Autobiography of Sir John Rennie, F.R.S. 5

Autobiography of Sir John Rennie, F.R.S. 5

After the minutest search in every part no defect could be discovered;

the wedges between the centres and the under sides of the ribs were then

gradually slackened until the whole of the arches came to their full

bearing, and were removed entirely, leaving the arches perfectly free of

support. During the whole of these operations, from first to last, which

occupied about a week, not the slightest accident or fracture occurred;

the total subsidence of the main arch barely exceeded 2½ inches, whilst

the subsidence of the two side arches barely exceeded 2 inches, which had

been allowed for in the construction.

 

In order to ascertain the effects of expansion and contraction of

the arches by the variation of the temperature of the atmosphere, I

constructed steel, brass, and wooden gauges, accurately divided into

decimal parts of an inch, and erected them upon different parts of the

centres, where the effects were most likely to be apparent, and I kept

the register for several weeks, during the height of summer, autumn,

winter, and spring. I found that the variation in the rise and fall of

the crown of the arches, the abutments being fixed, was 1/10th of an inch

for every 10° of temperature, so that, taking the extremes of temperature

at London to be 10° below freezing point of Fahrenheit in winter, and

80° in summer; the utmost rise and fall of the arches may be taken at

7/10ths, or at most one inch; but as any variation in the temperature,

unless continued for some time, has no sensible effect upon such a large

mass of iron, so, in our variable climate, the rise and fall of the

crowns of the arches may be taken upon the average somewhat below the

amount above given.

 

After the arches had been brought to their bearing and had been relieved

from the centres, the superstructural framework was carried up and firmly

connected and bracketed together by diagonal ties and wedges; in doing

this the ends of the superstructural frames were too tightly wedged to

the masonry of the piers, without my knowledge, so that they would not

allow the main ribs of the arches to play freely, and some of the masonry

courses above the main ribs were slightly splintered and deranged; the

wedges were then slackened, and some of them removed entirely, and thus

the evil was immediately remedied; the whole structure has ever since

remained in a perfect state.

 

The bridges and approaches were finally completed and opened to the

public traffic in March, 1819, the ceremony being performed by Sir John

Jackson, the chairman, the directors, and a few friends.

 

In the month of August, 1818, having worked very hard, I may say almost

night and day, for some time, I was nearly worn out, and was permitted to

have a short holiday. I therefore determined to go to Belgium and visit

the celebrated field of Waterloo, which closed the long and eventful

revolutionary war, and attracted the admiration and interest of the whole

civilized world. I accordingly started for Dover, in company with my old

friend, the late Mr. Joseph Gwilt, architect, and crossed over to Calais.

 

On landing we repaired to Dessin’s hotel, at that time one of the best

in Europe, and rendered famous by Sterne, whose rooms are still shown as

one of the most interesting curiosities (to Englishmen at least) of the

place. Here we passed the remainder of the day very agreeably. Everything

was new to us--the people, their language, their manners, their mode of

living. We had been so long considering the French as our deadly foes

that we could hardly believe ourselves to be at peace with them, and to

be actually in France and so civilly treated by them. Then the living

was so good and cheap, compared to that of England; champagne, which

with us was considered the greatest luxury, and only within reach of the

highest and most wealthy, was here obtainable for four francs a bottle,

whilst in England it was twenty-four, and almost everything in the same

proportion. In the town of Calais there is nothing to see. The harbour is

but indifferent, and almost dry at low water, and is chiefly maintained

open by sluicing and dredging. On such a flat, sandy shore, with the

prevailing winds and currents always driving on and accumulating the

sands, it is very difficult to make and maintain a good harbour; still I

think that a great deal more might be effected by pursuing a different

course, and having a proper system of open piers and breakwaters on the

outside. After breakfast on the following day we started in a travelling

calèche, with two horses, for St. Omer, about 26 miles distant. On our

way we stopped to examine the celebrated quadrangular bridge, called

the Pont Sans Pareille, across the junction of the two canals of

Picardy. This is certainly a meritorious, well-executed work, but the

idea is by no means new, as the Gothic triangular bridge of Crowland,

in Lincolnshire, across the junction of the Welland, was executed many

centuries previous to the Pont Sans Pareille, and is still extant in a

perfect state. Near this bridge is the celebrated maiden fortress of

Ardres, which is said to have never been taken. Here also, according to

Froissart, was the Champs d’Or, or Field of the Cloth of Gold. Ardres is

a poor, miserable little fortress, surrounded with earthworks and ditch,

on a flat plain. In ancient times it might have been formidable, with

their means of attack, but now it would be utterly defenceless. From

Ardres we passed through St. Omer and Lille, and after visiting Tournay

and Ghent we proceeded to the capital of Belgium, where we took up our

quarters at the Hôtel de Flandre, in the highest and best part of the

city. We were particularly struck with the magnificent Hôtel de Ville

and its lofty spire; also the remarkable place or square in front of it,

which, looking to its picturesque mediæval buildings and the remarkable

historical events which have taken place there, renders it one of the

most interesting in Europe. The fine old Gothic cathedral of St. Gudule,

the museum, fine canals, &c., particularly attracted our attention.

