John Wolfe Barry
| John Wolfe Barry | |
|---|---|
John Wolfe Barry
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| Born | 7 December 1836 London |
| Died | 22 January 1918 (aged 81) Delahaye House, Chelsea, London |
| Nationality | English |
| Education | Glenalmond College and King's College London |
| Parent(s) | Charles Barry |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Civil |
| Institutions | Institution of Civil Engineers (president) |
| Projects | Tower Bridge, Blackfriars Railway Bridge |
| Significant design | Cannon Street Railway Bridge, Kew Bridge, District line |
Sir John Wolfe Barry KCB FRS (7 December 1836 – 22 January 1918), the youngest son of famous architect Sir Charles Barry, was an English civil engineer of the late 19th and early 20th century. His most famous project is Tower Bridge over the River Thames in London which was constructed 1886–1894. After receiving a knighthood in 1897, he added "Wolfe" to his inherited name in 1898 to become Sir John Wolfe Barry.
Wolfe Barry was educated at Glenalmond and King's College London, where he was a pupil of civil engineer Sir John Hawkshaw, as was Henry Marc Brunel, son of the great Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Barry and Hawkshaw worked on railway bridge crossings across the Thames, among other projects (Brunel pursued his own business from 1871, but in 1878 went into partnership with Barry). Barry began his own practice in 1867, and carried out more work for the railways.
However, it was Tower Bridge that made Wolfe Barry's name. In 1878, architect Horace Jones first proposed a bascule bridge. An Act of Parliament allowing the Corporation of the City of London to build it was passed in 1885. Jones was appointed architect, and developed an initial scheme for which he was knighted in 1886. Wolfe Barry, already well-established with experience of bridges across the Thames, was introduced as the engineer for the project and redesigned the mechanisms resulting in a modified plan. Within a month of construction starting Sir Horace Jones died, leaving Wolfe Barry to oversee the works and specialists. The bridge was completed in 1894.
His other projects included:
In 1891, he entered into partnership with his nephew Lt Col Arthur John Barry and the partnership's projects included:
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