Dictionary of Irish Architects 1720 - 1940

Engineer. William Henry James, who was English, was born on 27 September 1866.(1) On leaving school, he spent five years, from 1880 until 1885, in the metal works of F.W. Webb of Crewe, while simultaneously studying at the Crewe Mechanics' Institute. He then worked for various employers in Walsall, Birmingham and Exeter before coming to Ireland in 1898 to join the engineering staff of Guinness's brewery in a temporary capacity. During the four years he remained at Guinness's, he had responsibility for designing and superintending the erection of steel structures. Between 1902 and 1905 he was engaged on railway work: on the the Donegal & Ballyshannon Railway under ABRAHAM MCCAUSLAND STEWART ABRAHAM MCCAUSLAND STEWART , on the Strabane & Letterkenny Railway under JAMES BARTON JAMES BARTON , and on the Armagh & Castleblayney Railway under Sir BENJAMIN BAKER BENJAMIN BAKER . In 1905 he was appointed resident engineer of the Greystones main drainage scheme under JOHN HENRY RYAN JOHN HENRY RYAN . By 1911 he had moved to Merthyr Tydvil, Wales and by 1918 to Newcastle, where he was still living in 1922.

ICEI: elected associate member, 1906; not on list of members after 1922.

Addresses: Marine Lodge, Coliemore Road, Dalkey, 1900-1907; The Cottage, Cefn, near Merthyr Tydvil, <=1911->=1912; 1 Park Row Gardens, Merthyr Tydvil, 1917; 22 Osborne Terrace, Gosforth, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 1918; 22 Windsor Terrace, Gosforth, <=1920->=1922.

See WORKS.



References

All information in this entry is from ICEI membership applications, IV, 12, ICEI membership lists and Thom's directories.

(1) The English census returns for 1871 and 1881 suggest that he was born in Canterbury, Kent, the son of George James, a groom and gardener, and his wife Charlotte. By 1881 he was living in Crewe as the stepson of James McKinnon, a metal worker, and his wife Jane.


1 work entries listed in chronological order for JAMES, WILLIAM HENRY


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Building: CO. WICKLOW, ENNISKERRY, HOUSES
Date: 1907
Nature: Drains to houses. For Viscount Powerscourt.
Refs: IB 49, 7 Sep 1907, 637