John Wolfe-Barry

Sir John Wolfe Barry (7 December 1836 – 22 January 1918), the youngest son of famous architect Sir Charles Barry, was an English civil engineer of the late 19th and early 20th century. His most famous project is Tower Bridge over the River Thames in London which was constructed between 1886 and 1894. After receiving a knighthood in 1897, he added "Wolfe" to his inherited name in 1898 to become Sir John Wolfe Barry. Early career Wolfe Barry was educated at Glenalmond and King's College, London, where he was a pupil of civil engineer Sir John Hawkshaw, as was his business partner Henry Marc Brunel, son of the great Isambard Kingdom Brunel. 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 made Wolfe Barry's name. In 1878, architect Horace Jones first proposed a bascule bridge. An Act of Parliament allowing the Corporation of the City of London to build it was passed in 1885. Jones was appointed architect, and developed an initial scheme for which he was knighted in 1886. Wolfe Barry, already well-established with experience of bridges across the Thames, was introduced as the engineer for the project and with Henry Marc Brunel redesigned the mechanisms resulting in a modified plan. Within a month of construction starting Sir Horace Jones died, leaving Wolfe Barry and Brunel to oversee and complete the works. The bridge was completed in 1894. Other projects His other projects included: Cannon Street Railway Bridge (also known as the Alexandra Bridge) (1866) Blackfriars Railway Bridge (also known as St Paul's Bridge), London (1886)