• Wellington Street, Strand, [195].
• Werry, Mr., [112].
• Whidbey, Mr. Joseph, [166].
• Whittlesea Mere, [205].
• Wildmere Fens, [219].
• William IV., [189].
• Wilson, General, [253].
• Wisbeach Corporation, [202].
• Witham outfall, [207], [222], [224].
• Wolves, [119].
• Wooden rails, [228].
• Woolwich Dockyard, [21], [22], [410].
• Wright, Captain, [133].
• Wrought-iron rails, [241].
• Wyatt, Sir Philip, [196].
• Xerxes, [129].
• Yacht, Russian Emperor’s, [258-260].
• Yagers, Tyrolese, [147].
• Yarborough, Earl of, [227].
• Yeats, Mr., [8].
• York, Duke of, [177].
• Young, Dr., [8].
• Young, Mr. John, [204].
• Zante, [57], [62].
• Zoological Society, [251].

THE END.

LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.