Benjamin Outram, one of the most remarkable civil engineers of the early Industrial Revolution, was born at Alfreton in Derbyshire, the son of a land agent. Seizing the opportunity presented by the building of the Cromford Canal, he initially worked as an assistant to William Jessop but soon became a leading engineer in his own right. He went on to act for the Derby, Nottingham and Nutbrook canals in the East Midlands, the Ashton and Peak Forest canals in the North West, and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, a major trans-Pennine route, as well as numerous smaller schemes.

Outram also developed an improved system of horse-drawn railways, using L-section cast-iron plate rails on stone sleepers, and supervised the construction of several hundred miles of such lines, including those of the Derby, Peak Forest and Ashby de la Zouch canals, the Grand Junction Canal's temporary railway over Blisworth Hill, important lines in the Monmouthshire valleys, and many feeders from collieries to nearby canals.

As well as his engineering practice, Outram established an iron company at Butterley, alongside the Cromford Canal, which developd into the largest such business in the East Midlands, with ironstone pits, collieries, limeworks and a puddling forge, besides the original blast furnaces and foundry.

The life and work of this extraordinary figure, who was only 41 when he suddenly died on a business trip to London, is told for the first time in this new book, which draws on the records of the Butterley Company and the canal and railway undertakings who consulted Outram, as well as family and estate papers. The book also throws new light on the organisation of the civil engineering profession, and canal and railway contracting, at a crucial stage in the development of both.

Professor R.B. Schofield MA PhD CEng FICE FIStructE worked on the original section of the M1 motorway and other projects, before becoming a lecturer at Salford University. He subsequently held a chair of civil engineering at the University of Ulster. Well known as an historian of his profession as well as a senior practitioner, his latest book represents many years of detailed research.

Benjamin Outram, 1764-1805: An Engineering Biography, a hardback of 352 pages with 24 plates and 32 line drawings (ISBN 1 898937 42 7), was published on 21 October 2001 at £24.95.

To order a copy of this book please write as under:

To: Merton Priory Press Ltd, 67 Merthyr Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff CF14 1DD

Please send me a copy of Benjamin Outram, 1764-1805. I enclose a cheque for £24.95 payable to Merton Priory Press Ltd.

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© David Kitching 2001

Last updated 3.6.2001