James Walker (14 September 1781 – 8 October 1862) was an influential

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civil engineer and contractor.

Life

Born in Law Wynd in

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

, the eldest of five children of John Walker and his wife Margaret, James was educated at the local school and was sent to

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

in October 1794, aged 13. He studied Latin and Greek for two years, and

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure o ...

during his third year. During his final two years he studied

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe, while ignoring any supernatural influence. It was dominant before the develop ...

and mathematics, taking the first prize. He returned to Falkirk in May 1799, aged 18, and his family discussed a career in business or

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

. But, by chance, in the summer of 1800, he was asked to accompany his ill brother-in-law on a sea journey to London. Once there, he visited his uncle Ralph Walker in Blackwall, intending to return to Scotland after a week. However, Ralph discussed his work at the

West India Docks The West India Docks are a series of three docks, quaysides, and warehouses built to import goods from, and export goods and occasionally passengers to, the British West Indies. Located on the Isle of Dogs in London, the first dock opened in 18 ...

, and was so impressed by his young nephew's grasp of engineering that he immediately took him on as his apprentice. Around 1800 they worked on the design and construction of London's West India and

East India Docks The East India Docks were a group of docks in Blackwall in east London, north-east of the Isle of Dogs. Today only the entrance basin and listed perimeter wall remain visible. History Early history Following the successful creation of the ...

. At the age of 21 he took on his first engineering work in his own right: the construction of Commercial Road in London, connecting the West India Docks to the warehouses of the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

. Later, he worked on the

Surrey Commercial Docks The Surrey Commercial Docks were a large group of docks in Rotherhithe, South East (London sub region), South East London, located on the south bank (the Surrey side) of the River Thames. The docks operated in one form or another from 1696 to ...

from about 1810 onwards, remaining as engineer to the Surrey Commercial Dock Company until his death in 1862. In 1821 Walker built his first

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

, the West Usk Lighthouse, near Newport,

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

. He went on to build another 21 lighthouses. Walker was the senior partner of the consulting engineering firm of ''Messrs. Walker and Burges'' (of Limehouse), Alfred Burges having first become his pupil in 1811 and risen to partner in 1829. In 1832 their offices moved to 44 Parliament Street,

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

(which lies at southern end of

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

) and then to 23 George Street. In 1853 he promoted James Cooper, one of his assistants, to the partnership with the firm then being known as ''Messrs. Walker, Burges & Cooper''. Walker succeeded his associate

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 ...

as President of the

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a Charitable organization, charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters ar ...

, serving from 1834 to 1845. One of his first major roles as President was to oversee the choice of three new harbours to serve

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

: a major extension to

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

Docks; a new harbour at

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

; or a new harbour at Granton. The choice resulted in the building of Granton Harbour. He was also chief engineer within

Trinity House The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond, also known as Trinity House (and formally as The Master, Wardens and Assistants of the Guild Fraternity or Brotherhood of the most glorious and undivided Trinity and of St Clement in the ...

, hence his considerable involvement with

coastal engineering Coastal engineering is a branch of civil engineering concerned with the specific demands posed by constructing at or near the coast, as well as the development of the coast itself. The fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic impact of especially wind wave, ...

and

s. He was conferred with Honorary Membership of the

Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland The Institution of Engineers in Scotland (IES) is a multi-disciplinary professional body and learned society, founded in Scotland, for professional engineers in all disciplines and for those associated with or taking an interest in their work. I ...

in 1857. He died at 23 Great George Street in

, London on 8 October 1862. He is buried beneath a humble gravestone in St Johns churchyard in

against a retaining wall on one of the southern terraces.

Projects and other work

Walker worked on various engineering projects, including: *

Greenland Dock Greenland Dock is the oldest of London's riverside wet docks, located in Rotherhithe area of the London Borough of Southwark. It used to be part of the Surrey Commercial Docks, most of which have by now been filled in. Greenland Dock is now ...

, London (c. 1808 – c. 1862) *

Vauxhall Bridge Vauxhall Bridge is a Grade II* listed steel and granite deck arch bridge in central London. It crosses the River Thames in a southeast–northwest direction between Vauxhall on the south bank and Pimlico on the north bank. Opened in 1906, it r ...

, London (1816, since demolished) * Poplar Workhouse, London (c. 1815 - c. 1817), designer * West Usk Lighthouse, near Newport,

* Survey for the

Leeds and Selby Railway The Leeds and Selby Railway was an early British railway company and first mainline railway within Yorkshire. It was opened in 1834. As built, the line ran west/east between two termini, Marsh Lane station, Leeds and Selby railway station. Th ...

(1829) * Brunswick Wharf Warehouse,

Blackwall, London Blackwall is an area of Poplar, London, Poplar, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, East London. The neighbourhood includes Leamouth and the Coldharbour, Tower Hamlets, Coldharbour conservation area. The area takes its name from a historic ...

(1832–34) designer, for the East India Dock Company and built by contractor Messrs. Horne & Gates of Poplar * Survey for the

Leipzig–Dresden Railway The Leipzig–Dresden line is a German railway line. It was built by the Leipzig–Dresden Railway Company between 1837 and 1839. It was the first long-distance railway and the List of the first German railways to 1870, first railway using only st ...

(1835) *

Hull and Selby Railway The Hull and Selby Railway is a railway line between Kingston upon Hull and Selby in the United Kingdom which was authorised by an act of Parliament in 1836 and opened in 1840. As built the line connected with the Leeds and Selby Railway (opened ...

