James Oldham (23 June 1801 – 10 June 1890) was a British civil engineer, involved in the reclamation of Sunk Island in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

, as well as a number of dock and other civil engineering schemes in and around

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...

Biography

James Oldham was born in

, England, on 23 June 1801. At the age of 14, he went to sea, spending time on ships in the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

; however, the life of a seaman prove too much for him and he later returned to England, and joined his father, a

millwright A millwright is a craftsperson or skilled tradesperson who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mecha ...

, as apprentice, learning mechanical engineering. One of Oldham's first contracts for was for the upgrade of the North Bridge on the River Hull in 1832, for the

Hull Corporation (Kingston upon) Hull City Council is the governing body for the unitary authority and city of Kingston upon Hull. It was created in 1972 as the successor to the Corporation of (Kingston upon) Hull, which was also known as Hull Corporation and fou ...

, on which he acted as superintending engineer. Minutes of the Proceedings (1891), pp. 377–378. In 1835, he prepared a plan for the conversion of the Old Harbour, Hull, in 1835, a design for a West Dock for Thomas Thompson, published in 1836; and a plan for a dock in the east of Hull for the Queen's Dock Company in 1838. He also was engineer for a number of proposed railways : the ''Hull and Gainsborough'' ( New Holland to

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, New South Wales, ...

) of 1844, the 1845 ''Hull and Barnsley Junction'' scheme, the 1866 ''Hull and West Yorkshire and Lancashire'', and the 1884 ''Hull and Lincoln'' railway. ''The Engineer'' (20 June 1890) He also was an engineer on the ''Hull and Leeds'' (1835) ( Hull to Selby), and

Hull and Hornsea Railway The Hull and Hornsea Railway was a branch line which connected the city of Kingston upon Hull with the seaside town of Hornsea in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. History Early proposals and construction A proposal for a railway line t ...

s. In 1850, he was employed by the

Commissioners of Woods and Forests The Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues were established in the United Kingdom in 1810 by merging the former offices of Surveyor General of Woods, Forests, Parks, and Chases and Surveyor General of the Land Revenues of the Crown into ...

to reclaim the land a Sunk Island on the north bank of the

Humber Estuary The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the ...

, and undertook surveys for reclamation of a larger area to the east of . Minutes of the Proceedings (1891), p. 378. In 1874, he entered into partnership with George Bohn; the firm acted under

James Abernethy James Abernethy FRSE (12 June 1814 – 8 March 1896) was a Scottish civil engineer. Biography Abernethy was born in Aberdeen to George Abernethy, an engineer, and Isabella Johnston. In 1823, the family moved to South Wales, where his father m ...

during the construction of the Alexandra Dock of the

Hull and Barnsley Railway Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in a ...

in the 1880s. Oldhan was a founder of the Hull Mechanic's Institute, and a regular and reliable witness to Committees of the Houses of Parliament. Minutes of the Proceedings (1891), pp. 379–340. He died on 10 June 1890, of congestion of the lungs.

Published works

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References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oldham, James 1801 births 1890 deaths English civil engineers Engineers from Kingston upon Hull Institution of Civil Engineers