William Mackenzie (contractor)

William Mackenzie
Born	20 March 1794 Nelson, Lancashire, England
Died	29 October 1851 74 Grove Street, Liverpool, England
Resting place	St Andrew's Church, Rodney Street, Liverpool
Residence	74 Grove Street, Liverpool
Nationality	British
Occupation	Civil engineer, Contractor
Known for	Civil engineering contractor
Spouse(s)	Mary Dalziel Sarah Dewhurst
Parent(s)	Alexander Mackenzie Mary Roberts

William Mackenzie (20 March 1794 – 29 October 1851) was an Anglo-Scottish civil engineer and civil engineering contractor who was one of the leading European contractors in the 1840s.

Mackenzie was born near Nelson, Lancashire, England, the eldest of the 11 children of Alexander Mackenzie, a Scottish contractor, and Mary née Roberts. He started his career as an apprentice weaver but changed to civil engineering, becoming a pupil of a lock carpenter on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in 1811. He continued his training on a dry dock at Troon harbour, on Craigellachie Bridge and as an agent on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Union Canal.

In 1822 he became an agent for the completion of the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal. Soon after this he was appointed resident engineer for Thomas Telford's Mythe Bridge at Tewkesbury, then resident engineer to the improvements to the Birmingham canals, again under Telford. Following this he returned to contracting, his profitable contracts including tunnels on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway between Edge Hill and Lime Street, and contracts for the Grand Union, North Union, Midland Counties and Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock railways. Non-railway contracts included Liverpool Haymarket, the Manchester and Sheffield Junction Canal and the Shannon navigation.

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