Josias Jessop
| Josias Jessop | |
|---|---|
| Born | 26 October 1781 |
| Died | 30 September 1826 (age 44) |
| Nationality | English |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Civil and canal engineer |
| Projects |
Bristol Harbour Wey and Arun Canal Montgomery Canal (Western Branch) Mansfield and Pinxton Railway Cromford and High Peak Railway |
Josias Jessop (1781–1826) was a noted canal engineer, and second son of William Jessop, one of the great canal engineers of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He was trained by his father, and worked under him on his early projects, but proved his abilities during the construction of Bristol harbour. He became an independent consulting engineer from 1811. He died fourteen years later, a little before he reached the age of 45.
Jessop was the second son of William and Sarah Jessop, and was presumably born at Fairburn, North Yorkshire, since he was baptised in the church there on 26 October 1781. At the age of two or three, his family moved to Newark-on-Trent, and that remained their base until 1805. His father ensured that Jessop was well trained in the career that he knew well, and they worked together on several schemes, with the father supervising the son. The first such scheme was for the West India Docks, where he acted as assistant engineer to his father from February 1801. His next project was the proposed Croydon, Merstham and Godstone Railway, where both men were appointed as engineers in October 1802. Having drawn up plans and sections, William produced the estimates, but it was Josias who gave evidence in parliament, and an Act of Parliament was obtained as a result in May 1803.
The company failed to raise the full capital required to build the line, and so the Jessops revised the plans to cover the 9 miles (14 km) from Croydon to Merstham. The contract for the construction of the line was awarded to the Butterley Company, which was at the time directed by Benjamin Outram, who managed the project himself. Josias was responsible for setting out the line, and its levels were checked by George Leather as the trackwork proceeded. Outram used subcontractors to construct the earthworks. Although the project was not completed until July 1805, Jessop left in February 1804, to work on the construction of the floating harbour at Bristol. He was required to be there full-time, although he was still officially "under the direction of his father".
The scheme was huge, involving the creation of 2 miles (3.2 km) of new channel for the River Avon, to the south of its existing route, and the impounding of around 70 acres (28 ha) of the original channel to create the largest impounded ship dock in the world at the time. At 200 by 45 feet (61 by 14 m), and with a navigable depth of 34 feet (10 m) at spring tides, the entrance lock was also one of the largest ever built. By the time it was completed, the original estimated cost of £290,000 had risen to £611,000, and although some of this was caused by problems with unstable soil in both the new cut and in the basins, much of the extra cost can be attributed to a series of improvements made as the project progressed. The younger Jessop was solely responsible for the design of the Prince's Bridge, a swing bridge over the entrance to the harbour. This required him to submit estimates to Parliament, and give evidence to support the project to the House of Lords. The bridge was completed at the same time as the main project in May 1809, having cost £14,300. Jessop continued to work for Bristol Harbour until late 1810, overseeing various jobs, including the purchase of a steam dredger. At the end, the Directors expressed their complete confidence in his abilities, stating that he had "acquitted himself in the important trust reposed in him with the most unsullied reputation and honour".
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