736 



JESSOP. 



Jcssop. the rest of his life. He made several surveys and 

 *" "Y"'' reports for improving the rivers Severne, Mersey, and 

 Irwell ; and also the upper part of the Thames. 



After Mr Smeaton withdrew from business, Mr Jes- 

 sop stood at the head of his profession : In the prime 

 of life,and with a sullicient fund of knowledge and expe- 

 rience, his talents became eminently useful during the ra- 

 pid progress which, at this time, inland navigation made 

 in England. To enumerate the objects of his labours, 

 from the year 1780 to 1800, would be to give a list of 

 nearly all the improvements, of this kind, which were 

 projected and executed during that period : But as this 

 would exceed our prescribed limits, we shall here only 

 observe that the map of the canals in the counties of Der- 

 by, Nottingham, Leicester, and Lincoln, were planned 

 arid executed under his direction, as was likewise the 

 grand junction canal which connects the midland coun- 

 ties with the metropolis. Besides these, he was occa- 

 sionally consulted in regard to most of the other canals 

 which were then carrying on in other parts of the king- 

 dom. For several years, previous to his death, he acted 

 jointly with Mr Telford in conducting the great Cale- 

 donian canal in the north of Scotland, and that engi- 

 neer embraced every opportunity of acknowledging, 

 in the warmest manner, the advantages and satisfac- 

 tion which he derived from the able, upright, and liberal 

 conduct of his enlightened colleague and friend. 



In consequence of Mr Jessop's merited reputation, he 

 was consulted respecting the inland navigation of the sis- 

 ter kingdom, which was for many years conducted solely 

 under his direction. The leading arrangements were 

 then made, in order to establish a water communication 

 from the city of Dublin on the east, to the river Shan- 

 non in the interior, and by it to Limerick on the west; 

 besides various collateral branches to the southern and 

 northern parts of that fine island. The principal and 

 most difficult operations required to accomplish these 

 desirable objects, were performed under his direction, 

 and the whole put into a state of progress, which af- 

 terwards only required to be regulated by the finan- 

 cial resources and growing demands of that rising 

 country. 



In regard to harbours, besides many of compara- 

 tively inferior importance, which we have not room to 

 enumerate, the great canal and magnificent West India 

 Hocks in the Isle of Dogs; the extensive improve- 

 ments in the ports of Bristol, Hull, and Dublin, were 

 planned and executed under his direction. These un- 

 dertakings, upon an unexampled scale of magnitude 

 and perfection, afford unequivocal evidence of his abili- 

 ties as an engineer, and at the same time formed a va- 

 itiable school for others who had occasion to construct 

 -similar works. 



_From being scarcely of sufficient importance to con- 

 stitute a separate profession when he entered into it, 

 works requiring the attention of a civil engineer, 

 were, in a shirt time, so greatly increased, that Mr 

 Jessop found that the most unremitting exertions were 

 unequal to the demands upon his services ; he, there- 

 fore, in the year 1785, introduced Mr Rennie as engi- 

 neer to tlie Lancaster canal. This selection is a striking 

 evidence of his discernment of human character, and- 

 although as the demand about that time became urgent, 

 such natural talents and assiduity must ultimately have 

 acquired distinction, yet their progress was not a little 

 facilitated by the long continued aid of so experienced 

 and enlightened a friend. 

 The preceding narrative contains only a rapid sketch 



of the professional career of this valuable man, who dc- Jessop 

 parted this life on the 18th Nov. 1814. '""V" 



It will be evident to the reader, that in the course 

 of discussing the important article Inland NAVIGATION, 

 we shall have frequent opportunities of stating more at 

 length the share that Mr Jessop had in the public works 

 which are here only slightly alluded to, and also the pecu- 

 liarities in his mode of practice, as well as the particular 

 benefits for which his profession was indebted to him. 



His mind was comprehensive, inventive, and sin- 

 cere. At the age of threescore his mental energies 

 were unabated. Unshackled by prejudices, he retained 

 a youthful ardour for professional improvements ; and 

 he would even then not unt'requently display a degree of 

 jealousy, lest a more perfect mode was possible. He 

 constantly devoted his whole mind to the subject be- 

 fore him, and from which all personal considerations 

 seemed excluded. Under these impressions his uni- 

 form aim was to accomplish his purposes by the sim- 

 plest and most economical means : these he sometimes 

 carried to a length to which the average talents of 

 mankind could not always do justice in the execution : 

 but he invariably disdained to screen personal respon- 

 sibility by unnecessary expenditure, upon the grounds, 

 that it was the business of an engineer, and what 

 ought chiefly to distinguish him from the common 

 workman, to effect his purposes rather by ingenuity 

 of construction, than quantity of materials : that it was 

 an imperative duty rather to risk occasional partial 

 failures from imperfect workmanship, than uniform- 

 ly to persevere in an unpardonable waste of capital; 

 and that no clamour of ignorance, or prejudice, or 

 consideration of personal interest, should for a moment 

 deter him from this conduct. 



His discerning and ingenious mind led him to found 

 his practice upon observation and just principles rather 

 than precedent. In the important articles of Locks, 

 Wharfs, and Retaining Walls, he introduced an entire- 

 ly new form, composed of nearly one half the quantity 

 of materials employed by the French and early Eng- 

 lish engineers; he contrived an excellent method of 

 draining morasses and boggy land, more especially for 

 the purpose of constructing a navigable canal through 

 it; he communicated very judicious views respecting 

 the management of flood waters ; he seized with ea- 

 gerness the idea of acquiring an expeditious mode of 

 conveying heavy materials by iron rail roads; and- 

 was particularly zealous for the general use of cylin- 

 drical broad wheels upon roads composed of gravel.' 

 But all these matters, as has been already observed, 

 will be discussed under their proper heads ; our inten- 

 tion in mentioning them at present being merely to ex- 

 hibit the general tenor of Mr Jessop's mind and conduct. 

 Besides these extensive pursuits in the British islands, 

 his reputation as an engineer led to his being consult- 

 ed respecting a proposed canal in Spain. What the 

 practical result was, in that distracted and feeble king- 

 dom, it is easy to conjecture. He was also applied to 

 by the American states, to select a properly qualified 

 person for investigating and arranging several propo- 

 sed inland navigations in that extensive region. In 

 consequence of this, Mr Weston, a very ingenious and 

 well-informed person, was for several years employed 

 in North America ; but we suspect that some centuries 

 must yet elapse, before the introduction of this expen- 

 sive improvement can, with propriety become general 

 in that infant country. 

 Like most men of truly great minds, his manners 



