George Hennet
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George Hennet (1799–1857) was a railway engineer and contractor. He undertook many contracts for Isambard Kingdom Brunel's broad gauge railways in the South West of England and funded the provision of extra facilities on the South Devon Railway, these formed the basis of a general trading business that he conducted.
George Hennet was born in May 1799 in York. His early career was as a school master but he developed a talent for surveying. In 1829 he married Rosamond Follet, daughter of a timber merchant from Topsham, Devon.
During his work for Brunel he was living in London, close to Brunel's offices, but later moved to an address in Bristol near Temple Meads station. About 1849 he moved further west to Teignmouth in Devon from where he could better manage his contracts with the South Devon Railway. He owned a house called "Fonthill" in Shaldon, on the other side of the River Teign, and took an active part in the life of Teignmouth.
In 1853 he was declared bankrupt, owing about £350,000. His trading business continued for some years but his railway maintenance contract was cancelled and he had to sell much of his property in Dawlish and Teignmouth.
He died following a heart attack on 20 April 1857.
Hennet's first railway work was for George Stephenson. Working on his railways allowed him to develop his engineering knowledge and he gained membership of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1831. About six years later he undertook some work for Isambard Brunel, helping with the survey of the Great Western Railway which he was building from London to Bristol. He then obtained a contract to lay the track on part of this line, followed by similar contracts on the Bristol and Gloucester Railway, Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway, and Oxford and Great Western Railway.
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