Basic Biographical Details

Name: B & E Blyth
Designation:  
Born: 1854
Died: 1867
Bio Notes: Benjamin Hall Blyth was born on 14 July 1819 at North Berwick, the son of Robert Brittain Blyth, a Birmingham iron merchant and his wife Barbara Cooper. They had Scottish connections and were related to the Peddies through the Coventry family.

Blyth trained as a civil engineer almose wholly on railway construction with Grainger & Miller. He commenced independent practice in Edinburgh in 1848, soon moving to the 135 George Street office where the practice would remain for over 100 years. In 1854 he went into partnership with his brother Edward Lawrence Ireland Blyth, born 1825 who had also assisted in the Grainger & Miller office, the practice title being B & E Blyth, and they quickly established a reputation as consulting engineers. Work flowed in from the Caledonian, Glasgow & South Western, Scottish Central, Dundee & Perth, Great North of Scotland and Portpatrick railway companies. They had a reputation for efficiency and thoroughness.

Benjamin Hall Blyth died from overwork in 1866 on 21 August 1866 at North Berwick and was buried at Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh. He left just over £56,000. In the following year Edward took George Miller Cunningham, who had been the firm's chief assistant for many years, into partnership, the practice becoming Blyth & Cunningham.

Private and Business Addresses

The following private or business addresses are associated with this :
 AddressTypeDate fromDate toNotes
Item 1 of 1135, George Street, Edinburgh, ScotlandBusiness18541867 

Employment and Training

Employees or Pupils

The following individuals were employed or trained by this (click on an item to view details):
 NameDate fromDate toPositionNotes
Item 1 of 6Benjamin Hall Blyth I18541866Partner 
Item 2 of 6Edward Lawrence Ireland Blyth18541867Partner 
Item 3 of 6George Miller CunninghamAfter 18541867Chief Assistant 
Item 4 of 6William Dyce Cay1861 AssistantWorking on the Castle Douglas to Portpatrick Railway
Item 5 of 6Benjamin Hall Blyth II18631867Apprentice 
Item 6 of 6David Monro Westland18631867AssistantPossibly initially an apprentice

Buildings and Designs

This was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details):
 Date startedBuilding nameTown, district or villageIslandCity or countyCountryNotes
Item 1 of 121858Glenluce Railway Viaduct  WigtownshireScotland 
Item 2 of 121859Loch Ken Railway Viaduct   Scotland 
Item 3 of 121859Portpatrick Railway ViaductPortpatrick WigtownshireScotland 
Item 4 of 121859Railway BridgesDalmarnock GlasgowScotlandAttribution
Item 5 of 121861Bervie Branch Railway ViaductBervie KincardineshireScotland 
Item 6 of 121861Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway  EdinburghScotland 
Item 7 of 121861Stranraer bridge over railwayStranraer WigtownshireScotland 
Item 8 of 121861Stranraer railway stationStranraer WigtownshireScotlandAlso adjoining workshops
Item 9 of 121861Water of Fleet viaduct  KirkcudbrightshireScotland 
Item 10 of 121864Tay ViaductPerth PerthshireScotland 
Item 11 of 121865Avon Railway ViaductChatelherault LanarkshireScotland 
Item 12 of 12c. 1865Edinchip BridgeLochearnhead PerthshireScotland 

References

Bibliographic References

The following books contain references to this :
 Author(s)DateTitlePartPublisherNotes
Item 1 of 3Bailey, Rebecca M1996Scottish architects' papers: a source book Edinburgh: The Rutland Press 
Item 2 of 3Blyth & Blyth1948A history of the firm of Blyth & Blyth, chartered civil engineers, consulting structural engineers … 1848-1948 Edinburgh: C J Cousland 
Item 3 of 3Glendinning, M, MacInnes, R and MacKechnie, A1996A History of Scottish Architecture