Basic Biographical Details Name: | James Leslie | Designation: | | Born: | 25 September 1801 | Died: | 29 December 1889 | Bio Notes: | James Leslie was born on 25 September 1801, the son of Alexander Leslie, architect-builder of Largo, Fife. He was educated at local parish schools and at Mackay's Academy, Edinburgh, and studied at the University of Edinburgh. In 1818 he was articled to William Hugh Playfair. However, he decided to become a civil engineer rather than an architect, and left Playfair in 1824 to work in the offices of G & J Rennie in London.
He returned to Scotland to take up an appointment as Clerk of Works to the Leith Dock and Harbour Commissioners in 1828, and in 1832 secured the post of Resident Engineer for the Dundee Harbour Works. Thereafter he continued to practise as a civil engineer specialising in harbour and water works, moving to Edinburgh in 1846 as Engineer to the Edinburgh Water Company.
He later acted as Engineer to the Dundee Water Company, which was taken over by the Town Council in 1869, and was involved with proposals for its water supply at that period, along with John Frederic La Trobe Bateman. The town's water commissioners appointed Bateman as their engineer and provided him with reports by the burgh engineer John Fulton and the Edinburgh engineer James W Stewart of Stewart & Menzies who recommended drawing water from the River Isla, and from Leslie who recommended the Loch of Lintrathen as providing a better and purer supply. Bateman concurred with Leslie's recommendation and produced a scheme which received the royal assent in 1871; but the commissioners then obtained a further report from Stewart who recommended substituting a direct line of cast-iron pipes instead of the gentler fall achieved by a combination of pipes, reservoirs and aqueducts proposed by Bateman. At a meeting of the commissioners in October Stewart's direct line was approved, although William Robertson, its mill engineer convener, strongly dissented. In an unsolicited report of January 1872 Bateman set out the problems of the unprecedented pressures which would arise from Stewart's scheme and proposed a direct line of his own with lesser gradients: he also refuted allegations of extravagance. Leslie then proposed a partial modification of Stewart's scheme but Stewart declined to change it, as did the Commissioners. The pipes burst and the joints leaked as Bateman and Robertson predicted and the scheme had to be modified under powers obtained in the Dundee Water (Additional Powers) Act of 1874.
Although he did not practise officially as an architect, he did design buildings from time to time, including Wood's Hospital, Largo (1830) and Dundee Custom House (1839-40). By 1872 he had taken his son Alexander Leslie (born 1844) into partnership as J & A Leslie.
James Leslie died in Edinburgh on 29 December 1889, and is commemorated by a monument in the Dean Cemetery. His practice was continued by his son Alexander and his son-in-law Robert Carstairs Reid, who appears to have been taken into partnership a couple of years earlier, as J & A Leslie & Reid. The son died in 1893. James's grandson Alexander Leslie (1881-1921) and great-grandson of the same name (1910-82) were also civil engineers. | Private and Business AddressesThe following private or business addresses are associated with this : | | Address | Type | Date from | Date to | Notes | | Dundee, Scotland | Business | | | |
Employment and TrainingEmployersThe following individuals or organisations employed or trained this (click on an item to view details): | | Name | Date from | Date to | Position | Notes | | J & A Leslie | Before 1872 | c. 1887 | Partner | | | J & A Leslie & Reid | c. 1887 | 1889 | Partner | |
