Civil engineer. Born Devon. Worked for Smeaton, first as an apprentice and then as assistant until 1772. Promoted cast iron as a constructional material. Built the Grand Canal in Ireland. Built the Surrey Iron Railway which opened in 1803. Worked on the West India docks in London. Died Derbyshire.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
William Jessop
Commemorated ati
Skempton Building plaques
2018: Eamonn Doyle has written to correct our "east to west", saying that the...
Other Subjects
Robert Mylne
Architect. Born Edinburgh. Returned from a Grand Tour to London in 1759. Won the competition to build Blackfriars Bridge, including the approach roads from the north and the south, each with a squa...
John Smeaton
Civil engineer. Born and died at Austhorpe Lodge, Whitkirk, near Leeds. In 1748 he moved to London initially at Great Turnstile and set up in business first as a scientist and maker of instruments...
Rotherhithe Tunnel
Road tunnel crossing under the River Thames, connecting Rotherhithe to the Ratcliff district of Limehouse. Designed by Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice, it was constructed using both a tunnelling 'shield' a...
Sir Joseph Whitworth
Born Stockport. Engineer working in the field of precision instruments and guns. Philanthropic, giving money for education during his life and encouraging his beneficiaries to do so after his death...