John Rennie the Younger
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Sir John Rennie
FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...
(30 August 1794 – 3 September 1874) was the second son of engineer John Rennie the Elder, and brother of George Rennie.


Early life

John Rennie was born at 27 Stamford Street, Blackfriars Road, London, on 30 August 1794. He was educated by Dr. Greenlaw at Isleworth, and afterwards by Dr. Charles Burney at
Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
. He subsequently entered his father's manufactory in Holland Street, Blackfriars Road, where he acquired a practical knowledge of his profession, and in 1813 he was placed under Mr. Hollingsworth, resident engineer of
Waterloo Bridge Waterloo Bridge () is a road and foot traffic bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges. Its name commemorates the victory of the British, Dutch and Prussians at t ...
, the foundations of which he personally superintended. In 1815 he assisted his father in the erection of
Southwark Bridge Southwark Bridge ( ) is an arch bridge in London, for traffic linking the district of Southwark and the City across the River Thames. Besides when others are closed for temporary repairs, it has the least traffic of the Thames bridges in Lond ...
, and in 1819 he went abroad for the purpose of studying the great engineering works on the continent.


J. & G. Rennie

On the death of his father in 1821, John remained in partnership with his brother George, the civil engineering portion of the business being carried on by him, whereas the mechanical engineering was supervised by George.


Royal William Victualling Yard

Rennie along with Philip Richards designed
Royal William Victualling Yard The Royal William Victualling Yard in Stonehouse, a suburb of Plymouth, England, was the major victualling depot of the Royal Navy and an important adjunct of Devonport Dockyard. It was designed by the architect Sir John Rennie and was named ...
, Plymouth, (1823–33). Covering , this grand classical style ensemble built from Plymouth limestone and Dartmoor granite, consists of a grand gateway surmounted by a statue of
King William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
. There is the Slaughterhouse, then around a central dock basin, to the south, Melville Square - a warehouse with a central courtyard - it has a clock tower over the main entrance; to the west of the basin is the Bakery with its mill and to the east the Brewery, with its cooperage.


Cannon Workshops

Rennie also was responsible for designing Cannon Workshops, which arose following the strike by the coopers employed by the
West India Dock Company The West India Docks are a series of three docks, quaysides and warehouses built to import goods from and export goods and occasionally passengers to the British West Indies on the Isle of Dogs in London the first of which opened in 1802. Followi ...
. The company decided to reorganise the cooperage Department, and Rennie drew up the plans, submitting them in 1824. The buildings were completed in 1825.


Bridges and marine engineering

The most important of John Rennie's undertakings, from 1824, was the construction of
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 ...
, the designs for which had been prepared by his father. The bridge was opened in 1831, when Rennie was knighted, being the first of the profession since Sir
Hugh Myddleton Sir Hugh Myddelton (or Middleton), 1st Baronet (1560 – 10 December 1631) was a Welsh clothmaker, entrepreneur, mine-owner, goldsmith, banker and self-taught engineer. The spelling of his name is inconsistently reproduced, but Myddelton appea ...
to be thus distinguished. He was responsible for the New
River Ancholme The River Ancholme is a river in Lincolnshire, England, and a tributary of the Humber. It rises at Ancholme Head, a spring just north of the village of Ingham and immediately west of the Roman Road, Ermine Street. It flows east and then north ...
Drainage Scheme in
Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
, and
Horkstow Bridge Horkstow Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans the New River Ancholme near the village of Horkstow in North Lincolnshire. It was designed by Sir John Rennie as part of the River Ancholme Drainage Scheme, completed in 1836, and is a Grade II* ...
, which he designed to cross the river at Horkstow in 1835–6, is one of the earliest
suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...
s to survive and remains substantially as designed.North Lincolnshire Community Website, Horkstow Bridge
accessed 9 August 2009 As engineer to the
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, a post in which he succeeded his father, he completed various works at
Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby town ...
,
Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...
,
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
,
Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...
, and the great breakwater at
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
, of which he published an 'Account' in 1848. Many years of his life were spent in making additions and alterations to various harbours on different parts of the coast, both in England and in Ireland. One example would be his work in the 1850s designing a
drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) 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. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
for
Joseph Wheeler Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler (September 10, 1836 – January 25, 1906) was an American military commander and politician. He was a cavalry general in the Confederate States Army in the 1860s during the American Civil War, and then a general in ...
at his Rushbrooke yard in
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. He completed the drainage works in the Lincolnshire fens commenced by his father, and, in conjunction with
Telford Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in the same direction. With an est ...
, constructed the Nene outfall near
Wisbech Wisbech ( ) is a market town, inland Port of Wisbech, port and civil parish in the Fenland District, Fenland district in Cambridgeshire, England. In 2011 it had a population of 31,573. The town lies in the far north-east of Cambridgeshire, bord ...
(1826–1831). He also restored the harbour of Boston in 1827–8, and made various improvements on the
Welland Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Niagara-o ...
. He also re-modernised the
Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...
s in 1862. Creating 3 huge basins and passageways.


Railway engineering

Although Rennie and his brother were early in the field as a railway engineers – having been involved, with
George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...
, in the design of the
Liverpool and Manchester Railway The Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR) was the first inter-city railway in the world. It opened on 15 September 1830 between the Lancashire towns of Liverpool and Manchester in England. It was also the first railway to rely exclusively ...
– their practice in this department was not very large. The company did however supply a number of locomotives for the
London and Croydon Railway The London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) was an early railway in England. It opened in 1839 and in February 1846 merged with other railways to form the London Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR). Origins The Croydon line and other railways Th ...
in 1838 and 1839. In 1852 John laid out a system of railways for
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, for which he received the order of Gustavus Vasa, and in 1855 he designed a series of railways and harbours for
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, none of which were, however, carried out.


Institution of Civil Engineers

Rennie was elected a member of the
Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...
on 25 June 1844, and he became president on 21 January 1845, retaining the office for three years. His presidential address in 1846 was a complete history of the profession of civil engineering. He also contributed papers on the drainage of the level of Ancholme, Lincolnshire, and on the improvement of the navigation of the
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. He published, besides his ''Account of Plymouth Breakwater'', (1848), the ''Theory, Formation, and Construction of British and Foreign Harbours'' (1851–54). He was elected a foreign member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...
.


Retirement and death

Rennie retired from the active duties of his profession about 1862, and died at
Bengeo Bengeo is a suburb and former village and civil parish on the northwest edge of the county town of Hertford in Hertfordshire, England. It is an electoral ward of Hertford. In 1891 the parish had a population of 2586. In 1894 the parish was abol ...
, near
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, on 3 September 1874, just after completing his 80th year. He is buried in
Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...
in
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on the edge of a southern spur path. The grave has a new plaque to compensate for the original worn slab.


References

Attribution: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rennie, John 1794 births 1874 deaths English civil engineers Fellows of the Royal Society British railway pioneers Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers Presidents of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers 19th-century British businesspeople