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John Wolfe-Barry
 
 
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Sir John Wolfe-Barry (December 7, 1836 – January 22, 1918) was an English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 civil engineer
Civil engineer

A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering, one of the many engineering professions. Originally a civil engineer worked on public works projects and was contrasted with the military engineer, who worked on armaments and defenses....
 of the late 19th and early 20th century. His most famous project was the construction of Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge is a combined bascule bridge and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name....
 over the River Thames in London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
.

Early career
Wolfe-Barry, the youngest son of architect
Architect

An architect is trained and licenced in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e....
 Sir Charles Barry
Charles Barry

Sir Charles Barry Fellow of the Royal Society was an England architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster in his home city of London during the mid 19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens....
, added 'Wolfe' to his inherited name in 1898. He was educated at Glenalmond
Glenalmond College

Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent school boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years....
 and King's College London
King's College London

King's College London is a United Kingdom higher education institution and co-founding constituent college of the University of London. Founded by George IV of the United Kingdom and the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington in 1829, its royal charter is predated, in England, only by those of the Universities of University of Oxford and Un...
, and was a pupil of civil engineer Sir John Hawkshaw
John Hawkshaw

Sir John Hawkshaw , England engineer, was born in Leeds, Yorkshire and was educated at Leeds Grammar School.Before he was 21 he had been engaged for six or seven years in railway engineering and the construction of roads in his native county, and in the year of his majority he obtained an appointment as engineer to the Bolivar Mining Associ...
, as was Henri Marc Brunel
Henri Marc Brunel

Henri Marc Brunel was the second son of the celebrated England engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and followed his father's footsteps in becoming a civil engineer....
, son of the great Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Fellow of the Royal Society , was a United Kingdom engineer. He is best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, including the first with a propeller, and numerous important bridges and tunnels....
.






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Sir John Wolfe-Barry (December 7, 1836 – January 22, 1918) was an English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 civil engineer
Civil engineer

A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering, one of the many engineering professions. Originally a civil engineer worked on public works projects and was contrasted with the military engineer, who worked on armaments and defenses....
 of the late 19th and early 20th century. His most famous project was the construction of Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge is a combined bascule bridge and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name....
 over the River Thames in London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
.

Early career


Wolfe-Barry, the youngest son of architect
Architect

An architect is trained and licenced in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e....
 Sir Charles Barry
Charles Barry

Sir Charles Barry Fellow of the Royal Society was an England architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster in his home city of London during the mid 19th century, but also responsible for numerous other buildings and gardens....
, added 'Wolfe' to his inherited name in 1898. He was educated at Glenalmond
Glenalmond College

Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent school boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years....
 and King's College London
King's College London

King's College London is a United Kingdom higher education institution and co-founding constituent college of the University of London. Founded by George IV of the United Kingdom and the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington in 1829, its royal charter is predated, in England, only by those of the Universities of University of Oxford and Un...
, and was a pupil of civil engineer Sir John Hawkshaw
John Hawkshaw

Sir John Hawkshaw , England engineer, was born in Leeds, Yorkshire and was educated at Leeds Grammar School.Before he was 21 he had been engaged for six or seven years in railway engineering and the construction of roads in his native county, and in the year of his majority he obtained an appointment as engineer to the Bolivar Mining Associ...
, as was Henri Marc Brunel
Henri Marc Brunel

Henri Marc Brunel was the second son of the celebrated England engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and followed his father's footsteps in becoming a civil engineer....
, son of the great Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Fellow of the Royal Society , was a United Kingdom engineer. He is best known for the creation of the Great Western Railway, a series of famous steamships, including the first with a propeller, and numerous important bridges and tunnels....
. Barry and Hawkshaw worked on railway bridge crossings across the Thames, among other projects (Brunel pursued his own business from 1871, but in 1878 went into partnership with Barry). Barry began his own practice in 1867, and carried out more work for the railways.

Tower Bridge


However, it was Tower Bridge that really made Wolfe-Barry's name. In 1878, architect
Architect

An architect is trained and licenced in planning and designing buildings, and participates in supervising the construction of a building. Etymologically, architect derives from the Latin architectus, itself derived from the Greek arkhitekton , i.e....
 Horace Jones
Horace Jones

Sir Horace Jones was an England architect of the 19th century, knighted in 30 July 1886.He is particularly noted for his work as Architect and Surveyor for the Corporation of the City of London from 1864 to 1887....
 first proposed a low-level bascule
Bascule

Bascule may refer to:* A Bascule bridge.* Bascule , or roundness over a jump, of a horse.* A character from the Iain M Banks novel Feersum Endjinn...
 bridge. An Act of Parliament allowing the Corporation of the City of London
City of London

The City of London is a geographically small city status in the United Kingdom within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which, along with Westminster, the modern conurbation grew....
 to build it was passed in 1885. Jones was appointed architect, and knighted, but died the same year. Wolfe-Barry, already well-established with experience of bridges across the Thames, then took control.

