John Joseph Bramah (1798–1846), nephew of inventor and locksmith

Joseph Bramah Joseph Bramah (13 April 1748 – 9 December 1814) was an English inventor and locksmith. He is best known for having improved the flush toilet and inventing the hydraulic press. Along with William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, he can be cons ...

, was an English ironmaster and engineer.

Career

On 1 July 1832, the partnership between J. J. Bramah and his cousins Francis Bramah and Edward Bramah, described as "Engineers, Millwrights, Ironfounders, Smiths, and Plumbers", was dissolved as J. J. Bramah left to run his own business. Bramah, together with

George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was an English civil engineer and Mechanical engineering, mechanical engineer during the Industrial Revolution. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victoria ...

and

Robert Stephenson Robert Stephenson , (honoris causa, Hon. causa) (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railways", he built on the achievements of hi ...

, created a substantial railway equipment business at

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

, London, starting from his uncle Joseph Bramah's business.Grace's Guide: John Joseph Bramah
Retrieved 28 March 2012. The 1815 ''Beauties of England and Wales'' described it as "the chief ornament of this neighbourhood", being the "amazingly extensive and interesting manufactory of Mr. Bramah, the engineer, locksmith, and engine-maker", and praising it in terms: "These works have been deemed worthy the inspection of royalty, and have excited the admiration of the most powerful emperor of Christendom, Alexander of Russia." In 1836, Bramah was insured as an "iron founder", of 4 Eccleston Place, Pimlico. In 1839, with Charles Fox (1810–1874), the company became Bramah, Fox and Co. at

Smethwick Smethwick () is an industrial town in the Sandwell district, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire and then Worcestershire before bei ...

, near Birmingham. It was known as the London Works. In 1840, Messrs John Joseph Bramah and others, "engineers", had "the contract for supplying the iron work of the Black wall Railway". 1844 Bramah, Ironmaster of

Dudley Dudley ( , ) is a market town in the West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically part of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. In the ...

, was a member of the committee of management of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway. 1844 Bramah purchased share in the Broomfield ironworks, at which point the name of the partnership became Bramah, Barrows, and Hall. 1845 Bramah of Ashwood House purchased Horseley Ironworks and intended to put them into full operation, according to the ''Wolverhampton Chronicle''. 1846 13 September: Death of Bramah, an extensive ironmaster and celebrated engineer, at Ashwood House,

Kingswinford Kingswinford is a town of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the English West Midlands (county), West Midlands, situated west-southwest of central Dudley. In 2011 the area had a population of 25,191, down from 25,808 at the 2001 Census. T ...

in his 48th year. Messrs Barrows and Hall purchased his share in the partnership Bramah, Barrows, and Hall from his estate.

Family

Bramah was the nephew of

of Ashdown House,

. He was married to Martha Barracliff (1801–1870). They lived in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. When Bramah's sister Esther Frances Bramah died, the couple acted as wards for the orphaned children Thomas Bramah Diplock and Samuel Robey Diplock. Thomas Bramah Diplock is chiefly famous for having been the coroner for some of the "

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who was active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also ...

" murders. Diplock was father of Bramah Joseph Diplock.

Bibliography

British History Online: Chapter IV: Pimlico

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bramah, John Joseph 1798 births 1846 deaths English ironmasters English engineers 19th-century English businesspeople