John William Willans

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John William Willans (c.1843-1895) was a British mechanical and electrical engineer, most known for his role as Chief Engineer of the Liverpool Overhead Railway.

Early life[]

Willans was born in 1844 in Hunslet, near Leeds to Benjamin and Ann Willans.[1] He trained as a locomotive fitter and engineer with the Leeds company of Kitson.[2]

Early career[]

Around 1865, Willans moved to Middlesbrough to join the engineering firm of Cochrane, Grove, & Company. He later moved to Hopkins, Gilkes, & Company. [2] In 1872, he received a patent iron ore smelting, along with Stanhope Baynes Smith.[3]

He then moved to Manchester where he set up as a general engineer and contractor.[2]

In April 1871, in Birmingham he married Constance Amelia Smith the daughter of Stanhope Baynes Smith.[4] In 1879, he re-married to Mary Louisa Nicholson.[5]

Electric railways[]

Willans specialized in electrical engineering, especially for railways.[6] He was the primary contractor for the construction of the Liverpool Overhead Railway, and made a handsome profit from his work.[7] He was later appointed that railway's Chief Engineer.[8]

Willans supplied ironwork for the City and Southwark Subway in the late 1880s.[7] He was the primary contractor for the Great Northern and City Railway from Finsbury Park to Moorgate.[7] He received a patent for an electric motor used for that line.[2]

He was also a Director of the Guiseley, Yeadon & Rawdon Railway.[9]

Retirement[]

In 1894, Willans purchased Dolforgan Hall from the executors of James Walton. He moved there with his wife Mary Louisa and son John Bancroft Willans. He was appointed as a Justice of the Peace for Montgomeryshire.[5] He was selected to stand as the Liberal candidate for the Montgomery Boroughs constituency in the 1895 election, but died before the vote.[6]

Death[]

Willans died on 7 March 1895, in London, after a bout of influenza.[10] His wife inherited Dolforgan Hall, and his son lived there until his death in 1957.

References[]

  1. ^ 1861 England, Wales & Scotland Census, 1861
  2. ^ a b c d "John William Willans". The Journal of the Iron and Steel Institute. The Iron and Steel Institute. 47–48: 354. 1895.
  3. ^ Patent Office, Great Britain (2 July 1875). The Commissioners of Patents' Journal.
  4. ^ "Married". Birmingham Mail. 11 April 1871.
  5. ^ a b Walford's County Families of the United Kingdom. 1908. p. 1152.
  6. ^ a b "The Late Mr. J. W. Willans". Montgomery County Times and Shropshire and Mid-Wales Advertiser. 16 March 1895.
  7. ^ a b c "The Great Northern and City Railway Company". To-Day. 20 April 1895. p. 334.
  8. ^ "WILLANS, JOHN BANCROFT (1881 - 1957), country landowner, antiquarian and philanthropist". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. The National Library of Wales. 2001.
  9. ^ "Shareholders' Meeting". Wharfedale & Airedale Observer. 29 August 1890.
  10. ^ "Death of Mr. J. W. Willians". Montgomery County Times and Shropshire and Mid-Wales Advertiser. 9 March 1895.


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