Ralph Walker (1749 – 19 February 1824) was a notable Scottish-born civil engineer in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, particularly associated with harbour engineering works in London.

Early life

Walker was born in

Tullibody Tullibody ( gd, Tulach Bòide), is a town set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies north of the River Forth near to the foot of the Ochil Hills within the Forth Valley. The town is south-west of Alva, north-west of Alloa and east-n ...

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; sco, Clackmannanshire; gd, Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn) is a historic county, council area, registration county and Lieutenancy area in Scotland, bordering the council areas of Stirling, Fife, and Perth & Kinross and the ...

, the second son of farmer James Walker and Helen May.Skempton, A.W. (2002) ''A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland'', pp. 757-758 He went to the parish school in

Dollar Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, ...

and later was sent by his elder brother James to an academy where he learned marine navigation. He travelled to the Caribbean and managed estates in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

belonging to his mother's family before returning to settle in London in 1793 and becoming involved in plans for London's wet docks.

Civil engineer

Walker submitted designs for the

City Canal The City Canal was a short, and short-lived, canal excavated across the Isle of Dogs in east London, linking two reaches of the River Thames. Today, it has been almost completely reconstructed to form the South Dock of the West India Docks. H ...

in 1796 as part of his preliminary designs for the

West India Docks 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. Follow ...

on the

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Ha ...

, eventually being appointed resident engineer in August 1799, supervised by

William Jessop William Jessop (23 January 1745 – 18 November 1814) was an English civil engineer, best known for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Early life Jessop was born in Devonport, Devon, the ...

. In 1800 he submitted designs for a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impur ...

twin leaf

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...

as part of the Docks scheme. During this period, he worked with his nephew James Walker who stayed with him in

Blackwall, London Blackwall is an area of Poplar, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, East London. The neighbourhood includes Leamouth and the Coldharbour conservation area. The area takes its name from a historic stretch of riverside wall built along a ...

in the summer of 1880 and, after impressing with his abilities during discussions of the project, was articled to his uncle. In October 1802, however, Ralph Walker had a professional disagreement with Jessop and resigned his post on the West India Docks. He remained on good terms with Jessop, working on a scheme to remove the Blackwall Rock obstruction off Blackwall Point in the River Thames. In 1803, he was appointed engineer to the

East India Docks The East India Docks were a group of docks in Blackwall, east London, north-east of the Isle of Dogs. Today only the entrance basin and listed perimeter wall remain visible. History Early history Following the successful creation of the W ...

Company, working with John Rennie. In 1807 the

Surrey Commercial Docks The Surrey Commercial Docks were a large group of docks in Rotherhithe, South East London, located on the south bank (the Surrey side) of the River Thames. The docks operated in one form or another from 1696 to 1969. Most were subsequently fi ...

Company was formed with Ralph Walker as engineer (until 1810) and James superintending the new lock and keeping the accounts. Walker was appointed engineer to the East London Waterworks Company from August 1807 to 1824. He designed and supervised the construction of the original

Old Ford Old Ford is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets that is named after the natural ford which provided a crossing of the River Lea. History Administration and boundaries Historically, Old Ford was a cluster of houses and a mill, aroun ...

works along with two low level reservoirs and an upper distribution reservoir.View from the bridge: Figures associated with the waterworks
(accessed: 2 April 2013). Walker also designed a water supply scheme for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, and was consulted on designs for Dover harbour, and on the

Thames and Medway Canal The Thames and Medway Canal is a disused canal in Kent, south east England, also known as the Gravesend and Rochester Canal. It was originally some long and cut across the neck of the Hoo peninsula, linking the River Thames at Gravesend with th ...

scheme. On Walker's death on 19 February 1824''The Gentleman's Magazine'', Volume 94, Part 1; Volume 135, p.284 (he died at his home in East India Dock Road, Poplar following a fall down some steps), James became engineer to the Commercial Dock Company and also succeeded him as engineer to the East India Dock Company.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Ralph 1749 births 1824 deaths Scottish civil engineers British canal engineers People of the Industrial Revolution Harbour engineers People from Clackmannanshire