 

On the next morning we started for the scene of the celebrated battle

of Waterloo, which had occurred about two months previously. In this

place, like every Englishman, I took the greatest possible interest,

and pictured to myself the whole of that terrific and stirring scene

as being enacted before me. Notwithstanding the lapse of time since

which that battle had taken place considerable traces of it were still

visible, particularly in the blood-stained walls and ruined, desolate,

and half-consumed buildings of the keys of the position, Hougumont and

La Haye Sainte, and the remnants of shakos, arms, and military clothing

which strewed the field on all sides, and the fresh-made graves,

where many thousand gallant fellows lay entombed. The whole field and

neighbouring villages were crowded with guides to explain the different

particulars of that memorable struggle, and to sell the numerous articles

which they had raked up from the field of battle; we bought some of these

as mementos, and wandered for hours over every part of this field of

desolation, until we fancied that we had mastered every detail of the

conflict, and were almost fit to take the command of an army ourselves.

We then returned to Brussels, highly gratified and instructed by the

excursion.

 

We left Brussels much pleased with that pretty little industrious

capital, and proceeded to Malines, where the fine old cathedral and

town rewarded us well during our short visit. From thence we journeyed

on to Antwerp, where we stopped at the Grand Labourer, a celebrated

old-fashioned hotel. This famous old city, the great emporium of the

Belgian trade, interested me much, with its magnificent cathedral and

other churches, its fine old Hôtel de Ville, and spacious quays and

docks; the Scheldt is here a fine river. There was a good museum of Dutch

and Flemish pictures, but the _chef-d’œuvres_ of Rubens and Vandyke

had not yet returned from Paris. I was much struck with the extent and

strength of the fortifications; also with the costume of the natives,

particularly that of the women, which still resembled a good deal that of

their former masters, the Spaniards. At the time of our visit everything

was in a depressed state. Its trade had not yet recovered from the

effects of the great war, and its then silent streets contrasted greatly

with their former activity. The Roman Catholic religious ceremonies were

conducted with great magnificence, and struck us simple Protestants,

who had never witnessed anything of the kind before, with considerable

astonishment.

 

We left Antwerp for Ghent, and took our departure for Bruges in one of

the trackschuyts or barges, by means of which the great bulk of the

goods and passenger traffic of the kingdom was carried on. These canals

are magnificent specimens of the kind, and, being upon a much greater

scale than our own, particularly struck me with admiration. The canal

was bounded on each side with spacious banks, and was of great width,

with a towing path and carriage way for general traffic. These banks were

bounded by rows of trees, which serve for shade; at the same time their

clippings and timber yield a considerable amount of profit.

 

We reached Bruges about noon, and had just time to examine the fine

cathedral and townhall, as well as the interesting town, its quaint old

buildings, quays, mercantile warehouses, all in the architecture of the

Middle Ages, during which Bruges attained its greatest prosperity. We

left this interesting town in the afternoon by another trackschuyt for

Ostend, about 12 miles distant, by a canal of the same dimensions as

the one above described. Most of these canals being connected with each

other, Brussels, Ghent, Malines, Louvain, and the other large towns,

possessed a complete network of water communication with the ports of

Antwerp and Ostend, and trade is carried on with the greatest facility.

 

We reached Ostend in the evening, and learned that a packet was about

to sail for Margate, of which we determined to avail ourselves. We had,

however, sufficient time to examine this indifferent port, the second

in the kingdom, which, in addition to a badly-contrived entrance by two

guide piers, has two small docks. It is a mere tidal harbour, with an

awkward bar at the entrance, and numerous shoals on the outside. The town

possesses nothing remarkable; it was then garrisoned by English troops,

and there was constant communication with England.

 

From this period I devoted my time almost exclusively to the Waterloo

and Southwark bridges, but particularly to the latter, which was almost

entirely under my direction, subject to the orders of my father. Besides

the above works, I was a good deal employed in the drawing office in

making drawings and estimates and calculations for a variety of new works

upon which my father was engaged. I also occasionally visited the rolling

and other machinery of the Royal Mint on Tower Hill, which my father at

that time was constructing for the Government, and during the evenings I

was employed in learning mathematics under Dr. Bradley and Dr. Firminger,

and the Italian, French, and German languages, so that my time from

morning to evening was fully employed. I must not omit to say that at

this time I attended the lectures of the celebrated Sir Humphry Davy,

the Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution, who at that day

astonished the world by his wonderful discoveries.

 

The first, second, and third arches of the Waterloo Bridge being

completed, Mr. Rennie determined to slacken the centres of the first

arch, which was on the Surrey shore, where the bridge commenced. This

was when the arches were entirely relieved from the centres, and the

total subsiding of this arch was 2½ inches, which is nearly half an