Description
By A. Jarvis
It is common knowledge that during Victoria’s long reign British engineering faced a few challenges but, overall, reigned supreme. Most of the greatest works of the period were designed or made by British engineers and men like Stephenson or Brunel became household names. This book investigates the roles of the great men, and how they related to their subordinates, who actually did most of the work. It looks at how engineering evolved from a trade to the profession of engineering consultancy and from there to the neglected role of the salaried engineer. Some lesser-known heroes are introduced as well: Jesse Hartley, the first full-time salaried dock engineer; James Newlands, the first Borough Engineer, and Robert Rawlinson, the first government-employed sanitary engineer. These men, like their more famous colleagues, both furthered the continuation of the Industrial Revolution and made it survivable.
