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Sir Bruce White, Wolfe Barry and Partners: ports and maritime engineering, 1856 to 1991 The story of the founding of Sir Bruce White, Wolfe Barry and Partners began with yet another young apprentice in the heady days of steam locomotion serving with one of the leading pioneers of that era. George Barclay Bruce began his apprenticeship with Robert Stephenson when he was 15 years old in the renowned steam locomotive shops in Newcastle. On completion at the age of 21, he was engaged on the building of the Newcastle and Darlington Railway and was then resident engineer for a year on the Northhampton and Peterborough line. He was then assigned, at the age of just 24, to the post of resident engineer for the railway bridge over the wide valley between Tweedmouth and Berwick. Designed by Robert Stephenson and Thomas Elliot Harrison, the engineers-in-chief, and with the project costing a quarter of a million pounds, George Barclay Bruce was entrusted with the task of building the bridge to carry the line from Newcastle to Edinburgh, an elegant structure with 28 semi-circular arches rising 128ft (39m) above the river bed. Royal Border Bridge, between Tweedmouth and Berwick, Northumberland, 1850. It was named the Royal Border Bridge by Queen Victoria in August 1850. She arrived with Prince Albert and the royal children by train which crossed the bridge from Tweedmouth Station to arrive at Berwick Station for the formal ceremony. The Mayor had issued the following instructions regarding protocol: “It is recommended that on arrival of the Queen’s carriage at the platform every person stand up and on Her Majesty stepping out on to the platform she be saluted by the cheers of the whole Assembly (nine times nine.) That after this a profound and respectful silence be kept till Her Majesty re-enter the carriage, and when, on the band striking up ‘God Save the Queen’, that every voice join in singing the national anthem till the carriage is out of sight. “The Mayor trusts that the arrangements for the convenience of the public are such as to prevent any struggle, pressure or confusion, and that the numerous and effective forces provided for keeping order will have no occasion to interfere.” In 1851, while working on the construction of the Haltwhistle and Alston Moor branch of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, Bruce was sent to India to work on the construction of the Calcutta section of the East India Railway and in 1853 was appointed chief engineer to the Madras Railway until ill health forced him to return home. He remained consulting engineer for 50 years for the Southern Indian Railway, and from 1894 to the Great Indian Peninsula and Indian Midland railways. At a meeting in 1889, in a discussion of some of his experiences of Indian railways, he said: “that he remembered the old days of travelling, when the maximum of luxury was 2 1 /2 miles an hour in a bullock carriage”. Whilst still responsible for many railway lines in England, he constructed lines in eastern Europe, Spain, and for the East Argentine Railway, the Buenos Aires Grand National tramway and the Beira Railway in southern Africa In 1856, George (later Sir George) Bruce set himself up as a one of the first private engineering consultants and thus founded the seeds of the company which was to grow into Sir Bruce White, Wolfe Barry and Partners. The first consultancy assignment for Bruce was in Canada where his advice was sought in connection with the Victoria Bridge which carries the Grand Trunk Railway over the St Lawrence at Montreal. This was followed by consultancy on substantial railway works in Germany. Sir George Barclay Bruce, 1821-1908 Apprentice to Robert Stephenson & Co. locomotive works, 1836-41, and then resident engineer on various lines. Resident engineer on Royal Border Bridge, Northumberland, and awarded Telford medal by the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1851. Engaged on railways throughout India and in Europe. Member of Council of the Institution of Civil Engineers from 1871, President in 1887 and in 1888. Knighted in 1888. In 1889, created a chevalier of the French Légion d’honneur. Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 1874, and served on the Royal Commissions on the water supply of London, 1892 and 1897. 82
Sir Bruce White, Wolfe Barry and Partners Sir John Wolfe Wolfe-Barry, 1836-1918 Responsible for major railways, bridges, including Tower Bridge, and docks. Member of many Royal Commissions, particularly interested in traffic problem in London. Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, 1868, awarded Telford medal and premium, and was President from 1896 to 1898. Associate of Council of Institution of Surveyors in 1885. In 1901, he founded the Engineering Standards Committee which later developed into the British Standards Institution and was Chairman from 1905 to 1918. Member of Institution of Mechanical Engineers and Vice-President in 1913. In 1895, elected Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1897, involved in establishment of National Physical Laboratories and on Executive Committee. Knighted in 1897. The piers for Tower Bridge under construction, London. With his reputation for successful projects growing, in 1888 Sir George Bruce expanded the business by taking Robert White into partnership. White had considerable railway experience and had worked initially as assistant engineer and later chief engineer for the Great Southern of India Railway from 1869 to 1881. Meanwhile, John Wolfe Barry, fifth son of Sir Charles Barry, RA, who designed the Houses of Parliament and other well-known buildings, had been a pupil and later assistant and resident engineer to Sir John Hawkshaw during the construction of Charing Cross railway bridge and station and for the City Terminus Extension of the Charing Cross Railway, which included Cannon Street station and railway bridge. He set himself up in practice as a consulting engineer in 1867 concentrating on railways, bridges and docks and was joined in partnership by Henry Brunel, son of Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1878. They practiced as Barry and Brunel. Subsequently, these partnerships which prospered in parallel, merged their practices many years later. John Wolfe Barry and Henry Brunel undertook engineering projects in Britain, Europe and China. Perhaps their greatest contribution to the landscape in London was their work on the design and construction of Tower Bridge. The city was being transformed by the increase in traffic on the roads and a network of railway lines, creating a demand for new bridges, subways and tunnels. The earliest design for a bridge just east of the Tower of London was proposed in 1824 by its promoters Captain Samuel Brown and James Walker. They planned to raise the £392,000 by subscription, in transferable shares of £100 each. Tolls were likely to yield more than £100 per day and investors could expect 10 per cent on their outlay, they claimed. It was not, however, until 60 years later that the funding for the crossing became available from the Bridge House Estates Trust which was established in the twelfth century. In the 1870s, over a million people lived east of London Bridge Tower Bridge, London. and small rowing boats were the only means of transport apart from the roadway over the bridge. Finally, in February 1876, a special committee was set up to deal with the urgent representations for a new bridge to meet public demand and designs were invited. A great variety of designs were put forward and in 1878 Horace Jones, the City Architect, was called upon to comment on plans and put forward his own designs on the bascule principle. However, it was not until 1884 after he consulted John Wolfe Barry that a joint design was put before the House of Commons. This involved a substitution of the straight span for Jones’s arch so that the bascules could open vertically to give a 200ft (61m) clearway. Pedestrian walkways were now a possibility at a high level. An Act was passed the following year which allowed the construction of the bridge to proceed. John Wolfe Barry was reassuring: “If I was not convinced in my own mind that this was a thoroughly workable scheme, I am quite sure I should not be sitting in this chair”, he advised the Bridge House Estates Committee. Henry Brunel, Wolfe Barry’s partner, was to supervise all the complicated calculations and details of the structure. “It is intended to be to a certain extent in harmony with the buildings of the Tower; it is intended to be an ornament to the river and it is intended to be provided without taxing anybody to the extent of a single halfpenny, which is a very large element in these days of large local and Imperial taxation” said a satisfied R.D.M Littler, QC in summary to the Select Committee. 83
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