James Morgan (1776? – 18 February 1856) was a British

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and engineer, notably associated with the construction of the Regent's Canal in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He is thought to have been born in

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

, south Wales, where he became employed by noted architect and planner John Nash – an association which was to last some 40 years. As a master-planner, Nash often left the completion of projects to his assistants and Morgan was no exception. His 1811 masterplan for

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the London Borough of Camden, Borough of Camden (and historical ...

and the surrounding areas, for example, saw Morgan gainfully employed in supervising much of the park's layout. That same year, Nash was approached by Thomas Homer to join a venture to construct a canal across north central London. Morgan, again, became responsible for the project's details, his plans formed the basis for the Regent's Canal Act passed by Parliament in 1812 and he was subsequently appointed the company’s engineer. Although not a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

of anything like the stature of contemporaries such as

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well ...

, Morgan rose to the challenge of designing and supervising

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

s, basins and docks. Perhaps his most notable achievements were the Maida Hill and

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

tunnels – the latter was the longest on the canal, and when Telford himself was invited to inspect it in 1818, he opined: "materials and workmanship excellent, and its direction perfectly straight".James Morgan – Canal Engineer
at ''London Canal Museum'' The tunnel opened in 1820 and Morgan retained his role with the company for a further 15 years. Morgan's other projects included: proposals (never realised) to canalise a stretch of the River Stour to

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, a terrace of houses in

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...

(with Nash) in 1827, St George's Church, Wolverhampton (1828-1830), and alterations to Bushbury Church, to the north of Wolverhampton (also 1830). He died in London, and is buried in

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is since 1852 the first (and only) London cemetery to be Crown Estate, Crown property, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington a ...

References

External links

James Morgan, from London Canal Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, James 1770s births 1856 deaths British canal engineers Burials at Brompton Cemetery People from Carmarthen