James Barnes (ca. 1739 – 1819) was a canal and railway engineer in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and twice Mayor of

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshir ...

Career

In May 1786, Barnes was appointed Surveyor of the Works for the Oxford Canal Company at a salary of £50 per annum. His role was to engineer the completion of the Oxford Canal south from Banbury to Oxford which had been designed by Robert Whitworth. His contract was for completion of the canal by the start of 1791, but this was achieved one year early. By 1791 his salary had risen to £200 (). The success of the work with the Oxford Canal Company led an agreement with

George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...

to survey a route from Braunston to London which resulted in the formation of the Grand Junction Canal. The plan was approved in 1792. In 1799 he prepared plans for a route from the

Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal The Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal is a canal in England that is now part of the Grand Union Canal. It was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1793 to connect Leicester to the Nene near Northampton and to join the projected li ...

to Braunston, but this was not proceeded with. In 1802 a revised plan was prepared with a route to Norton Junction, and following review by

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scot ...

this plan was approved and became the

Grand Union Canal (old) The Grand Union Canal was a canal in England from Foxton, Leicestershire on the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal to Norton Junction, close to Long Buckby Wharf on the Grand Junction Canal. It now forms the first of the Leice ...

. He resigned from the Grand Junction Canal Company in 1805.

Works

* Grand Junction Canal 1793 - 1805 *

Wendover Arm Canal The Wendover Arm Canal is part of the Grand Union Canal in England, and forms part of the British canal system. It is usually known as the Wendover Canal, but historically its builders referred to their branch canals as Arms, hence its historica ...

1794 * Braunston Tunnel 1794 – 1796 (with William Jessop) *

Paddington Arm The Paddington Canal or Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal is a canal to Paddington in central London, England. It runs from the west of the capital at Bull's Bridge in Hayes. Little Venice — its only junction — is with the Rege ...

1801 * Buckingham branch canal 1801 * Blisworth Tunnel 1802–1805 (with William Jessop) *

1802 (plans) * Carmarthenshire Railway 1803 - 1805 *Aylesbury branch canal (opened 1814) *Northampton branch canal (opened 1815)

Life

In 1801 and again in 1809 he was Mayor of Banbury. His daughter Mary, married Richard Austin on 14 July 1803. Richard Austin acquired an interest in Dunnell Brewery, North Bar, Banbury, and James was also involved in this business. His wife Mary died on 7 January 1807 aged 54. He died on 18 January 1819 and was buried on 25 January in St John the Baptist's Church, Bodicote. A memorial was erected in the church where is he proudly described as the ‘Principal Engineer of the Grand Junction Canal’.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, James 1739 births 1819 deaths English canal engineers British railway civil engineers 18th-century English engineers 19th-century English engineers