Edward Leader Williams
Encyclopedia
Sir Edward Leader Williams (28 April 1828 – 1 January 1910) was an English civil engineer
, chiefly remembered as the designer of the Manchester Ship Canal
, but also heavily involved in other canal
projects in north Cheshire
.
on 28 April 1828, the son of a civil engineer also named Edward (responsible for works to make the River Severn
navigable; also a keen amateur artist and friend of John Constable
) and his Quaker wife Sarah Whiting. His brother Benjamin Williams Leader
became a famous landscape artist. The family lived at Diglis House in Worcester (today the Diglis Hotel).
Williams became an apprentice to his father. In 1856 he was chosen out of 110 applicants to be chief engineer for the development of the navigable northern section of the River Weaver
in Cheshire
. He began to specialise in canal construction and in 1865 produced plans for enlarging the Weston Canal, a short stretch of canal linking the river near Frodsham
to docks at Weston Point, Runcorn
.
On 1 September 1872, he joined the Bridgewater Navigation Company and worked on the Bridgewater Canal
.
in 1882 to design a new ship canal linking Manchester
with the Irish Sea
. Williams became chief designer and chief engineer, helping the Manchester Ship Canal Company formulate its proposals for the necessary Act of Parliament
. From its initial reading in 1883, it took two years for the Bill to receive Royal Assent
, and a further two years before the first construction work started, in November 1887.
The canal opened in 1894, and has been described as "a feat without precedent in modern history". As well as the canal itself, major engineering landmarks of the scheme included the Barton Swing Aqueduct
(carrying the Bridgewater Canal over the Ship Canal) and a neighbouring swing bridge
for road traffic at Barton.
After the official opening of the Manchester Ship Canal on 21 May 1894, Edward Leader Williams of the Oaks, in the Parish of Dunham Massey
, in the County Palatine of Chester was knighted by Queen Victoria
on 2 July by Letters Patent
.
Williams' other works include the Anderton Boat Lift
(1875) near Northwich
in Cheshire
, which links the navigable stretch of the River Weaver with the Trent and Mersey Canal
.
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
, chiefly remembered as the designer of the Manchester Ship Canal
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a river navigation 36 miles long in the North West of England. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift...
, but also heavily involved in other canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
projects in north Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
.
Early life
Williams was born in WorcesterWorcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
on 28 April 1828, the son of a civil engineer also named Edward (responsible for works to make the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
navigable; also a keen amateur artist and friend of John Constable
John Constable
John Constable was an English Romantic painter. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home—now known as "Constable Country"—which he invested with an intensity of affection...
) and his Quaker wife Sarah Whiting. His brother Benjamin Williams Leader
Benjamin Williams Leader
Benjamin Williams Leader RA was an English landscape painter.-Early years and training:Leader was born in Worcester as Benjamin Leader Williams, the son, and first child of eleven children, of notable civil engineer Edward Leader Williams and Sarah Whiting...
became a famous landscape artist. The family lived at Diglis House in Worcester (today the Diglis Hotel).
Career
After attending the Royal Grammar School WorcesterRoyal Grammar School Worcester
The Royal Grammar School Worcester is an independent coeducational school in Worcester, United Kingdom. Founded before 1291, it is one of the oldest British independent schools....
Williams became an apprentice to his father. In 1856 he was chosen out of 110 applicants to be chief engineer for the development of the navigable northern section of the River Weaver
River Weaver
The River Weaver is a river, navigable in its lower reaches, running in a curving route anti-clockwise across west Cheshire, northern England. Improvements to the river to make it navigable were authorised in 1720 and the work, which included eleven locks, was completed in 1732...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
. He began to specialise in canal construction and in 1865 produced plans for enlarging the Weston Canal, a short stretch of canal linking the river near Frodsham
Frodsham
Frodsham is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population is 8,982. It is approximately south of Runcorn, 16 miles south of Liverpool, and approximately south-west of Manchester...
to docks at Weston Point, Runcorn
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port within the borough of Halton in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. In 2009, its population was estimated to be 61,500. The town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north...
.
On 1 September 1872, he joined the Bridgewater Navigation Company and worked on the Bridgewater Canal
Bridgewater Canal
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester...
.
Manchester Ship Canal
After submitting proposals in competition with another engineer (Hamilton Fulton), Williams was then appointed by Daniel AdamsonDaniel Adamson
Daniel Adamson was a notable English engineer who became a successful manufacturer of boilers and was the driving force behind the inception of the Manchester Ship Canal project during the 1880s.-Early life:...
in 1882 to design a new ship canal linking Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
with the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
. Williams became chief designer and chief engineer, helping the Manchester Ship Canal Company formulate its proposals for the necessary Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
. From its initial reading in 1883, it took two years for the Bill to receive Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
, and a further two years before the first construction work started, in November 1887.
The canal opened in 1894, and has been described as "a feat without precedent in modern history". As well as the canal itself, major engineering landmarks of the scheme included the Barton Swing Aqueduct
Barton Swing Aqueduct
The Barton Swing Aqueduct is a moveable navigable aqueduct in Barton upon Irwell in Greater Manchester, England. It carries the Bridgewater Canal across the Manchester Ship Canal. The swinging action allows large vessels using the Manchester Ship Canal to pass underneath and smaller narrowboats to...
(carrying the Bridgewater Canal over the Ship Canal) and a neighbouring swing bridge
Swing bridge
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its centre of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right...
for road traffic at Barton.
After the official opening of the Manchester Ship Canal on 21 May 1894, Edward Leader Williams of the Oaks, in the Parish of Dunham Massey
Dunham Massey
Dunham Massey is a civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The parish includes the villages of Sinderland Green, Dunham Woodhouse and Dunham Town, along with Dunham Massey Park, formerly the home of the last Earl of Stamford and owned by the National Trust...
, in the County Palatine of Chester was knighted by Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
on 2 July by Letters Patent
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
.
Williams' other works include the Anderton Boat Lift
Anderton Boat Lift
The Anderton Boat Lift near the village of Anderton, Cheshire, in north-west England provides a vertical link between two navigable waterways: the River Weaver and the Trent and Mersey Canal....
(1875) near Northwich
Northwich
Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, which links the navigable stretch of the River Weaver with the Trent and Mersey Canal
Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....
.