James Nicholas Douglass

:"For other men of a similar name, see James Douglas.

Sir James Nicholas Douglass, FRS, (October 16, 1826 – June 19, 1898), was an English civil engineer, a prolific lighthouse builder and designer, most famous for the design and construction of the fourth Eddystone Lighthouse.

Biography

James Nicholas Douglass was born in Bow, London, in 1826, the eldest son of Nicholas Douglass, also a civil engineer. After serving an apprenticeship with the Hunter and English company, he joined the engineering department of Trinity House, the United Kingdom's lighthouse authority.

Along with his brother William, James worked as an assistant to his father during the construction of James Walker's Bishop Rock Lighthouse, earning the nickname 'Cap'n Jim' during the process.Palmer, M. "Eddystone: the finger of light", Seafarer, 2005, ISBN 9780954706203, p.103] After a brief period working for the Newcastle carriage builders R J & R Laycock, he returned in 1854 to assist in the lighthouse's final completion and to marry his fiancee Mary Tregarthen.Palmer, M. "Eddystone: the finger of light", Seafarer, 2005, ISBN 9780954706203, p.103] Trinity House then engaged him as Resident Engineer to design the Smalls Lighthouse off the coast of Pembrokeshire, his first solo project.

Douglass based his plans on the proven design of John Smeaton for the third Eddystone lighthouse, which had used dovetailed granite blocks for strength. [http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/interactive/gallery/smalls.html Trinity House - Smalls Lighthouse] , accessed 10-09-09] Douglass sourced his granite from the De Lank Quarries near Bodmin, Cornwall, and had it shipped to Solva on the Welsh coast where it was dressed. The Smalls light was completed in 1861, at a cost of £50,125, and in a record-breaking time of two years.Charles, D. & Plisson, G. "Lighthouses of Europe", Watson-Guptill, 2001, ISBN 9780823027781, p.82] Douglass immediately went on to supervise the construction of the Wolf Rock lighthouse, designed by James Walker, and was appointed as Engineer-in-Chief of Trinity House in 1862.

Douglass's design for the Smalls light was a great success and he went on to design some twenty lighthouses for Trinity House, including some wave-swept towers which remain major engineering achievements, such as the Longships Lighthouse off Land's End. [http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/interactive/gallery/longships.html Trinity House - Longships Lighthouse] , accessed 10/09/08] Douglass's designs were also used in Sri Lanka. His brother William became the Engineer-in-Chief to the Commissioners of Irish Lights in 1878, serving in the post until 1900. [http://www.cil.ie/sh832x4998.html Commissioners of Irish Lights - William Douglas] , accessed 10-09-08]

The crowning achievement of James Douglass's career was the construction of the fourth Eddystone Lighthouse. Douglass was engaged to build a replacement for Smeaton's tower in 1877, and the new lighthouse was completed in 1882, the project being finished both without loss of life or serious injury and £18,745 under budget.Palmer, p.121] Douglass received a knighthood shortly afterwards for his services to engineering. He also carried out work on improving illumination using oil and gas burners and electricity, though in this capacity he was involved a bitter public dispute in 1883 with scientist John Tyndall and inventor John Richardson Wigham, in which the latter accused Douglass of copying elements of his rival gas illumination system (Wigham eventually received £2500 from the Board of Trade for infringement of his patent).Lee, S. (ed.) "Dictionary of National Biography, Second Supplement, Vol III", Adamant, ISBN 9780543881083, pp.662-663. Tyndall accused Douglass of using his position as Engineer-in-Chief to ensure that his own patents were recommended over those of Wigham.] [http://www.cil.ie/sh1100x5839.html John Richardson Wigham] , Commissioners of Irish Lights (cile.ie), accessed 11-09-08]

In 1887 Douglass was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He retired in 1892, being succeeded as Engineer-in-Chief by Thomas Matthews, and died in 1898 at his home on the Isle of Wight. His son Alfred also trained as a lighthouse engineer.Palmer, p.122]

Examples of Douglass's designs

*Bishop Rock Lighthouse (a rebuild of Walker's design)
*Bow Creek Lighthouse at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London
*The fourth Eddystone Lighthouse
*Hartland Point lighthouse, Devon
*Great Castle Head range lights, Milford Haven
*Les Hanois Lighthouse, Guernsey
*Longships Lighthouse
*Smalls Lighthouse
*Souter Lighthouse, Tyne and Wear
*Southwold Lighthouse, Suffolk

References