Sir William Fairbairn
Marshall gives
a fuller account than usuaul. Fairbairn was born in Kelso on 19 February
1789 and died in Farnham on 18 August 1874. Late in 1803 the Fairbairn family
moved to a farm near Newcastle upon Tyne owned by the Percy Main Colliery
where William became an apprentice millwright in March 1804. He met George
Stephenson, and they became lifelong friends. He was a pioneer in the
construction of iron boats: the Lord Dundas plied on the Forth & Clyde
Canal. In 1813 he moved to Manchester where he established his
Canal Street Works (see Lowe) producing
locomotives, notably the Bury type and McConnell's Large Bloomers, and girder
bridges where he was associated with Robert Stephenson. In 1846 his firm
became William Fairbairn & Sons when he was joined by his sons Thomas
and William Andrew. William Pole's The life of William Fairbairn (1877)
gives a complete list of his papers. He received a baronetcy in 1869 and
was a staunch member of the Unitarian Church.
Cookson, Gillian entry in
Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography
Richard Byrom has written a major biography, not available in
libraryless Norfolk, of nearly 450 pages reviewed by
David Greenfield in J. Rly Canal
Hist. Soc. 2017 (230), 188.
Papers seen
Two lectures on the construction of boilers and on boiler explosions. Leeds Mechanic's Institution. London: Simpkin Marshall, 1851.
On the consumption of fuel and prevention of smoke. British Association
(both National Library of Scotland)
2018-09-08