Robert Pearson Brereton (4 April 1818 – 1 September 1894) was an English railway engineer. He worked under

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...

for more than twenty years and, following Brunel's death, completed many of his projects.

Family

Robert Pearson Brereton came from a

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

family that produced other notable Victorian engineers

Cuthbert A. Brereton Cuthbert Arthur Brereton (17 September 1850 – 12 September 1910) was a civil engineer and a partner of Sir John Wolfe Barry. Together they completed numerous projects in England and Wales, the most prominent being the King Edward VII Bridge ov ...

( Sir John Wolfe Barry's partner) and Robert Maitland Brereton (chief engineer on part of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway and advocate in the US Congress for the building of irrigation canals in California).

Brunel's assistant

Brereton was recruited by Brunel staff in 1836 to be one of seven resident engineers supervising the construction of the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

. He lost an eye in a work accident and is depicted in a portrait with an eye patch. After the Great Western railway was completed, he carried out similar tasks on other railways that Brunel was building. For example, in 1845 he was one of Brunel's resident engineers on the

Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway The Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway was a railway company intended to link Cheltenham, Gloucester and Swindon, in England. It was authorised in 1836 but it found it very hard to raise money for the construction, and it opened only a p ...

and was sent to Italy to sort out problems with the construction of the

Turin–Genoa railway The Turin–Genoa railway line is a major Italian rail line, connecting the cities of Turin and Genoa. It is 169 km long. History The Kingdom of Sardinia (Savoy) had started building railways late compared to other European countries and dec ...

. He became Brunel's chief assistant in 1847 and remained in this post until Brunel's death in 1859. His signature appears on drawings for the

Chepstow Bridge The Old Wye Bridge or Town Bridge at Chepstow, also known historically as Chepstow Bridge, crosses the River Wye between Monmouthshire in Wales and Gloucestershire in England, close to Chepstow Castle. Although there had been earlier wooden br ...

which were prepared in Brunel's London office around 1850. One of Brunel's major and long-running projects was the construction of the Royal Albert Bridge across the River Tamar for the Cornwall Railway. In 1854 Brereton was sent as Brunel's assistant to help

William Glennie William Glennie (7 April 1761 – 7 January 1828) was a teacher to Lord Byron and father to a number of Australian pioneers. Early life He was born 1761 in Drumoak, Aberdeenshire, the son of John Glennie and Jean Mitchell. He married Mary Gardine ...

, the resident engineer on the bridge, who was in poor health. Much of his time in the next five years was spent on this project. He was instrumental in developing ways to excavate underwater to prepare for the construction of the central pier. In 1857 he assisted Brunel when the first span was floated into position, and he then supervised the lengthy process to raise it to the top of its piers. Brunel's poor health increasingly prevented him from attending work in Cornwall, and so Brereton supervised the floating out of the second span in 1858 without Brunel's help. He then saw through the raising of this span, the completion of the bridge and opening of the line in May 1859.

After Brunel

After Brunel's death in September 1859 Brereton took over his role as chief engineer for many railway companies, designing new works and alterations. He ran his business from Brunel's old office in Duke Street, London, while Brunel's widow Mary continued to reside in the rooms above. Some of Brunel's railways were still under construction, including the *

Bristol and South Wales Union Railway The Bristol and South Wales Union Railway was built to connect Bristol, England, with south Wales. The route involved a ferry crossing of the River Severn but was considerably shorter than the alternative route through Gloucester. The ferry w ...

* Cornwall Railway *

Dartmouth and Torbay Railway The Dartmouth and Torbay Railway was a broad gauge railway linking the South Devon Railway Company, South Devon Railway branch at Torquay with Kingswear in Devon, England. It was operated from the outset by the South Devon Railway. Most of the ...

West Somerset Railway The West Somerset Railway (WSR) is a heritage railway line in Somerset, England. The freehold of the line and stations is owned by Somerset County Council; the railway is leased to and operated by West Somerset Railway plc (WSR plc); which is ...

Tributes and memorials

Brunel described Brereton in 1845 as "a peculiarly energetic persevering young man". The Chairman of the Cornwall Railway, speaking in 1859 following the opening of the Royal Albert Bridge, described him as "always ready, always able, always full of energy." He has a memorial brass in the church in Blakeney.

References

Sources * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brereton, Robert Pearson 1818 births 1894 deaths English civil engineers People from Blakeney, Norfolk Great Western Railway people