Autobiography of Sir John Rennie, F.R.S. 3

Autobiography of Sir John Rennie, F.R.S. 3

Peterhead, 30 miles farther northward, where the red granite abounds in

large masses near the coast, and where I was told that I should probably

succeed; but still, they said, even there it would be very difficult to

get them. Upon arriving at Peterhead I immediately set to work exploring

the adjacent country for several miles round, and soon found that blocks

of the size required could readily be obtained, and even larger ones if

necessary. I accordingly selected, by way of experiment, a mass of solid

rock about four miles to the south of Peterhead, lying within a quarter

of a mile of the sea coast, and about 200 feet above the main turnpike

road to Peterhead, which ran along the sea shore. This block, weighing

about 25 tons, was accordingly marked out, and was soon detached from

the main mass of rock by means of wedges, and was 10 feet long and 5

feet square. The workmen who executed this task were rewarded with ample

wages and a good supply of whisky, and were extremely proud of their

achievement. Then came the important question, how they were to convey

it to Peterhead. To get it to the turnpike road was soon accomplished

by means of a wooden inclined tramway formed of stout planks moved upon

wooden rollers. Good wages and whisky settled this, and the workmen

considered it a further great triumph; but still the greater difficulty

remained, how to get this vast block (as it was then considered) four

miles to Peterhead. I then went back to Peterhead, and after numerous

inquiries, and as many failures and objections on all sides, at last

found two large single bogies, each consisting of a pair of strong wheels

8 feet in diameter, connected by a strong axle shaft and a double pair of

shafts in front. These two pairs of wheels I joined together at the axle

shafts by two strong beams, cased with wrought iron, and strengthened

the wheels and axles in other respects as far as necessary. I then

took this carriage to the block of red granite already mentioned lying

in the road, and slung the stone, by means of strong chains, to the two

longitudinal bearers of the carriage. Some twelve or fourteen horses

were then attached to the carriage, and off we departed in great triumph

for Peterhead. The toll-keeper, never having seen such a mass of stone

before, did not know what to charge. However, having at length satisfied

his demand, we proceeded onwards, and we had scarcely advanced a mile

when we came to a soft piece of road, which yielded under the great

weight of the stone, and the wheels stuck fast, buried about 9 inches in

the ground. This accident created general dismay amongst the attendant

workmen, and they began to consider the task hopeless. However, nothing

daunted by this mischance, I soon rallied their courage, and with plenty

of screw-jacks, wedges, and levers judiciously applied, we raised the

wheels out of the ground, and placed strong wooden beams under them,

forming a rough kind of railway, over which we dragged and pushed the

carriage with its stone in safety, until we had passed the unsound part

of the road. This operation detained us about a day. Everybody worked

with the greatest ardour and goodwill, which was aided not a little by a

plentiful supply of ale and whisky, and the men were determined, for the

honour of Scotland, that they would not be beaten. Having overcome this

serious obstacle, we started again on our journey, and reached Peterhead

about four hours afterwards, making the total length of the journey--four

miles--a day and a half. The whole town of Peterhead, having never seen

such a sight before, and having considered our task impracticable, turned

out to see us, and welcomed us with the most enthusiastic acclamations.

 

The next thing to be done, having succeeded so far, was to get a vessel

that would take this monstrous block of stone, as it was termed, to

London; and although there were a considerable number of vessels in the

harbour, I could not at first prevail upon any of the captains to take

the charge. All sorts of objections were made, and amongst the rest, it

was impossible to get the stone on board, and if they did, it would make

a hole in the bottom, and the vessel would founder with all on board. At

last, after a great deal of difficulty, I found a brig of about 200 tons

burthen, the captain of which, after a good deal of persuasion, consented

to take the block of stone to London, provided that I would put it on

board at my own risk and expense, and indemnify him against all risk or

loss on the voyage, which I accordingly agreed to do.

 

Then came the last important question, how was the block to be got on

board? There was no crane in the port capable of lifting above 2 or 3

tons.

 

