Hamilton Owen Rendel (1843–17 September 1902) designed and installed the original raising mechanism of the

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames clos ...

while working for Sir W. G. Armstrong Mitchell & Company of

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

Family

Rendel was a member of a notable family of engineers. His father, James Meadows Rendel, was a civil engineer who married his mother, Catherine Jane Harris. His siblings were: * Sir

Alexander Meadows Rendel Sir Alexander Meadows Rendel, (3 April 1828 – 23 January 1918) was an English civil engineer. Rendel was born in Plymouth, the eldest son of the engineer James Meadows Rendel and his wife Catherine Harris. Three of his brothers were civi ...

(1829–1918) – civil engineer *

George Wightwick Rendel George Wightwick Rendel (6 February 1833 – 9 October 1902) was an English engineer, and naval architect. He was closely associated with the Tyneside industrialist and armaments manufacturer, William George Armstrong. Family George was the thi ...

(1833–1902) – naval architect and civil engineer * Emily Frances Rendel (1836–1897) married Charles Bowen, 1st Baron Bowen in 1862. * Emily Catherine Rendel (1840–1921) married Clement Francis Wedgwood in 1866 * Stuart Rendel, 1st Baron Rendel A cousin, James Murray Dobson, became resident engineer of the Buenos Aires harbour works in the 1880s and 1890s.

Career

Rendel took his degree at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

, and immediately after leaving started at the

Armstrong, Mitchell and Company Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and ...

Elswick, Tyne and Wear Elswick ( ) is a district and electoral ward of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, 1.9 miles west of the city centre, bordering the River Tyne. Historically in Northumberland, Elswick became part of Newcastle upo ...

, where he later became head of the engineerings department. He retired in early 1902 due to ill health, and died later the same year on 17 September 1902 as he was visiting his sister Mrs. Wedgwood at her residence The Lea, in

Barlaston Barlaston is a village and civil parish in the borough of Stafford in the county of Staffordshire, England. It is roughly halfway between the city of Stoke-on-Trent and the small town of Stone. According to the 2001 census the population of the ...

, Staffordshire. He was buried at

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 Frederick ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Tower Bridge hydraulics

The mechanism was powered by pressurised water stored in several

hydraulic accumulator A hydraulic accumulator is a pressure storage reservoir in which an incompressible hydraulic fluid is held under pressure that is applied by an external source of mechanical energy. The external source can be an engine, a spring, a raised weight ...

s. Water, at a pressure of , was pumped into the accumulators by two stationary steam engines, each driving a force pump from its piston tail rod. The accumulators each comprise a ram on which sits a very heavy weight to maintain the desired pressure.

References

1843 births 1902 deaths Engineers from Tyne and Wear Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery {{UK-engineer-stub