Thomas Steers
Encyclopedia
Thomas Steers was thought to have been born in 1672 in Kent
and died in 1750. He was England's first major civil engineer
and built many canal
s, the world's first commercial wet dock
, the Old Dock
at Liverpool
, and a theatre
. He designed Salthouse Dock
in Liverpool, which was completed by Henry Berry
after Steers' death.
as a soldier
for William of Orange
in the Netherlands, and fought at the Battle of the Boyne
. In 1717 he built several docks at Liverpool
, as well as St George's Church on the site of the Liverpool Castle
, the Old Ropery Theatre, a dry dock
, pier
, and several others.
He was mayor
of Liverpool
from 1739-1740. He was responsible for the fortification of Liverpool during the Jacobite rebellion in 1745.
There was also a Thomas Steers, lime burner of Greenwich (probably the owner and/or digger of "Jack Cade's Cavern
" and of a nearby sand mine) who was born about this time and in the right area, but who was probably not the same person. Other Steers were involved in pottery. This hints at an extended Steers family with interests in kilns and building mortar.
and Mersey
from Bank Quay at Warrington
to Manchester
in 1712. An Act of Parliament authorizing an improvement was passed in 1721 and the work, which included eight locks in a distance of 15 miles (24.1 km) to overcome a rise of 52 feet (15.8 m), was completed about 1725. It is generally believed he was the engineer.
In 1720, Steers was responsible for the Douglas Navigation
which connected the Ribble
estuary to Wigan
. He built a lock and a bridge, straightened a section of the river, and started the construction of a tidal lock, but his partner William Squire, who was raising finance for the scheme in London, became involved in the South Sea Bubble, and appears to have lost most of the money he raised. With the money gone, Steers moved on. The navigation was eventually completed in 1742, and carried coal from Wigan to Liverpool and onwards to Ireland by ship.
His most significant navigation achievement was the Newry Canal
, in Ireland
, which was the first summit-level canal in the British Isles
. The promoters asked him to act as engineer for the scheme in 1729, but then declined to pay him the fees he requested, and so the initial construction work was overseen by Edward Lovett Pearce. Pearce died in 1734, and his assistant Richard Castle took over the role. Steers returned to the project in 1736, when he conducted a survey of the existing work. Castle was sacked in December 1736, and Steers then supervised construction until 1741, working on a part-time basis. The 18 miles (29 km) of canal included 14 locks, and ran from Newry
, Carlingford Lough
to Lough Neagh
. It was built to transport coal from the Tyrone
collieries to Dublin.
In order to build locks with a larger fall than was possible with conventional gate paddles, Steers built two of the locks with sluices and ground paddles, which fed water into the bottom of the lock through the side walls. Water supply for the summit level was taken from local streams, supplemented by water from Lough Shark, which was used as a reservoir. As a whole, the work was not well executed, and the innovative locks had to be rebuilt soon after 1750. After 1741, Steers was replaced by Acheson Johnson and the canal was finally completed in 1745. Steers' assistant was Henry Berry
who later was engineer on the Sankey Canal
, the first English canal.
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and died in 1750. He was England's first major 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...
and built many 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:...
s, the world's first commercial wet dock
Wet dock
A wet dock is a dock where the level of water in the dock is maintained despite the raising and lowering of the tide. This makes transfer of cargo easier. It works like a lock which controls the water level and allows passage of ships.-External links:...
, the Old Dock
Old Dock
The Old Dock, originally known as Thomas Steer's dock, was the world's first commercial wet dock.It was built on the River Mersey in Liverpool, England, starting in 1709 and completed in 1715, by enlarging a previous natural tidal creek which was the "Pool" that Liverpool was named after...
at Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, and a theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
. He designed Salthouse Dock
Salthouse Dock
Salthouse Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the southern dock system, connected to Canning Dock to the north, Wapping Dock to the south and Albert Dock to the west....
in Liverpool, which was completed by Henry Berry
Henry Berry
Henry Berry, was Liverpool's second dock engineer succeeding Thomas Steers and being succeeded by Thomas Morris. Berry Street in Liverpool may be named after Berry who lived in a house at the junction with Duke Street, where the White Horse pub stands.He built Salthouse Dock, George's Dock and...
after Steers' death.
Training
He learned about hydraulicsHydraulics
Hydraulics is a topic in applied science and engineering dealing with the mechanical properties of liquids. Fluid mechanics provides the theoretical foundation for hydraulics, which focuses on the engineering uses of fluid properties. In fluid power, hydraulics is used for the generation, control,...
as a soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
for William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
in the Netherlands, and fought at the Battle of the Boyne
Battle of the Boyne
The Battle of the Boyne was fought in 1690 between two rival claimants of the English, Scottish and Irish thronesthe Catholic King James and the Protestant King William across the River Boyne near Drogheda on the east coast of Ireland...
. In 1717 he built several docks at Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, as well as St George's Church on the site of the Liverpool Castle
Liverpool Castle
Liverpool Castle was a castle which was situated in Liverpool, England . It stood from the early 13th century to the early 18th century.-Construction:...
