CHAP. XI. 



HIS INCESSANT OCCUPATION. 



273 



and approaches is perhaps the finest work of its kind 

 in the world. 1 



It will be observed from the preceding chapters, that 

 Mr. Rennie's life was one of constant employment, and 

 that, apart from his great engineering works, his career 

 contains but few elements of biographic interest. In- 

 deed his works constitute his biography, overlaying, as 

 they did, almost his entire life, and occupying nearly the 

 whole of his available time. His personal wants were 

 few ; his habits regular ; and his pleasures of the most 

 moderate sort, consisting chiefly in reading and in the 

 enjoyment of domestic life. At the age of twenty-nine 

 lie married Miss Mackintosh, an Inverness lady, who 

 made his home happy ; and he became the father of nine 

 children, six of whom survived him. In the early part 

 of his career in London he lived in the Great Surrey 



1 The new bridge was erected about 

 thirty yards higher up the river than 

 the old one, and involved the con- 

 struction of new approaches on both 

 sides. The first coffer-darn was put 

 in on the South wark side, and the 

 first pile was driven on the 15th of 

 M;irch, 1824; the foundation stone 

 w:is laid witli great ceremony by 

 H. ]J. H. the Duke of York, on the 

 15th of June, 1825, assisted by the 

 Lord Mayor (Garrett), the Aldermen, 

 and Common Council. The bridge was 

 finally completed and formally opened 

 by His Majesty King William the 

 Fourth on the 1st of August, 1831 

 the time occupied in its construction 

 having thus been seven years and three 

 months. The total cost of the bridge 

 and approaches was about two mil- 

 lions sterling. All the masonry below 

 low water is composed of hard sand- 

 stone grit, from Bramley Fall, near 



Leeds ; and the whole of the ex- 

 terior masonry above low water is 

 of the finest hard gray granite, from 

 Aberdeen, Devonshire, and Cornwall. 

 The actual width of the arches as 

 executed is as follows : the centre 

 arch is 152 feet 6 inches span; the 

 two arches next the centre are 140 

 feet; and the two land arches 130 

 feet. The details of construction of 

 the coffer-dams, piers, and floating 

 and fixing the centres, were similar 

 to those adopted by Mr. Rennie in 

 building Waterloo and Southwark 

 bridges. The total length of the 

 bridge is 1005 feet ; width from out- 

 side to outside, 56 feet ; width of the 

 footpaths, 18 feet ; and of the carriage- 

 way, 35 feet. The total quantity of 

 stone built into the bridge is 120,000 

 tons. The builders were Messrs. 

 Joliffe and Banks, the greatest con- 

 tractors of their day. 



SECTION OF NEW LONDON BRIDGE. 



VOL. II. 



