James Leslie

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(25 September 1801–29 December 1889) was a Scottish civil engineer specialising in docks, harbours bridges and reservoirs, largely on the east coast of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He was also an amateur meteorologist.

Life

He was born in

Largo, Fife Largo (Scottish Gaelic: An Leargach) is a parish in Fife, Scotland containing the villages of Upper Largo or Kirkton of Largo, Lower Largo and Lundin Links. It is bounded on the west by the parish of Scoonie, on the north by Ceres and on the east ...

on 25 September 1801 the son of Archibald Leslie, an architect-builder, and attended school both in Largo and nearby in

Newburn Newburn is a semi rural parish, former electoral ward and former urban district in western Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. Situated on the North bank of the River Tyne, it is built rising up the valley from the river. It is situated ...

. He was then sent to Benjamin Mackay’s Latin Academy in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and from there to the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

to study maths and physics under his uncle, Professor John Leslie. In 1818 he was articled to

William Henry Playfair William Henry Playfair FRSE (15 July 1790 – 19 March 1857) was a prominent Scottish architect in the 19th century, who designed the Eastern, or Third, New Town and many of Edinburgh's neoclassical landmarks. Life Playfair was born on 15 ...

as an architect, but in 1824 he left this position to pursue engineering. He obtained a place with James Rennie working in the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Docks and on the

London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It r ...

project. In 1828 he returned to Edinburgh to take a job as Resident Engineer in

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

Docks. In 1830 he lived at 19 Constitution Street in

, located close to the main east entrance to the docks (fragments of the house remain). In 1832 he moved to be Resident Engineer of

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

Harbour. He was assisted in Dundee by Charles Ower. In 1846 he returned to

to begin work on several reservoir projects for the

Edinburgh Water Company Edinburgh Water Company and its successors have provided a public water supply and latterly sewerage and sewage treatment services to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh since 1819. The original company was established to supply drinking water and ...

. In 1869 he returned to Dundee to involve in several projects to improve its water supply. In 1858 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

his proposer being David Stevenson. From 1871 his son Alexander joined his firm and it was thereafter known as J & A Leslie. From 1875 almost all work was done by Alexander. He broke his leg in a carriage accident around 1880 and never fully recovered. He was confined to bed for the last 6 months of his life. In partnership with his son and son-in-law (see below) he ran Leslie & Reid from offices at 2 Charlotte Square. He died at home, 11 Portland Place in

on 29 December 1889. He is buried in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

in western

. The grave lies on the outer wall near the beginning of the south-west spur.

Family

He was married to Jane Hunter (1804-1887). Their son

Alexander Leslie Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven (15804 April 1661) was a Scottish soldier in Swedish and Scottish service. Born illegitimate and raised as a foster child, he subsequently advanced to the rank of a Swedish Field Marshal, and in Scotland b ...

(1844-1893), also a civil engineer, formed a partnership with his brother-in-law (James’ son-in-law) Robert Carstairs Reid to create Leslie & Reid. His grandson James Leslie (1881-1921) was also a civil engineer.

Main works

See *Western breakwater,

Docks (1830) *Wet dock, Dysart (1830) *Earl Grey Dock,

(1832) as supervisor *Tide Harbour at Camperdown Dock, Dundee (1833) *Victoria Dock and Swing Bridge, Dundee (1833) *The Telford Light, Dundee (1834) *Patent Slipway, Dundee (1837) *Harbour Workshops, Dundee (1837) *Rebuilding of

Methil Methil (Scottish Gaelic: Meadhchill) is an eastern coastal town in Scotland. It was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to the Bishop of St Andrews. Two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as ov ...

Harbour and Docks (1838) *Wet Dock and Harbour,

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

(1839) *Dundee Custom House (1839) with John Taylor as architect *Locks on the

Monkland Canal The Monkland Canal was a canal designed to bring coal from the mining areas of Monklands to Glasgow in Scotland. In the course of a long and difficult construction process, it was opened progressively as short sections were completed, from 177 ...

(1830) *Bridge at

Leven, Fife Leven ( gd, Inbhir Lìobhann) is a seaside town in Fife, set in the east Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the coast of the Firth of Forth at the mouth of the River Leven, north-east of the town of Kirkcaldy and east of Glenrothes. ...

(1839) *Bridge at

Aldbar Castle Aldbar Castle, or Auldbar Castle, was a 16th-century tower house, located southwest of Brechin, in Angus, Scotland. History The estate was owned by the Crammond family since the 13th century before it was sold to John Lyon, 8th Lord Glamis (c. 15 ...

(1843) *Raising James Jardine’s Glencorse Reservoir (1845) *Finlathen Aqueduct (1845) *Extension to pier at

Burntisland Burntisland ( , sco, also Bruntisland) is a former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 6,269. It was previously known as Wester Kingho ...

(1846) *Improvements to the Old East Dock,

(1846) *Aqueduct at Burnhouse of Duntrune, Angus (1848) *Aqueduct at Gagie, Angus (1848) *Aqueduct at

Murroes Murroes is a parish in Angus, Scotland, situated approximately north of Dundee city centre. Places of interest * The parish church was built in 1848 * Ballumbie House * Powrie Castle * Wedderburn Castle Notable residents * In the reign of ...

(1848) *Dock buildings and Custom House, Montrose (1853) *Sea Wall north of

St Andrews Cathedral The Cathedral of St Andrew (often referred to as St Andrews Cathedral) is a ruined cathedral in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It was built in 1158 and became the centre of the Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland as the seat of the Archdiocese of ...

(1856) *East Pier at Stranraer Harbour (1861) *Harbour at West Wemyss (1872) *Lawton reservoir, Dundee (1873) *Clatto Reservoir, Dundee (1874) *

Alnwickhill Alnwickhill ( ) is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is on the southern edge of the city, approximately from the city centre. It neighbours the areas of Liberton and Kaimes. The area is now primarily residential, but was th ...

Reservoir (1875) plus second phase in 1888 *Water Tower in

Dalkeith Dalkeith ( ; gd, Dail Cheith, IPA: �t̪alˈçe is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-cent ...

(1879) *

Gladhouse Reservoir Gladhouse Reservoir, formerly known as Moorfoot Loch, is a reservoir in Midlothian, Scotland, five miles (8 km) south of Penicuik. It is the most southerly reservoir in Midlothian, as well as being the largest area of freshwater in the Lot ...

(1879) *Edgelaw Reservoir (1880) *Rosebery Reservoir (1880) *Williamwath Bridge,

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

(1882)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, James 1801 births 1889 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh British civil engineers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh People from Fife