, the Old Ropery Theatre, a dry dock
Dry dock
A drydock is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform...
, pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
, and several others.
He was mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
from 1739-1740. He was responsible for the fortification of Liverpool during the Jacobite rebellion in 1745.
There was also a Thomas Steers, lime burner of Greenwich (probably the owner and/or digger of "Jack Cade's Cavern
Jack Cade's Cavern
Jack Cade's Cavern is a cavern, extending several hundred feet underground, in Blackheath, south-east London, England. It is located northwest of the Heath and southwest of Greenwich Park, beneath a spot called "The Point". It was re-discovered in about the year 1780. They are also referred to as...
" and of a nearby sand mine) who was born about this time and in the right area, but who was probably not the same person. Other Steers were involved in pottery. This hints at an extended Steers family with interests in kilns and building mortar.
River and canal works
Steers surveyed the rivers IrwellRiver Irwell
The River Irwell is a long river which flows through the Irwell Valley in the counties of Lancashire and Greater Manchester in North West England. The river's source is at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately north of Bacup, in the parish of Cliviger, Lancashire...
and Mersey
Mersey
Mersey may refer to:* River Mersey, in northwest England* Mersea Island, off the coast of Essex in England * Mersey River in the Australian state* Electoral division of Mersey in the state of Tasmania, Australian...
from Bank Quay at Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
to 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...
in 1712. An Act of Parliament authorizing an improvement was passed in 1721 and the work, which included eight locks in a distance of 15 miles (24.1 km) to overcome a rise of 52 feet (15.8 m), was completed about 1725. It is generally believed he was the engineer.
In 1720, Steers was responsible for the Douglas Navigation
Douglas Navigation
The Douglas Navigation was a canalised section of the River Douglas or Asland, in Lancashire, England, running from its confluence with the River Ribble to Wigan. Authorised in 1720, it opened in 1742, but its working life was short, as it was bought out by the Leeds and Liverpool Canal Company in...
which connected the Ribble
Ribble
Ribble may refer to:* the River Ribble in North West England** Ribble and Alt Estuaries* Ribble Motor Services, a former bus company in North West England* Ribble Valley, a local government district in Lancashire, England...
estuary to Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
. He built a lock and a bridge, straightened a section of the river, and started the construction of a tidal lock, but his partner William Squire, who was raising finance for the scheme in London, became involved in the South Sea Bubble, and appears to have lost most of the money he raised. With the money gone, Steers moved on. The navigation was eventually completed in 1742, and carried coal from Wigan to Liverpool and onwards to Ireland by ship.
His most significant navigation achievement was the Newry Canal
Newry Canal
The Newry Canal, located in Northern Ireland, was built to link the Tyrone coalfields to the Irish Sea at Carlingford Lough near Newry.-History:...
, in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, which was the first summit-level canal in the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
. The promoters asked him to act as engineer for the scheme in 1729, but then declined to pay him the fees he requested, and so the initial construction work was overseen by Edward Lovett Pearce. Pearce died in 1734, and his assistant Richard Castle took over the role. Steers returned to the project in 1736, when he conducted a survey of the existing work. Castle was sacked in December 1736, and Steers then supervised construction until 1741, working on a part-time basis. The 18 miles (29 km) of canal included 14 locks, and ran from Newry
Newry
Newry is a city in Northern Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, formed the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. It is from Belfast and from Dublin. Newry had a population of 27,433 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population...
, Carlingford Lough
Carlingford Lough
Carlingford Lough is a glacial fjord or sea inlet that forms part of the border between Northern Ireland to the north and the Republic of Ireland to the south. On its northern shore is County Down and on its southern shore is County Louth...
to Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh, sometimes Loch Neagh, is a large freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. Its name comes .-Geography:With an area of , it is the largest lake in the British Isles and ranks among the forty largest lakes of Europe. Located twenty miles to the west of Belfast, it is approximately twenty...
. It was built to transport coal from the Tyrone
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...
collieries to Dublin.
In order to build locks with a larger fall than was possible with conventional gate paddles, Steers built two of the locks with sluices and ground paddles, which fed water into the bottom of the lock through the side walls. Water supply for the summit level was taken from local streams, supplemented by water from Lough Shark, which was used as a reservoir. As a whole, the work was not well executed, and the innovative locks had to be rebuilt soon after 1750. After 1741, Steers was replaced by Acheson Johnson and the canal was finally completed in 1745. Steers' assistant was Henry Berry
Henry Berry
Henry Berry, was Liverpool's second dock engineer succeeding Thomas Steers and being succeeded by Thomas Morris. Berry Street in Liverpool may be named after Berry who lived in a house at the junction with Duke Street, where the White Horse pub stands.He built Salthouse Dock, George's Dock and...
who later was engineer on the Sankey Canal
Sankey Canal
The Sankey Canal, which is also known as the Sankey Brook Navigation and the St Helens Canal, is a canal in Cheshire, extending into Merseyside, in the northwest of England, connecting St Helens with the River Mersey...
, the first English canal.
External links
- http://sinlung.com
- Newry Thomas Steers
- Liverpool History online
- Maritime and fluvial cultural heritage