Thomas Hawksley ( – ) was an English
civil engineer of the 19th century, particularly associated with early
water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
and
coal gas engineering projects. Hawksley was, with
John Frederick Bateman
John Frederick La Trobe Bateman (30 May 1810 – 10 June 1889) was an English civil engineer whose work formed the basis of the modern United Kingdom water supply industry. For more than 50 years from 1835 he designed and constructed reser ...
, the leading British water engineer of the nineteenth century and was personally responsible for upwards of 150 water-supply schemes, in the British Isles and overseas.
[Hawksley, Thomas](_blank)
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
Biography
The son of John Hawksley and Sarah Thompson and born in Arnot Hill House,
Arnold, near
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...
on ,
Hawksley was largely self-taught from the age of 15 onwards—despite his education at
Nottingham High School
, motto_translation = Praise to the end
, address = Waverley Mount
, city = Nottingham
, county = Nottinghamshire
, postcode = NG7 4ED
, country = England
, coordinates =
, type = Independent day school
, established =
, closed =
, religious ...
—having at that point become articled to a local firm of architects under the supervision of
Edward Staveley that also undertook a variety of water-related engineering projects.
Locally, he remains particularly associated with schemes in his home county. He was engineer to the
Nottingham Gas Light and Coke Company and
Nottingham Waterworks Company for more than half a century, having, early in his career, completed the Trent Bridge waterworks (1831). This scheme delivered Britain's first high pressure 'constant supply', preventing contamination entering the supply of clean water mains.
Hawksley first rose to national prominence at the time of the
health of towns inquiry in 1844. His advocacy of a constant supply of water to consumers brought him immediate acclaim.
Edwin Chadwick adopted Hawksley as an ally for a time, but Hawksley adopted a more pragmatic approach and was prepared to act for others' undertakings.
This approach led him to be appointed to many major water supply projects across England, including schemes for
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
,
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
,
Leicester,
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
,
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
,
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
,
Darlington,
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
,
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...
,
Sunderland,
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
and
Northampton. He also undertook drainage projects, including schemes for
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
,
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
and
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
.
In 1852, Hawksley set up his own engineering practice in Westminster, London. He was the first president of the
Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (serving for three years from 1863), a Fellow of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
, and was elected President 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 ...
in 1871 (a post his son
Charles later occupied in 1901).
[
]
Between 1869 and 1879, Hawksley acted as consultant to the construction of
Lindley Wood,
Swinsty and
Fewston reservoirs for the
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...
Waterworks Company.
At
Tunstall Reservoir in 1876, and at
Cowm Reservoir in 1877–78, he is credited with the first two uses of
pressure grouting
Pressure grouting or jet grouting involves injecting a grout material into otherwise inaccessible but interconnected pore or void space of which neither the configuration or volume are known, and is often referred to simply as ''grouting''. The g ...
to control water leakage under an embankment dam.
Glossop comments, "This procedure of rock grouting, which is now standard practice in dam construction, was an invention of the greatest importance to engineering practice, but its adoption by civil engineers was slow."
Hawksley died in
Kensington, London in 1893 and is buried in his family plot at
Brookwood Cemetery
Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regi ...
, Surrey. In December 2007 a granite memorial was placed over his previously unmarked grave.
[Cemetery, Brookwood. (10 December 2007]
Brookwood Cemetery press release
. Brookwoodcemetery.blogspot.com. Retrieved on 27 August 2011.
Thomas Hawksley was the first of four generations of eminent water engineers, having been followed into the profession by his son,
Charles Hawksley, grandson Kenneth Phipson Hawksley, and great grandson, Thomas Edwin Hawksley (died 1972). The Institution of Mechanical Engineers still holds an annual lecture in his memory,
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawksley, Thomas
1807 births
1893 deaths
People from Arnold, Nottinghamshire
English civil engineers
Fellows of the Royal Society
Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers
Presidents of the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers
Burials at Brookwood Cemetery