James Nicholas Douglass
Encyclopedia
Sir James Nicholas Douglass, FRS, (16 October 1826 – 19 June 1898), was an English
civil engineer
, a prolific lighthouse
builder and designer, most famous for the design and construction of the fourth Eddystone Lighthouse
, for which he was knighted.
, in 1826, the eldest son of Nicholas Douglass, also a civil engineer. After serving an apprenticeship with the Hunter and English company, he joined the engineering department of Trinity House
, the United Kingdom
's lighthouse authority.
Along with his brother William, James worked as an assistant to his father during the construction of James Walker
's Bishop Rock Lighthouse, earning the nickname 'Cap'n Jim' during the process. After a brief period working for the Newcastle
carriage builders R J & R Laycock, he returned in 1854 to assist in the lighthouse's final completion and to marry his fiancee Mary Tregarthen. Trinity House then engaged him as Resident Engineer to design the Smalls Lighthouse
off the coast of Pembrokeshire
, his first solo project.
Douglass based his plans on the proven design of John Smeaton
for the third Eddystone lighthouse, which had used dovetailed granite
blocks for strength. Douglass sourced his granite from the De Lank Quarries
near Bodmin
, Cornwall
, and had it shipped to Solva
on the Welsh coast where it was dressed. The Smalls light was completed in 1861, at a cost of £50,125, and in a record-breaking time of two years. Douglass immediately went on to supervise the construction of the Wolf Rock Lighthouse, designed by James Walker, and was appointed as Engineer-in-Chief of Trinity House in 1862.
Douglass's design for the Smalls light was a great success and he went on to design some twenty lighthouses for Trinity House, including some wave-swept towers which remain major engineering achievements, such as the Longships Lighthouse off Land's End
. Douglass's designs were also used in Sri Lanka
. His brother William became the Engineer-in-Chief to the Commissioners of Irish Lights
in 1878, serving in the post until 1900.
The crowning achievement of James Douglass's career was the construction of the fourth Eddystone Lighthouse. Douglass was engaged to build a replacement for Smeaton's tower in 1877, and the new lighthouse was completed in 1882, the project being finished both without loss of life or serious injury and £18,745 under budget. Douglass received a knighthood shortly afterwards for his services to engineering. He also carried out work on improving illumination using oil and gas burners and electricity.
In 1887 Douglass was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He retired in 1892, being succeeded as Engineer-in-Chief by Thomas Matthews
, and died in 1898 at his home on the Isle of Wight
. His youngest son Alfred also trained as a lighthouse engineer. His eldest surviving son was William Tregarthen Douglass
, who gained a considerable reputation as a civil engineer in the construction of lighthouses.
. Wigham claimed that gas lights were superior to oil lamps, Douglass, then chief engineer to Trinity House, disagreed In 1863 the Dublin Ballast Board funded Wigham's research and the new gas light was installed in the Baily Lighthouse
, they then converted other lighthouses until Trinity House
prohibited further conversion of lighthouses from oil to gas. After pressure from the Irish Parliamentary Party
In 1871 trials were conducted at the two Happisburgh Lighthouse
s comparing oil with gas. Douglass reported that "the large gas burner was ex-focal and therefore that it was totally useless and wasted".
Douglass claimed that the design of "superposed lenses" at the Eddystone Lighthouse
of 1882 were his. The same design "bi-form lens" was used by Wigham in the Galley Head
lighthouse in 1877. There was a public dispute. Wigham had patented his design (Patent number 1015) in 1872. Wigham successfully sued Douglass for infringement of patent, and Douglass had to pay £2,500 to Wigham
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
civil engineer
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...
, a prolific lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
builder and designer, most famous for the design and construction of the fourth Eddystone Lighthouse
Eddystone Lighthouse
Eddystone Lighthouse is on the treacherous Eddystone Rocks, south west of Rame Head, United Kingdom. While Rame Head is in Cornwall, the rocks are in Devon and composed of Precambrian Gneiss....
, for which he was knighted.
Biography
James Nicholas Douglass was born in Bow, LondonBow, London
Bow is an area of London, England, United Kingdom in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a built-up, mostly residential district located east of Charing Cross, and is a part of the East End.-Bridges at Bowe:...
