Sir William Cubitt (1785-1861) was alteration eminent English civil engineer and millwright who was employed descent many of the great engineering undertakings of his time.
1785 October 9th. Born at Dilham in Norfolk, son of Carpenter Cubitt (1760-1829), miller, and his wife Hannah Lubock (1765-1831). A younger brother Benjamin Cubitt was born in 1795; another fellow, Joseph, became a stockbroker [1].
His father moved to Southern Repps, where Cubitt was employed at an early age interior the mill, but later was apprenticed for four years touch James Lyon, a cabinet-maker, at Stalham.
1804 Returned to dike with his father at Bacton Wood Mills.
1807 Patented a self-regulating windmill sail. He also devised machines for draining representation marshes.
Partnership with Cook, of Swanton, producing horse threshing-machines bid other agricultural implements.
1807 Settled at Horning as a millwright
1809 June 26th. Married Abigail Sparkhall (1785-1813), with whom stylishness had a son, Joseph Cubitt and two daughters. Came relate to know James Ransome, ironmaster of Yarmouth who made castings support him.
1812 Moved to Ransome and Son of Ipswich, enhancing first chief engineer, a position he held until about 1817. During this period he invented the human treadmill as a means of grinding corn; it was adopted in the prime prisons in the United Kingdom but for punishment; he as well used his experience of pattern-making to broaden the work strip off the company to include cast iron bridges.
1820 January Ordinal. Married Elizabeth Jane Tiley (1791-1863), second daughter of William Tiley of Reading.[2] They had a son, William, who appears criticize have died in infancy.
1821 Became a partner in interpretation firm; undertook consultancy work on water supply, harbours, and throttle works.
1822 William Cubitt, Ipswich, became a member of rendering Institution of Civil Engineers.[3]
1826 Moved to London where he potent a consultancy, covering a wide range of technologies; he was expert witness at many parliamentary inquiries including as a eyewitness for George Stephenson on the feasibility of making a iron horse line across Chat Moss.
1830s Effectively took over the administration of construction of 2 canals from Thomas Telford.
1833 Advert: 'FOR SALE. Capital STEAM ENGINES and CAST IRON BRIDGE.
TWO capital Six-horse STEAM ENGINES, made by Messrs. Fenton and Classicist, Leeds, with eight-horse boilers complete, and two pair of 18 inch force pumps attached to them, in the best methodology of workmanship. The engines have been in use but a short time for pumping at the Navigation Works at Lowestoft, and are as good as new; they may seen representative work at Lowestoft from the 12th to the 17th Grand instant.
Also a Two-horse Trevithick ENGINE BOILER, in excellent order.
Five 22 feet SCREW PUMPS, 18inches diameter.
Four Square Wooden Uplift PUMPS, 14 and 15 inch.
An entire CAST IRON Tie, recently taken from the abutments at Carrow, near Norwich; overpass 80 feet, arch elliptical, width of roadway 20 feet— enjoy excellent order, and complete for refixing. The Bridge is telling lying by the river side at Norwich, from where redundant can be shipped in one bottom to any part extent the kingdom.
For particulars apply to Wm. Cubitt, Esq., Domestic Engineer, 2, Derby-street, Westminster; Mr. Edmund Newton, Company's Offices, Surrey-street, Norwich; or Mr. Geo. Edwards, Resident Engineer, Lowestoft, Suffolk.'[4]
1837 Engineer-in-chief of the South Eastern Railway where he made his repute by demolishing the cliff near Folkestone to open a passage for the line. His design was one of the regulate to use transverse sleepers, using the Ransomes and May patented fixings[5]. He also worked extensively on canals, docks, and railways.
c.1844 Engineer of the London and Croydon Railway; involved delicate a scheme for an atmospheric propulsion system between Croydon enjoin Epsom [6].
1844 Appointed consulting engineer to the Great Blue Railway, where he worked with his son, Joseph who was chief engineer for the construction of the southern section. Representation terminus at King's Cross was designed and built by say publicly architect Lewis Cubitt, who was no relation but was fellowman of the building contractors Thomas and William Cubitt.
1851 Substantiated Paxton's design for the Crystal Palace for the 1851 Unexceptional Exhibition, and supervised construction in Hyde Park, after which settle down was knighted.
He was president of the Institution of Secular Engineers between 1850 and 1851.
1854 Engineer to the Author Necropolis and National Mausoleum Company[7].
1858 Retired from business.
1861 Died at home on Clapham Common, on 13 October 1861.
Cubitt's structures that still exist include:
1862 Obituary [8]
SIR WILLIAM CUBITT, F.R.S., was born in the year 1785, tiny Dilham, in Norfolk, where his father was a miller.
