John Bayliss
John Bayliss (1826-1900)
1901 Obituary [1]
JOHN BAYLISS, youngest son of the late Mr. Charles Winterton Bayliss, was born in Birmingham on the 30th March, 1826.
He was educated at the Blue Coat School of that City, and about the year 1844 was articled to the late Mr. Charles Henry Capper of Birmingham.
From 1846 to 1850 he was employed as Contractor’s Agent, under the late Mr. William McCormick, on the construction of the Walton Tunnel near Liverpool, and at Bradford and other places on contracts carried out by Mr. McCormick for the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.
From 1853 to 1856 he was engaged under the late Sir Robert (then Mr.) Rawlinson, Past-President, as principal assistant in devising and carrying out works of water-supply and sewerage for the towns of Alnwick, Berwick-on-Tweed, Chorley, Lancaster, Morpeth, Penrith, Tynemouth, Wigan, and Worthing, and for the city of Carlisle, and was entrusted with the direction of those works during the absence of Sir Robert Rawlinson in the Crimea.
From 1856 to 1861 he acted as Contractor’s Agent for the late Mr. George Furness, and as such constructed the Recife and Sao Francisco Railway in Brazil.
In the year 1847 Mr. Bayliss, when acting as agent for Mr. McCormick in the construction of the Mirfield to Bradford section of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, had made the acquaintance of Mr. William Eckersley, who was the Resident Engineer for this line of railway, acting under Sir John Hawkshaw, Past-President, the Engineer-in-Chief.
In the years 1851 and 1852 Mr. Bayliss, in partnership with Mr. Eckersley, had constructed that section of the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway lying between Strabane and Newton Stewart.
Between the years 1862 and 1870 Mr. Bayliss, also in partnership with Mr. Eckersley, executed for the Midland Railway Company, amongst other works, that portion of their line into Manchester lying between the northern entrance of the long tunnel near Chapel-en-le-Frith and New Mills, also the Bath and Mangotsfield Railway, the Mansfield and Southwark Branch Railway, a section of the Chesterfield and Sheffield Railway, the Yate and Thornbury Railway, extensions of the Midland Railway at Rhymny, Ashby and Breedon, Radford and Trowell.
In 1870 this firm obtained the contract for the Carlisle end of the Settle and Carlisle Railway, but shortly after the partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Bayliss carried on and completed this contract himself. It was the last railway contract Mr. Bayliss undertook, and it was completed in 1877. Also in partnership with Mr. Eckersley he constructed a branch line of railway between Huddersfield and Kirkburton.
In partnership with the late Mr. Charles Frederick Gripper, under the style of Bayliss and Gripper, he also constructed the Shipley and Guisely line for the Midland Railway Company.
In 1875, in partnership with the late Mr. Godfrey Winterton Bayliss, under the style of John Bayliss and Son, he constructed the Victoria Dock extension for the Hull Dock Company, and about the year 1880, when this work was completed, he retired from active business.
For many years he resided at Westergate House, Kingston-on-Thames. He died at Milverton House, Ryde, on the 4th December, 1900.
Mr. Bayliss was elected an Associate of the Institution on the 6th December, 1853.