Buildings and DesignsThis was involved with the following buildings or structures from the date specified (click on an item to view details): | | Date started | Building name | Town, district or village | Island | City or county | Country | Notes | | 1830 | Wood's Hospital | Upper Largo | | Fife | Scotland | Rebuilding | | 1832 | Earl Grey Dock | | | Dundee | Scotland | Acted as Superintending Engineer | | 1833 | Camperdown Dock | | | Dundee | Scotland | Tide harbour begun (not completed) | | 1833 | Victoria Dock (with Swing and pedestrian bridges) | | | Dundee | Scotland | Following Thomas Telford's projections | | c. 1834 | Telford Light | | | Dundee | Scotland | With Thomas Telford as consultant | | 1837 | Harbour workshops and patent slip | | | Dundee | Scotland | | | 1838 | Methil Harbour and Docks | Methil | | Fife | Scotland | Restoration | | 1839 | Arbroath Harbour | Arbroath | | Angus | Scotland | Wet Dock and New Harbour | | 1839 | Dundee Custom House and Harbour Chambers | | | Dundee | Scotland | Collaborated with John Taylor on original building (Leslie was mainly responsible for the plan) | | 1839 | Leven Bridge | Leven | | Fife | Scotland | | | 1843 | Auldbar Castle | | | Angus | Scotland | Bridge and new approach | | 1843 | Kirkcaldy Harbour, East Pier | Kirkcaldy | | Fife | Scotland | Addition | | 1845 | Finlathen Aqueduct | | | Dundee | Scotland | | | 1846 | Burntisland Harbour, pier, engineering workshop and conversion of manse to hotel | Burntisland | | Fife | Scotland | Extension of pier | | 1846 | Leith Docks, Old East Dock | Leith | | Edinburgh | Scotland | Improvements | | 1847 | Burntisland Harbour, improvements | Burntisland | | Fife | Scotland | | | 1848 | Aqueduct over the Fithie Burn | Burnside of Duntrune | | Angus | Scotland | | | 1848 | Gagie Lodge, filters and aqueduct | Gagie | | Angus | Scotland | Filters lodge and aqueduct | | 1848 | Pile Lighthouse | Ferryport-on-Craig | | Fife | Scotland | 'Probably' (HS) | | 1848 | Wellbank, Little Gagie Farm, aqueduct | Murroes | | Angus | Scotland | | | c. 1853 | Dock Buildings, Old Custom House and ancillary buildings | Montrose | | Angus | Scotland | | | 1856 | Sea wall, north of St Andrews Cathedral | St Andrews | | Fife | Scotland | | | 1861 | Harbour | Stranraer | | Wigtownshire | Scotland | East Pier | | 1872 | West Wemyss harbour | West Wemyss | | Fife | Scotland | Wet dock | | 1872 | West Wemyss, harbour | West Wemyss | | Fife | Scotland | | | 1873 | Clepington Sluice Chamber | Clepington | | Dundee | Scotland | | | 1873 | Lawton Reservoir with cottage, railings and gates | | | Dundee | Scotland | | | 1874 | Clatto Reservoir | | | Dundee | Scotland | | | 1875 | Alnwickhill Reservoir | Liberton | | Edinburgh | Scotland | | | 1879 | Gladhouse Reservoir | Temple | | Midlothian | Scotland | | | 1879 | Water Tower | Dalkeith | | Midlothian | Scotland | | | 1880 | Edgelaw Reservoir | Carrington | | Midlothian | Scotland | | | 1880 | Rosebery Reservoir | | | Midlothian | Scotland | | | 1882 | Williamwath Bridge | Dalton | | Dumfriesshire | Scotland | Superstructure | | 1887 | Store reservoir on the Gask Burn | Roscobie (Rescobie?) (near) | | Fife | Scotland | | | 1888 | Alnwickhill Reservoir | Liberton | | Edinburgh | Scotland | Second phase completed | | Before 1889 | Lintrathen Reservoir, Main Lodge with stable | | | Angus | Scotland | Was the principal engineer on this job but lodge etc were by James Watson CE |
ReferencesBibliographic ReferencesThe following books contain references to this : | | Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | | Colvin, H M | 1995 | A Biographical Dictionary of British Architects 1600-1840 | 3rd edition | New Haven and London: Yale University Press | | | Institution of Civil Engineers | 2002 | Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers | | V.1 and 2 | | | Pride, Glen L | 1999 | The Kingdom of Fife | 2nd Edition | The Rutland Press | p175 | | Scotlands People Website | | Wills & Testaments | | | Edinburgh Sheriff Court Wills Sc70/4/243 and Inventories SC70/1/282 |
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