John Webster (engineer)

John James Webster (1845–1914) was an English civil engineer who specialised in designing bridges.

Born in Warrington, Lancashire, Webster trained with Bellhouse & Co of Manchester, where he designed the landing stage at Liverpool docks, before concentrating on bridges. Some of his more notable structures included:
* the reconstruction of the Conway Suspension Bridge
* Portsmouth bascule bridge
* Littlehampton swing bridge
* Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge

His last work was Warrington Bridge at Bridgefoot which was one of the earliest examples of a reinforced concrete bridge. [cite book | last =Thompson | first =Dave | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Bridging the Years: The Story of Runcorn-Widnes Transporter Bridge|edition= | publisher =Dave Thompson | date = 2000| location =Runcorn | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = ] Other structures included the Shepherds Bush Stadium for the Olympic Games of 1908, the Big Wheel at Earl's Court, and piers at Dover, Bangor, Minehead, Llandudno, Penmaenmawr, Menai Bridge, and Egremont.

He died at 81 Mount Nod Road, in Streatham on 30 October 1914 and was buried at West Norwood Cemetery.

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