James Barron (harbour engineer)
James Barron MICE JP (1842–1929) was a 19th/20th century Scottish engineer who specialised in harbour design in the north-east of Scotland.
Life
[edit]
He was born in Peterhead the son of Archibald Barron, a trainee mason, and his first wife, Elizabeth. The family moved to Aberdeen and James appears there in 1861 noted as a "carpenter".[1]
In 1871 he appears as an "estate factor" working in Larbert[2] and by 1881 is a "factor and engineer".[3]
His first known employment as a harbour engineer is as assistant to William Dyce Cay building the Cluny Harbour at Buckie in 1873. In the early 1880s he and his family were living in Rathven.[4]
Due to projects moving from town to town he frequently relocated. In 1891 he is living in Wick, Caithness.[5]
In 1893 he was living in Aberdeen and had an office at 166 Union Street in the city centre and was living at 46 Carden Place. He became a member of the Aberdeen Philosophical Society.[6] In Aberdeen he was also a Justice of the Peace and town councillor.[7]
He retired in 1918 and died on 10 March 1929. He is buried in the churchyard of St Machar's Cathedral in Old Aberdeen.
Family
[edit]His first wife Janet died around 1870. Their eldest son James Barron (b.1869) was also a civil engineer (operating in northern England).
Around 1875 he was married to Maria Reid (1854–1947). They had several daughters, the youngest being Heloise Constance Barron (1890–1978).[8]
Independent works
[edit]- Remodelling Burghead harbour (1882)
- Remodelling Wick outer harbour (1883)
- Auchmithie harbour (1889)
- Thurso harbour (1890)
- Embo harbour (1891)
- Remodelling Stonehaven harbour (1891 and 1899)
- Remodelling Scrabster harbour (1891)
- Triangular harbour at Helmsdale (1892)
- Collieston harbour (1893)
- Stromness harbour (1893 to 1896)
- Golspie harbour (1894)
- Bridge at Maryculter (1894)
- Upgrading water system at Macduff (1894)
- Port Henry harbour, Peterhead (1895)
- Reservoir at Huntly (1895)
- Remodelling Scalloway harbour (1896)
- Remodeling Cluny harbour at Buckie (1897)
- Warehouse on Carmelite Street near Aberdeen harbour (1900)
- Macduff harbour and lighthouse (1901)
- Pennan harbour (1902)
- Wharf at Wick (1903)
- Alexandra Wharf, Lerwick (1904) with his son J. M. Barron
- Pier at Loch Na Claise (1905)
- Pier at Lochinver (1905)
- Bridge over River Deveron in Huntly, Aberdeenshire (1910)
References
[edit]- ^ 1861 Census: Aberdeen
- ^ 1871 Census: Falkirk
- ^ 1881 Census South Uist
- ^ "Dictionary of Scottish Architects - DSA Architect Biography Report (September 15, 2021, 1:53 pm)".
- ^ 1891 Census: Wick
- ^ Aberdeen Post Office Directory 1895
- ^ "Dictionary of Scottish Architects - DSA Architect Biography Report (September 15, 2021, 1:53 pm)".
- ^ Grave of James Barron, St Machar's Cathedral