William Webster (May 1819 – 1 February 1888) was a British builder who worked with architects and engineers such as

Gilbert Scott Gilbert Scott commonly refers to Sir George Gilbert Scott (1811–1878), a British architect principally known for his church buildings. Gilbert Scott may also refer to several other British architects: * George Gilbert Scott, Jr. (1839–1897), s ...

and

Joseph Bazalgette Sir Joseph William Bazalgette (; 28 March 1819 – 15 March 1891) was an English civil engineering, civil engineer. As Chief Engineer of London's Metropolitan Board of Works, his major achievement was the creation of the London Main Drainage, t ...

and is especially associated with several embankments of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

Career

Born in the small

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

village of

Wyberton __NOTOC__ Wyberton is a village in Lincolnshire, England. It lies just south-west of Boston, Lincolnshire, Boston, and on the B1397 road, B1397 – the former A16 London Road – between Boston and Kirton, Lincolnshire, Kirton. The A ...

in 1819, Webster apprenticed to the

Boston, Lincolnshire Boston is a market town and inland port in the borough of the same name in the county of Lincolnshire, England. It lies to the south-east of Lincoln, east of Nottingham and north-east of Peterborough. The town had a population of 45,339 at ...

builder Mr. Jackson. Immediately following his apprenticeship, Webster became a builder in Wyberton and was initially involved in the refurbishment and renovation of a number of churches in Lincolnshire (working with Sir

on Algakirk church) and the surrounding counties as well the building of Boston's Exchange Building. Between 1856 and 1857, Webster was commissioned to build the Cambridge Lunatic Asylum at

Fulbourn Fulbourn is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, with evidence of settlement dating back to Neolithic times. The village was probably established under its current name by 1200. The waterfowl-frequented stream after which it was named lies i ...

. Following the completion of this project his next was the building of the

Three Counties Asylum Fairfield Hospital in Fairfield, Bedfordshire, England was a psychiatric hospital from 1860 to 1999. It is a Grade II listed building. History Construction of ''The Fairfield Three Counties Asylum'' by William Webster on a site between Letch ...

, near

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district of Hertfordshire, England. The town dates from at least the 7th century. It lies in the valley of the River Hiz at the north-eastern end of the Chiltern Hills ...

. Moving to London in 1860, his first projects in the capital included contracts for the Crossness

Southern Outfall Sewer The Southern Outfall Sewer is a major sewer taking sewage from the southern area of central London to Crossness in south-east London. Flows from three interceptory sewers combine at a pumping station in Deptford and then run under Greenwich, ...

Abbey Mills Pumping Station Abbey Mills Pumping Station is a sewage pumping station in Mill Meads, East London, operated by Thames Water. The pumping station lifts sewage on the London Main Drainage sewerage system into the Northern Outfall Sewer and the Lee Tunnel, whi ...

and the Western Pumping Station (adjacent to the

Grosvenor Canal Grosvenor Canal was a canal in the Pimlico area of London, opened in 1824. It was progressively shortened, as first the railways to Victoria Station and then the Ebury Bridge housing estate were built over it. It remained in use until 1995, en ...

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 ...

). He then moved to constructing parts of the

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 ...

and the whole of the

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

and

Chelsea Embankment Chelsea Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and walkway along the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. The western end of Chelsea Embankment, including a stretch of Cheyne Walk, is in the Royal Borough of ...

s (1871) as well as an extension to the embankment around the

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 ...

. He was also involved in the

Holborn Viaduct railway station Holborn Viaduct was a railway station in the City of London, providing local and commuter services. It was located to the southeast of Holborn Viaduct, and east of Farringdon Street. The station was opened in 1874 by the London, Chatham and Dov ...

and hotel, and the southern approaches to

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule, Suspension bridge, suspension, and, until 1960, Cantilever bridge, cantilever bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones ...

. His company also undertook many other contracts including building chapels - for example, the ''Dissenters' Chapel'' in

Hither Green Cemetery Hither Green Cemetery, opened as Lee Cemetery in 1873,''The Times, History of London, New Edition'', edited by Hugh Clout p. Chapter 11 Monuments and cemeteries, map of London cemeteries locations with opening dates: Lee Cemetery opened 1873 is ...

. Webster died at his residence, Wyberton House (built, probably to his own design, by his firm and completed in 1869), in

Lee, London Lee, also known as Lee Green, is an area of South East London, England, straddling the border of the London Borough of Lewisham and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is located northwest of Eltham and southeast of Lewisham. It was in Kent bef ...

on 1 February 1888, and was interred at

St Margaret's, Lee St. Margaret's Church, Lee, is a Church of England parish church in Lee, London. It was built between 1839 and 1841 in a simple early Victorian style (to a design by Norwich architect John Brown (architect), John Brown), replacing an earlier chur ...

Legacy

After Webster's death, his firm was continued for some years by his son, also called

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, a chemical engineer. Some sources suggest the company's work included construction of

Blackheath Halls Blackheath Halls is a 600-seat concert hall on Lee Road in Blackheath, London, United Kingdom. It claims to be London's oldest surviving purpose-built cultural venue.http://www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/blackheath-halls/about-blackheath-halls About Bla ...

though this may reflect his son's involvement in funding the project, as other sources attribute the construction to a J.O. Richardson of

Peckham Peckham ( ) is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vi ...

Gallery

File:Wyberton House.jpg, Wyberton House File:Memorial to William Webster, St Margaret's, Lee.jpg, Webster's grave File:Inscription regarding William Webster.jpg, Grave inscription

Notable works

Crossness Pumping Station Crossness Pumping Station is a former sewage pumping station designed by the architect Charles Henry Driver for the Metropolitan Board of Works's chief engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette. It is located at Crossness Sewage Treatment Works, at the e ...

(1865) *

Albert Embankment Albert Embankment is part of the river bank on the south side of the River Thames in Central London. It stretches approximately one mile (1.6 km) northward from Vauxhall Bridge to Westminster Bridge, and is located in the London Borough ...

(1869) *

(1870) *

(1874) *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, William (builder) 1819 births 1888 deaths People from Wyberton British builders Water supply and sanitation in London Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea London water infrastructure Infrastructure in London Waterfronts

Embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railway ...

People from Lee, London 19th-century English businesspeople

Career

Legacy

Gallery

Notable works

See also

References