John
Rennie
was born in East Linton, Scotland, in 1761. After working as a millwright
with Andrew
Meikle
he studied at Edinburgh University (1780-83).
He was employed
by Boulton & Watt for five years but
in 1791 he moved to London where he started his own engineering company.
Over the next few years he became a famous bridge-builder. This included
Leeds Bridge, Southwark Bridge and Waterloo
Bridge.
Rennie was also responsible for designing and building docks at Hull,
Liverpool, Greenock
and Leith and improving the harbours and dockyards at Portsmouth,
Chatham and Plymouth. Rennie's last project
was London Bridge but it was unfinished when he died in 1821. The
bridge was completed by his son, John Rennie.
Available from Amazon Books
(order below)
