Builder Histories
Jesse Hartley (1780 – 1860) born Pontefract.
Jesse Hartley was the son of stonemason Hugh Hartley who was bridgemaster for the West Riding of Yorkshire. (Jesse’s brother Bernard took on that role after their father and Bermard was succeeded by his son also called Bernard).
Jesse Hartley’s obituary – quoted on the Grace’s Guide website – describes Jesse as ‘a man of ruddy complexion, a powerful bodily frame and robust constitution: and was of the old school of practical engineers, in a great measure swelf-taught.”
From my research into the lives of so many of the renowned men of the time and the way that they worked all over the country despite the limited means of transport and very poor roads I suspect that this description could well fit quite a few of the greats of the time in various fields.
Despite the lack of any formal training Jesse Hartley established a reputation as an outstanding civil engineer. Early in his career he may have worked for William Alexander Madocks at Porthmadog in Caernarfonshire, Wales. He also worked for John Carr who was an architect whose portfolio included designing bridges.
After working for his father as a mason by the age of thirteen he was employed on the construction of Ferry Bridge. Soon after that he began to show interest in the construction of bridges and studied the works of the likes of John Rennie before taking a post in Ireland to build the Dungavon Bridge in 1811. He was elected to the Institute of Civil Engineers in that same year.
His first appointment in docklands was as assistant surveyor to John Foster working in Liverpool Docks but Foster resigned just three days after Hartley’s appointment. Despite his lack of experience Hartley was immediately promoted to the post of Acting Dock Surveyor.
In 1824 Hartley was appointed to the post of surveyor by the Liverpool Dock Trustees – at the grand salary of £1,000 pa. He worked for the LDT until 1860. He was then promoted to Dock Engineer – a post he held until 1860.
During his long tenure Hartley oversaw the building of new docks and the redevelopment of old docks. The only dock in the whole complex that he did not work on was Old Dock which had already fallen into disuse when he was appointed. Amongst the many improvements that he introduced was the installation of dock gates at entrances from the River Mersey so that work on the ships – including unloading and loading – was not affected by the tides. When he took up his post the docks and warehouses were vulnerable to thefts and so Hartley had walls built right around the docks so that access from the land was only through staffed gateways. He also ran a programme for the construction of cranes to make loading and unloading more efficient – thus enabling much quicker turn round times.
In all 17 docks were opened during his 36 years in office. And of course he was responsible for many ancillary works including warehouses, offices and bridges – he did actually work on every dock in the city at some stage.
Graces Guide states that he had a distinctive style in his work –
“The style of work introduced by Mr. Jesse Hartley was peculiarly his own. In the earlier periods he used Ashlar, dressed and worked to the greatest mechanical perfection; in his latter years rubble-work was adopted both for dock and river walls, with granite-rubble carefully jointed for face-work. Then the forms of construction adopted in the sills, platforms, and sluicing culverts of his dock-entrances, the dock-gates, bridges, fire-proof warehouses, shed-roofs, dock-buildings, and also much of his other work, had each a distinctive character, specially fitting it for the object intended to be served. The lighthouses and telegraph stations along the coast, from Liverpool to Holyhead, were under the control of the Dock Surveyors; and most of the buildings connected with the system were constructed by the Hartleys.”
The work done by Jesse Hartley in his 37 years of service had a huge impact on the fortunes of the docks – and on the City of Liverpool with the huge increase in work opportunities. Due to the expansion and constant improvements in the dock estate annual tonnage passing through the docks rose from 1,180,914 tons to 4,977,272 – with a concomitant rise in revenues from £130,911 to £444,417. The number of employees working in and for the Docks Estate rose from 1,650 to 2,200.
Outside of Liverpool Docks he also worked on projects for London Docks, the construction of Point Lynas Lighthouse, Turton and Entwistle Reservoir, Castleford Bridge, Castleford, West Yorkshire and in his early career the Brittania Bridge on the Afon Glaslyn.
Hartley was not averse to disagreeing with his employers. In 1831 he was appointed by the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal with the task of closing the canal and building a railway along the route. Hartley persuaded the owners to keep the canal and to build the railway alongside.
The Livepool World Heritage City website describes Jesse Hartley as an innovator – always looking for ways to update the docks and the buildings – working to integrate all cities docks into one cohesive system. He also built models to test out new designs and was much concerned to find ways to protect warehouses and the cargoes stored in them from fire.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Hartley
https://www.liverpoolworldheritage.com/explore-our-world-heritage-site/albert-dock/jesse-hartley/
https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Jesse_Hartley
1872 Institution of Civil Engineers: Obituaries