, in 1826, the eldest son of Nicholas Douglass, also a civil engineer. After serving an apprenticeship with the Hunter and English company, he joined the engineering department of Trinity House
Trinity House
The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's lighthouse authority.
Along with his brother William, James worked as an assistant to his father during the construction of James Walker
James Walker (engineer)
James Walker, FRS, was an influential Scottish civil engineer of the first half of the 19th century.Walker was born in Falkirk and was apprenticed to his uncle Ralph Walker in approximately 1800, with whom he gained experience working on the design and construction of the West India and East India...
's Bishop Rock Lighthouse, earning the nickname 'Cap'n Jim' during the process. After a brief period working for the Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
carriage builders R J & R Laycock, he returned in 1854 to assist in the lighthouse's final completion and to marry his fiancee Mary Tregarthen. Trinity House then engaged him as Resident Engineer to design the Smalls Lighthouse
Smalls Lighthouse
Smalls Lighthouse stands on a small rock approximately west of St David's Peninsula in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was erected in 1861 by engineer James Douglass to replace a previous lighthouse which had been erected in 1776 on the same rock...
off the coast of Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
, his first solo project.
John Smeaton
John Smeaton, FRS, was an English civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist...
for the third Eddystone lighthouse, which had used dovetailed granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
blocks for strength. Douglass sourced his granite from the De Lank Quarries
De Lank Quarries
De Lank Quarries is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in St Breward parish, north Cornwall, notified in 1994. The quarries have produced typical biotite granites and are of such quality that a slab now forms the base section of the reception desk at the Geological Society of London...
near Bodmin
Bodmin
Bodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, and had it shipped to Solva
Solva
Solva is a village and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK.-Location:Solva lies on the north side of St Bride's Bay, in North Pembrokeshire in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. It lies on a deep ravine at the mouth of the River Solva. In the ravine is...
on the Welsh coast where it was dressed. The Smalls light was completed in 1861, at a cost of £50,125, and in a record-breaking time of two years. Douglass immediately went on to supervise the construction of the Wolf Rock Lighthouse, designed by James Walker, and was appointed as Engineer-in-Chief of Trinity House in 1862.
Land's End
Land's End is a headland and small settlement in west Cornwall, England, within the United Kingdom. It is located on the Penwith peninsula approximately eight miles west-southwest of Penzance....
. Douglass's designs were also used in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. His brother William became the Engineer-in-Chief to the Commissioners of Irish Lights
Commissioners of Irish Lights
The Commissioners of Irish Lights is the body that serves as the lighthouse authority for Ireland plus its adjacent seas and islands...
in 1878, serving in the post until 1900.
The crowning achievement of James Douglass's career was the construction of the fourth Eddystone Lighthouse. Douglass was engaged to build a replacement for Smeaton's tower in 1877, and the new lighthouse was completed in 1882, the project being finished both without loss of life or serious injury and £18,745 under budget. Douglass received a knighthood shortly afterwards for his services to engineering. He also carried out work on improving illumination using oil and gas burners and electricity.
In 1887 Douglass was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He retired in 1892, being succeeded as Engineer-in-Chief by Thomas Matthews
Thomas Matthews (engineer)
Sir Thomas Matthews was an English civil engineer, who was a notable builder of lighthouses. He was the brother of Sir William Matthews, also a prominent civil engineer...
, and died in 1898 at his home on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. His youngest son Alfred also trained as a lighthouse engineer. His eldest surviving son was William Tregarthen Douglass
William Douglass (engineer)
William Tregarthen Douglass was the Chief Engineer for the Commissioners of Irish Lights in the late-nineteenth- and early twentieth-century. He is responsible for a number of their designs of lighthouses and associated structures. He was a consulting engineer for lighthouse construction for...
, who gained a considerable reputation as a civil engineer in the construction of lighthouses.
Controversy
Douglass was involved bitter public disputes with John Richardson WighamJohn Richardson Wigham
John Richardson Wigham was a prominent lighthouse engineer of the 19th century.-Early life:Wigham was born to a Quaker family in Newington, Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, Henry, operated a mill for the manufacture of shawls. When he was 15 years old he was apprenticed to his brother-in-law...