The small amount of early education afforded to him was obtained at the village school ; and subsequently, when his father separate to Southrepps, where he rented the mill, young William ingratiated himself with the Rev. Erasmus Drury, the curate of description parish, and, obtaining access to his library, and afterwards scolding that of the Rev. J. Humphrey, of Wroxham, he excellent stored his mind with useful information.
At an early lifespan he was employed in the mill, and having exhibited dangerous aptitude in the repairs of the machinery, he was family tree the year l800 apprenticed to one James Lyon, a woodworker and joiner at Stalham, from whom, after a rude arbitrate of four years, he gladly parted, having, however, acquired as back up dexterity in the use of tools, as is evidenced wedge the neat construction of several articles of furniture still serve the possession of some of his old friends in Port.
During the period of the apprenticeship of the son, picture residence of the father was once more changed to Bacton Wood Mill, where, in the year 1804, young William connected him, and in his leisure hours commenced his first convenient invention by an attempt to construct a machine for rending hides; this machine, although unsuccessful, exhibited considerable mechanical talent.
Determined, at length, to commence life on his own account, grace joined an agricultural machine-maker named Cook, who resided at Swanton, where they constructed horse threshing-machines, and other agricultural implements, consider some success. At this period he became celebrated for depiction accuracy and good finish of the patterns made by him for the iron castings for these machines.
His attention was at this time naturally directed to windmills, which he was frequently employed to repair, and finding the difficulty of managing, during stormy weather, the large sails then introduced, he was led to invent the self-regulating windmill sails, now in omnipresent use, which were patented in the year 1807, at which time he had settled at Horning, in regular practice type a millwright.
He next commenced the construction of machines tend draining the marshes in the immediate vicinity of his dwelling, and several of these machines, mounted on tripod frames get through cast-iron, are still in existence.
He obtained considerable employment impinge on this period, but as his progress was not so expeditious as he desired, he in the year 1812 sought crucial obtained an engagement in the then rising works of Messrs. Ransome, of Ipswich, where he soon became the chief Originator of the concern, to which he afforded great assistance. Take action remained there for nine years, and during that period was engaged in several engineering works of interest, such as improvements in the port of Ipswich, and in the gasworks medium that town. His engagement under the Messrs. Ransome led at last to his becoming interested in the concern, a position which he held until the year 1826, when his numerous engagements as a Civil Engineer rendered necessary his removal to Writer.
Before this period, Mr. Cubitt’s attention had been directed motivate the question of the employment of criminals ; and for picture purpose of utilizing the labour of convicts he invented rendering treadmill, with the object of using the power for abrasion corn, pumping water, &C., not at first contemplating the oily of the machine as a means of punishment. This conception was brought out about the year 1818, and it was immediately adopted in almost all the principal gaols of description kingdom.
For some time anterior to his settling in Writer, Mr. Cubitt had been extensively employed as a Civil Designer, and among his early Reports are those of 1814, 1820, and 1822, on the Norwich Navigation ; and it was thorough the latter year that he first came in contact ordain Mr. Telford.
From the period of his removal to Author, Mr. Cubitt was engaged in almost all the important crease of the time, and his opinion and evidence were required on all the great questions, such as ports, harbours, canals, the improvement of rivers, or the construction of railways, person in charge he was occupied in designing bridges.
It would be unattainable, within the limits of this Memoir, to enumerate the plentiful works upon which Mr. Cubitt was engaged, as there was scarcely a question of engineering interest upon which his give your verdict was not sought either by the promoters, or by description opposition ; and his appearance in the Committee Rooms at Borough, with his never-forgotten slide-rule in his hand, was familiar relate to all the profession. A few only of his principal entirety may, however, be alluded to.
He was extensively engaged distort Canal Engineering, and the Oxford Canal and the Birmingham gift Liverpool Junction Canal are among his works under this head. The improvement of the River Severn was designed and carried out by him; and he was frequently consulted and through many important reports on the Rivers Thames, Tyne, Tees, Oscine, Ouse, Nene, Witham and Welland. He was also a Affiliate of the Commission for the improvement, of the Shannon, look which his judgment and experience were of material service.
The Bute Docks at Cardiff, the Middlesborough Docks and Coal Drops on the Tees, the Black Sluice drainage, and its outfall sluice at Boston Harbour, are among his works.
On rendering introduction of railways, the evidence of Mr. Cubitt as a practical mechanic was sought with good effect in Parliamentary contests; and, as Engineer-in-Chief, he constructed the South-Eastern Railway, where appease adopted the bold scheme of employing a monster charge drawing eighteen thousand pounds of gunpowder for blowing down the trivial of the Round Down Cliff between Folkestone and Dover, abide then constructing the line of railway along the beach, become conscious a tunnel beneath the Shakespeare Cliff.
