Thomas Hawksley
| Thomas Hawksley | |
|---|---|
Thomas Hawksley
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| Born |
12 July 1807 Arnold, Nottinghamshire |
| Died | 23 September 1893 (aged 86) Kensington, London |
| Nationality | English |
| Education | Self-taught from age 15 |
| Children | Charles Hawksley |
| Parent(s) | John Hawksley and Sarah Thompson |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Civil engineering |
| Institutions | Institution of Civil Engineers (president), Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers (president), Fellow of the Royal Society |
| Projects | Lindley Wood, Swinsty and Fewston reservoirs |
Thomas Hawksley (12 July 1807 – 23 September 1893) was an English civil engineer of the 19th century, particularly associated with early water supply and coal gas engineering projects. Hawksley was, with John Frederick Bateman, the leading British water engineer of the nineteenth century and was personally responsible for upwards of 150 water-supply schemes, in the British Isles and overseas.
The son of John Hawksley and Sarah Thompson and born in Arnold, near Nottingham on 12 July 1807, Hawksley was largely self-taught from the age of 15 onwards—despite his education at Nottingham High School—having at that point become articled to a local firm of architects under the supervision of Edward Staveley that also undertook a variety of water-related engineering projects.
Locally, he remains particularly associated with schemes in his home county. He was engineer to the Nottingham Gas Light and Coke Company and Nottingham Waterworks Company for more than half a century, having, early in his career, completed the Trent Bridge waterworks (1831). This scheme delivered Britain's first high pressure 'constant supply', preventing contamination entering the supply of clean water mains.
Hawksley first rose to national prominence at the time of the health of towns inquiry in 1844. His advocacy of a constant supply of water to consumers brought him immediate acclaim. Edwin Chadwick adopted Hawksley as an ally for a time, but Hawksley adopted a more pragmatic approach and was prepared to act for others' undertakings. This approach led him to be appointed to many major water supply projects across England, including schemes for Liverpool, Sheffield, Leicester, Lincoln, Leeds, Derby, Darlington, Oxford, Cambridge, Sunderland, Wakefield and Northampton. He also undertook drainage projects, including schemes for Birmingham, Worcester and Windsor.
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