Charles Richardson
| Charles Richardson | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||
| Born | 1814 | ||||||||
| Died | 1896 | ||||||||
| Residence |
Almondsbury, Bristol [1864] 10 Berkeley-square, Bristol [1872] | ||||||||
| Occupation | business | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Contents
Notes
Office Notes
House Notes
contributes £1 to Eyre Defence and Aid Fund
Notes From Elsewhere
Richardson was born in the summer of 1814 in Cheshire in the North West of England and showed an interest in engineering from an early age.
He signed up to work his apprenticeship with Brunel in 1833 and learnt his trade with the great man. Brunel recognised his technical ability and as a result appointed him to supervise numerous railway projects around the Gloucester and Bristol area when he was just 23 years old.
He came up with the idea of building a tunnel under the Bristol Channel in the 1860s and manage to get the scheme off the ground.
Although there were doubts he designed the five-mile long railway tunnel which would link Bristol and South Wales and extend the First Great Western route.
Building work began in 1873 under Richardson's direction, but by the time the tunnel was completed in 1886 he had been replaced as chief engineer by Sir John Hawkshaw.
As part of the mammoth project discovered a source of brick-clay at Cattybrook near Almondsbury. As a result a brick-works was built which was used to supply the River Severn tunnel scheme.
Millions of the bricks from Cattybrook were used to line the Severn tunnel, and in many of Bristol's finest buildings such as the Old Fish Market and the ornate Granary building in Welsh Back.
Many of Richardson's projects still exist today, including the length of Bristol Harbour Railway laid alongside M-Shed museum.
Famously Richardson had a life-long passion for cricket, which angered Brunel.
It led to his inventions of a cricket ball bowling machine and the first cricket bat with a cane-spliced handle.
He died in 1896 at Clifton, and is buried at St Mary's church, Almondsbury.
Read more: http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Tribute-great-engineer-Charles-Richardson/story-22519127-detail/story.html#ixzz3Bt03MHz8
Read more at http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Tribute-great-engineer-Charles-Richardson/story-22519127-detail/story.html#Jdmr4Hd8PiO0XEH6.99
Read more: http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Tribute-great-engineer-Charles-Richardson/story-22519127-detail/story.html#ixzz3BszkYnX3
Read more at http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Tribute-great-engineer-Charles-Richardson/story-22519127-detail/story.html#Jdmr4Hd8PiO0XEH6.99