. Wigham claimed that gas lights were superior to oil lamps, Douglass, then chief engineer to Trinity House, disagreed In 1863 the Dublin Ballast Board funded Wigham's research and the new gas light was installed in the Baily Lighthouse
Baily Lighthouse
The Baily Lighthouse is a lighthouse on the southeastern part of Howth Head in Dublin, Ireland. It is maintained by the Commissioners of Irish Lights.-Early history:...
, they then converted other lighthouses until Trinity House
Trinity House
The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...
prohibited further conversion of lighthouses from oil to gas. After pressure from the Irish Parliamentary Party
Irish Parliamentary Party
The Irish Parliamentary Party was formed in 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nationalist Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons at...
In 1871 trials were conducted at the two Happisburgh Lighthouse
Happisburgh Lighthouse
Happisburgh Lighthouse in Happisburgh on the North Norfolk coast is the only independently operated lighthouse in Great Britain. It is also the oldest working lighthouse in East Anglia....
s comparing oil with gas. Douglass reported that "the large gas burner was ex-focal and therefore that it was totally useless and wasted".
Douglass claimed that the design of "superposed lenses" at the Eddystone Lighthouse
Eddystone Lighthouse
Eddystone Lighthouse is on the treacherous Eddystone Rocks, south west of Rame Head, United Kingdom. While Rame Head is in Cornwall, the rocks are in Devon and composed of Precambrian Gneiss....
of 1882 were his. The same design "bi-form lens" was used by Wigham in the Galley Head
Galley Head
The Galley Head is a headland and lighthouse outside of Rosscarbery, County Cork, on the south coast of Ireland.Galley Head Lighthouse station is situated on the Galley Head or Dundeady headland in the very heart of West Cork at about 130 feet above sea level, overlooking St George's Channel and 2...
lighthouse in 1877. There was a public dispute. Wigham had patented his design (Patent number 1015) in 1872. Wigham successfully sued Douglass for infringement of patent, and Douglass had to pay £2,500 to Wigham
Examples of Douglass's designs
- Bishop Rock Lighthouse (a rebuild of Walker's design)
- Bow Creek Lighthouse at Trinity Buoy WharfTrinity Buoy WharfTrinity Buoy Wharf, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, is the site of London's only lighthouse, by the confluence of the River Thames and Bow Creek, at Leamouth. The lighthouse no longer functions, and is the home of various art projects such as Longplayer...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... - The fourth Eddystone LighthouseEddystone LighthouseEddystone Lighthouse is on the treacherous Eddystone Rocks, south west of Rame Head, United Kingdom. While Rame Head is in Cornwall, the rocks are in Devon and composed of Precambrian Gneiss....
- Hartland Point LighthouseHartland Point LighthouseHartland Point Lighthouse is a Grade II listed building at Hartland Point, Devon, England. The point marks the western limit of the Bristol Channel with the Atlantic Ocean continuing to the west....
, DevonDevonDevon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with... - Great Castle Head range lights, Milford HavenMilford HavenMilford Haven is a town and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated on the north side of the Milford Haven Waterway, a natural harbour used as a port since the Middle Ages. The town was founded in 1790 on the north side of the Waterway, from which it takes its name...
- Les Hanois Lighthouse, GuernseyGuernseyGuernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
- Longships Lighthouse
- Smalls LighthouseSmalls LighthouseSmalls Lighthouse stands on a small rock approximately west of St David's Peninsula in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was erected in 1861 by engineer James Douglass to replace a previous lighthouse which had been erected in 1776 on the same rock...
- Souter LighthouseSouter LighthouseSouter Lighthouse is a lighthouse located in the village of Marsden in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England.-History:The lighthouse is located on Lizard Point at Marsden, but takes its name from Souter Point, which is located a mile to the south...
, Tyne and WearTyne and WearTyne and Wear is a metropolitan county in north east England around the mouths of the Rivers Tyne and Wear. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972... - Southwold Lighthouse, SuffolkSuffolkSuffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...