I immediately set to work to supply this deficiency by means of two sets

of strong sheer-poles, capable of bearing 10 to 15 tons each. The vessel

engaged was accordingly brought alongside the quay where the 4-ton crane

was fixed, so that it should nearly plumb the centre of the hatchway of

the vessel, which it was necessary to enlarge and strengthen considerably

before it could receive the stone. I then secured the sheer-poles well

at the top, and placed one set on each side of the crane, a short

distance from the extremity of each end of the hatchway. The legs of the

sheer-poles were firmly fixed in the bed of the harbour, striding over

the vessel, so that they were perfectly independent of the vessel, and

the top of each pole was directly over the centre of the hatchway. To the

top of the sheer-poles I applied a pair of strong treble sheave-blocks,

capable of receiving a thick rope; each block was worked by a double

purchase crab or windlass manned by eight men each, besides four to work

the crane, so that the block would be suspended at three points, the

sheers taking the greatest weight. After a good deal of trouble I got

the whole of this apparatus as complete as circumstances would permit,

which were not the most favourable. From the quay a strong timber gangway

was constructed over the hatchway, the outer end being supported, clear

of the vessel, by piles driven into the bed of the harbour on each side,

in order that the ship might be kept perfectly steady until the stone

was placed within the hold, because otherwise the stone resting upon

any part of the deck might have upset it. Everything being ready, the

stone was brought alongside the vessel and the tackle of the crane and

of the two pairs of sheer-poles was made fast to three sets of strong

chains fastened round the stone, which was transferred upon rollers

over the centre of the hatchway of the vessel, the purchases of the

crane and sheer-poles being kept sufficiently tight so as to prevent

any undue pressure upon the platform. The stone was then raised clear

of the platform, when I heard a crack; in fact, one of the sheer-poles

had bent and partially yielded; it was then blocked, and, the sheers

having been first spliced with strong rope, the stone was again hoisted

and swung clear of the platform, which was removed, and the stone was

lowered into the hold of the vessel and properly secured without any

further delay or accident. The whole of these operations were witnessed

with intense interest by many of the inhabitants of Peterhead, and when

so successfully completed the quays resounded with cheers. The gallant

workmen who laboured so arduously and with such goodwill, and to whose

exertions the success may be mainly attributed, were plenteously regaled,

together with their friends, with all the good things which Peterhead

afforded, in which the worthy inhabitants joined, and the remainder of

the day was passed in mutual goodwill and festivity.

 

My readers will, I trust, excuse the detailed manner in which I have

described these operations, which at the present day would be considered

trifling to a degree, but, at the time above mentioned, more than half

a century since, operations of this kind had not been attempted, and

were entirely novel, and were considered extraordinary; they must,

therefore, be viewed as the pioneer to the far greater operations of

the kind which have followed. For now such stones are considered mere

trifles, and blocks of almost any reasonable size can be quarried,

polished, and transported to their destination, however distant, at

comparatively much less cost and with greater facility. The cutting and

polishing of granite at that time was accomplished at great expense, as

it was done entirely by manual labour; now it is performed by means of

machinery at greatly reduced cost, and polished granite of every kind is

introduced into buildings, which was formerly considered impracticable;

and thus the architect is provided with additional means of ornamenting

his structures. It is true that many centuries before the Egyptians had

shown the way; but then the whole power and resources of the nation had

been devoted to this object, and incredible sums of money and great

labour had been expended, regardless of the misery and oppression of

the people. But in Great Britain it has been considered a true maxim

of political economy, that every article should be produced at the

least possible cost, and no work should be undertaken unless it would

yield a fair profit for the capital expended; and whenever there is a

reasonable prospect of obtaining this satisfactory result, any amount of

capital which may be required is always forthcoming. Witness the vast

sums which have been expended on railways alone, besides steam-vessels,

manufactures, machinery, and other similar undertakings.

 

Whilst at Aberdeen and Peterhead, my father gave me an introduction to

his old and intimate friend, the well-known James Ferguson, of Pitfour,

the member for the county, and the intimate friend of Mr. Pitt. Mr.

Ferguson possessed a large fortune; he was an old bachelor of the most

amiable and charitable disposition, beloved by everybody and universally

popular throughout the county. As illustrative of the manners of those

days, I will simply mention that when I presented my father’s letter of

introduction he received me most kindly, and invited me to spend a few

days under his most hospitable roof, which I accepted, and on the first

day there was assembled a large party of the most influential gentlemen

of the county; as was usual wines of all kinds flowed in abundance, and

universal hilarity prevailed. The consequence was that not long after

dinner several of the guests fell off their chairs and took their nap

under the table, from which after a short time they recovered and resumed

their seats, and again set to work at their potations, which continued

until long past midnight; by this time another considerable batch of

guests were under the table, leaving their glasses full. I was so much

amused at this unaccustomed scene, that, by way of frolic, I took the

full glasses of some of the guests on the floor and poured them down

their throats, which had no other effect than to make them sleep sounder.

In this manner the evening passed merrily away, and it was late in the

morning before the whole of the company found their way to their beds.

The amiable host allowed everyone to do as he liked, and when he had had

enough, which was not very soon, he retired to bed, leaving his guests

to take care of themselves; in fact, Pitfour was “_Liberty Hall_,” and

was open to all comers, the only limit being the amount of sleeping

accommodation.

 

To give some idea of his hospitality, Mr. Ferguson seldom had less than

thirty-six pipes of fine port wine in his cellars, besides claret,

burgundy, sherry, champagne, brandy, and whisky, in proportion. He was

so fond of Mr. Pitt, that it is believed that if Mr. Pitt had survived

him, he intended to have made him heir to his estates, which were said to

have been worth above 20,000_l._ a year.

 

When attending his duties in the House of Commons, he lodged in

apartments in St. James’s Street, and after the parliamentary labours of

the week were over, Mr. Pitt, the late Harry Dundas, First Lord Melville,

and Mr. Ferguson used to retire to a country house at Wimbledon, and

spend the Saturday, Sunday, and Monday in the greatest conviviality,