John Rennie the Elder Biography

John Rennie was a Scottish civil engineer famous for building canals, harbours, and bridges throughout Britain. Considered to be one of the greatest engineers of his time, Rennie was much respected throughout Britain for his technical brilliance and creativity. One of the sons of a wealthy farmer, he developed an early interest in mechanics. As a young boy he spent much of his time in the workshop of Andrew Meikle, the mechanical engineer credited with inventing the threshing machine. Intelligent and skilled, Rennie had built working models of a windmill, a steam engine, and a pile engine by the time he was ten. Following the completion of his school education he was offered the post of a schoolmaster which he declined in favor of becoming a millwright. After working for a while with Meikle he took up a post as an engineer under James Watt at Boulton and Watt's Soho Foundry in Smethwick. He designed the machinery for Boulton and Watt’s project at the Albion Flour Mills in London in what was one of his earliest major projects. Eventually he set up his own business and turned his attention towards building canals and bridges. He designed and constructed several bridges but is best known for the three bridges he built across the River Thames at London