Other projects


His other projects included:
  • Cannon Street Railway Bridge
    Cannon Street Railway Bridge

    Cannon Street Railway Bridge is a bridge in central London, crossing the River Thames. Downstream, the next bridge is London Bridge, and upstream Southwark Bridge....
     (aka the Alexandra Bridge) (1866)
  • Blackfriars Railway Bridge
    Blackfriars Railway Bridge

    Blackfriars Railway Bridge is a railway bridge crossing the River Thames in London, between Blackfriars Bridge and the London Millennium Bridge....
     (aka St Paul's Bridge), London (1886)
  • docks at Barry
    Barry, Wales

    Barry is a town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Located along the northern coast of the Bristol Channel less than 7 miles SSW of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, Barry is a seaside resort, with attractions including several beaches and the Barry Island Pleasure Park....
     near Cardiff
    Cardiff

    Cardiff is the Capital , largest city and most populous Unitary authority#Wales in Wales. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for many national cultural and sport institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of Welsh Assembly Government ....
    , south Wales
    Wales

    native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
  • District Line
    District Line

    The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a "sub-surface" line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels....
     of the London Underground
    London Underground

    The London Underground is a metro system serving a large part of Greater London and neighbouring areas of Essex, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire in the UK....
     (with Sir John Hawkshaw)
  • pumping stations on the Regent's Canal
    Regent's Canal

    The Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just to the north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal, just north-west of Paddington Basin, in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London....
    , north London
  • Kew Bridge
    Kew Bridge

    Kew Bridge is a bridge in London over the River Thames. The present bridge was designed by John Wolfe-Barry and opened in 1903. The bridge was given...
    , west London (1903)
  • expansion of Greenland Dock
    Greenland Dock

    Greenland Dock is the oldest of London's riverside Dock , located in Rotherhithe in the area of the city now known as London Docklands. It used to be part of the Surrey Commercial Docks, most of which have by now been filled in....
    , Surrey Docks (now Surrey Quays
    Surrey Quays

    Surrey Quays is a name given to a largely residential area of Rotherhithe in south-east London, occupied until 1970 by the Surrey Commercial Docks....
    ), south-east London (1904)


Industry standardisation


A recognised industry leader (he was elected President of the Institution of Civil Engineers
Institution of Civil Engineers

Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineers....
 in 1896, knighted in 1897, and served on several Royal Commissions), Wolfe-Barry played a prominent role in the development of industry standardisation, urging the ICE's Council to form a committee to focus on standards for iron and steel sections.

Two members each from the ICE, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
Institution of Mechanical Engineers

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers is the United Kingdom engineering society concerned with mechanical engineering. It is licensed by the Engineering Council UK to assess candidates for inclusion on Engineering Council UK's Register of professional Engineers....
, the Institution of Naval Architects
Royal Institution of Naval Architects

The Royal Institution of Naval Architects is an international organisation representing naval architects. It is an international professional institution whose members are involved world-wide at all levels in the design, construction, repair and operation of ships, boats and marine structures....
 and the Iron and Steel Institute first met on 26 April 1901. With the Institution of Electrical Engineers
Institution of Electrical Engineers

The Institution of Electrical Engineers or IEE was a British professional organisation for electronics, electrical, manufacturing and Information technology professionals....
 who joining the following year, these bodies were the founder institutions of what is today the British Standards Institution or BSI.

Late career


He was chairman of Cable and Wireless from 1900 to 1917.

In 1902 Wolfe-Barry joined the consulting firm Robert White & Partners, and it was renamed Wolfe-Barry, Robert White & Partners (later, 1946, Sir Bruce White, Wolfe Barry and Partners – now part of London-based consultancy Beckett Rankine).

Wolfe-Barry died in January 1918 and was buried in Brookwood Cemetery
Brookwood Cemetery

Brookwood Cemetery is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in western Europe....
 near Woking
Woking

Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding Non-metropolitan district, located in the west of Surrey, England....
 in Surrey
Surrey

Surrey is a counties of England in the South East England of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire, and Berkshire....
.

External links