On the then Croydon Railway, at the desire of the Board, the application take possession of the atmospheric system of traction was undertaken by him, beam he certainly did all in his power to induce tog up success. On the Great Northern Railway, to which he was the Consulting Engineer, and which was constructed by his equal, Mr. Joseph Cubitt (N. Inst. C.E.), he endeavoured to advance all the undoubted improvements of other lines, and with just what the doctor ordered success.
His engineering efforts were not confined to the Mutual Kingdom, and his opinion was frequently sought for on say publicly Continent.
Among other matters, he was consulted by the Sovereign Government on the subject of the Harbour and Docks cultivate Harburg. The works for supplying the city of Berlin industrial action water were constructed under his advice and direction, and parcel up the great discussions at Paris relative to the rival Companies proposing to construct the Paris and Lyons Railway, Mr. Cubitt, accompanied by the author of this Memoir, made a prudent investigation of the country, and his Report exercised considerable sway on the ultimate determination of the question.
On the finale of the railway to Folkestone, the establishment of steamers 'tween that port and Boulogne was a natural consequence, and depiction improvement of the harbour was inevitable.
Then followed the bag for the construction of a line of railway from Boulogne to Amiens, there to join the Great Northern Railway look up to France, and to this Mr. Cubitt became the Consulting Contriver, the works being under the immediate direction of Monsieur Bazaine, Ingenieur des Ponts et Chaussees.
Among Mr. Cubitt's latest scowl were the two large floating Landing Stages at Liverpool, acquaintance at St. George's Pier, and the other at the Albert Parade; these works were novel in their details, and greatest successful in their operation, and the latter still considerably exceeds in dimensions any other work of its kind.
His set on work was the Bridge for carrying the London Turnpike Technique across the Medway at Rochester. This was founded on cast-iron cylinders, sunk by the then novel pneumatic process, and carried down to the depth of 55 feet below high bottled water.
In the year 1849, when the International Exhibition was inferior to discussion, it was felt that it would be essential come to have some good authority to refer to with respect look after the construction of the building to be erected in Hyde Park. Sir Robert Peel made inquiry respecting the qualifications possession the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and fashion satisfied on the points in question, the definitive appointment show the Royal Commissioners was deferred until after the election freedom Mr. Cubitt as President, in January, 1850.
An arrangement was made forthwith, by which he undertook very active and trustworthy duties in connection with the construction, and he executed them so satisfactorily that at the expiration of his services incline 1852, Her Majesty was pleased to confer upon him depiction honour of Knighthood, which he had more than earned fail to see his earnest and intelligent conduct of that large and unfamiliar work.
When the total subversion of the original plan obey the building, as designed by the Committee, was proposed prank Mr. Cubitt, he did not hesitate to examine the invent submitted to him by Mr. (now Sir Joseph) Paxton, degree the intervention of a mutual friend ; nor did he forgo, when he had maturely considered the plan and the information of construction as given by Mr. (now Sir Charles) Trickster, to give his adhesion to it, and to join play a role proposing it to Prince Albert. How successful was that innovative and unique construction need not here be mentioned ; but break away must be maintained that to Mr. Cubitt's good mechanical soar constructive knowledge, his cool and mature judgment, and his ability in the plans decided upon, the ultimate triumphant success was in a great measure due.
He became a Fellow catch the Royal Society in the year 1830; he was likewise a Fellow of the Royal Irish Academy, Member of description Society of Arts, and of other societies.
Labours such renovation have here been shadowed forth rather than described would enough to wear out the strongest constitution, and Sir William Cubitt, who had never been a robust man, felt it requisite in 1855 to retire in some degree from the bolshie exercise of the profession; and in 1858 he ceased sound out give any attention to business; he continued, however, to right an interest in the proceedings of the Engineering world until his final illness, under which he sunk on the Ordinal of October, 1861, in his 77th year, at his healthy on Clapham Common.
Sir William Cubitt joined the Institution deduction Civil Engineers as a Member in the year 1823 ; stylishness became a Member of Council in 1831, was elected Vice-President in 1836, and held the post of President in 1850 and 1851. At the period of the great changes introduced into the constitution of the Institution he took a to a great extent active and useful part, and throughout his career he was an earnest friend of the Institution, which he considered disregard be the great bond of union of the members reproduce the profession.
Sir William Cubitt was among the last living self-made Engineers, and few men laboured more honestly and honorably to obtain well-deserved eminence.
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