(survey and consulting engineer, 1834, 1836–40). *

Start Point Lighthouse Start Point lighthouse was built in 1836 to protect shipping off Start Point, Devon, England. Open to the public in summer months, it is owned and operated by Trinity House. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II listed buil ...

, Devon (1836) *

Maplin Sands The Maplin Sands are mudflats on the northern bank of the Thames estuary, off Foulness Island, near Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England, though they actually lie within the neighbouring borough of Rochford. They form a part of the Essex Estuaries S ...

Lighthouse (1838) * Advice on alignment of

Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal The Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal (sometimes known as the Hereford and Gloucester Canal) is a canal in the west of England, which ran from Hereford to Gloucester, where it linked to the River Severn. It was opened in two phases in 179 ...

(1838) * Victoria Viaduct (or Bridge) on the Durham Junction Railway (1838) * Improvements to

Aberdeen Harbour Aberdeen Harbour, rebranded as the Port of Aberdeen in 2022, is a sea port located in the city of Aberdeen on the east coast of Scotland. The port was first established in 1136 and has been continually redeveloped over the centuries to provide ...

(1838) *

South Bishop Lighthouse The South Bishop Lighthouse is a lighthouse on South Bishop Island (also known as Emsger), a small rock approximately west of St Davids Head in Pembrokeshire, Wales. History In 1831 the traders of the port of Cardigan made an application to ...

(1839) * Wolf Rock beacon and lighthouse (1840–1862) * Coquet Lighthouse (1841) * Plans for River Thames embankments, later known as 'Walker's lines,' upon which the present

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

and

Victoria Embankment Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment (the other section is the Chelsea Embankment), a road and river-walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London, England. Built in the 1860s, it runs from the Palace of Westminster to ...

s are largely based (c. 1842) *

South Foreland Lighthouse South Foreland Lighthouses are a pair of Victorian lighthouses on the South Foreland in St. Margaret's Bay, Dover, Kent, England, used to warn ships approaching the nearby Goodwin Sands. There has been a pair of lighthouses at South Foreland s ...

rebuilt with a taller tower (1841-1842) *

Trevose Head Lighthouse Trevose Head Lighthouse is a lighthouse on Trevose Head on the north Cornwall, Cornish coast at lying to the WSW of Padstow and was sited here as there was previously no light from Land's End to Lundy and it would be visible from Cape Cornwall ...

(1844–1847) * ''River Severn and South Wales Railway'' (1845), a report that blocked

Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...

's plans for railway bridges across the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

. *

Gunfleet Lighthouse Gunfleet Lighthouse is a derelict screw-pile lighthouse lying in the North Sea, six miles off the coast at Frinton-on-Sea in Essex, constructed in 1850 by James Walker of Trinity House. George Henry Saunders was the contractor. Walker and Bur ...

, off

Frinton-on-Sea Frinton-on-Sea is a seaside town and (as just Frinton) a former civil parish, now in the parish of Frinton and Walton, in the Tendring district of Essex, England. In 2018 it had an estimated population of 4,837. History The place-name 'Fri ...

, Essex (1850) * Victoria Bridge, Glasgow (1851–1854) * Design of the East Bute Dock, Cardiff (1855) * Whitby Lighthouse - the twin lights of

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...

North and

South lighthouses, near Ling Hill, High Whitby (1857–58) * Bishop Rock Lighthouse (1858) * Needles Lighthouse, Isle of Wight (1859) * Completion of the

Caledonian Canal The Caledonian Canal connects the Scottish east coast at Inverness with the west coast at Corpach near Fort William in Scotland. The canal was constructed in the early nineteenth century by Scottish engineer Thomas Telford. Route The can ...

(1838–1848) *

Alderney Alderney ( ; ; ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependencies, Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making it the third-largest isla ...

breakwater,

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

(1847) and harbour (1862) * St Catherine's Harbour,

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

, Channel Islands (1847–1856) * Improvements to navigation in the

River Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden, Northumberland, Warden near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The ...

(1853–1861) *

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

, consulting engineer for the

Clock Tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building ...

(also known as Big Ben) as well as the

Victoria Tower The Victoria Tower is a square tower at the south-west end of the Palace of Westminster in London, adjacent to Black Rod's Garden on the west and Old Palace Yard on the east. At , it is slightly taller than the Elizabeth Tower (known formerly a ...

and Central Tower (1836–1859), cofferdam for the riverside foundations and terrace (1837–49) Walker was also involved in designing a dock harbour in Hamburg (1845, with William Lindley and Heinrich Hübbe). He was also involved in the

Liverpool and Manchester Railway The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) was the first inter-city railway in the world. It Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, opened on 15 September 1830 between the Lancashire towns of Liverpool and Manchester in England. It ...

, preparing a report on the merits of stationary and locomotive engines along with other notable engineers of the day. He was also for a long period consulting engineer to the

Board of Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

Memorial

A memorial to Walker was commissioned by the

to stand at Greenland Dock and was unveiled in 1990.

References

Obituaries

*Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Volume 12, Royal Society (Great Britain), 1863, "Obituary Notices of Fellows Deceased", p. lxiv–lxvi
google books link
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, James 1781 births 1862 deaths People from Falkirk Scottish company founders Scottish civil engineers 19th-century British engineers Civil engineering contractors Lighthouse builders Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers Presidents of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Glasgow Burials at St John's, Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society Committee members of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge 19th-century Scottish businesspeople Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts