Thomas Lister

1809 Born at Wath, near Doncaster, son of Thomas Lister, a stonemason, and his wife Hannah Brodie

1832 Married Hannah Siddall in Doncaster

1881 Thomas Lister 72, Architect & Surveyor, lived in Gainsborough with Hannah Lister 79 Margert Lister 39

1905 Died

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• 1905 Obituary in The Engineer.

The death of Mr. Thomas Lister occurred at his house, Morton, Gainsborough, on the 18th inst. Mr. Lister, who was both an architect and an engineer, was associated with the Stephensons, as well as with George Hudson, known as the "Railroad King" in the early days of railway development.

Born at Wath, near Doncaster, in 1809, the son of a stonemason, he was apprenticed to a carpenter, but afterwards gave up that craft to go to his brother, an architect at Rotherham. Here he was set to make tracings of plans of bridges in connection with the construction of the Grand Junction Railway, now the London and North-Western. In 1837 he assisted in the construction of the Sheffield and Rotherham Railway, and turned the first sod halfway between the two towns. Afterwards Mr. Lister prepared an estimate for the line from Blisworth to Oundle for Stephenson, who next set him to work on the branch line from Blackburn to Preston. On the completion of this undertaking Mr. Lister in 1841 superintended the construction of that portion of the then Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway between Bole, Notts. and New Holland, on the banks of the Humber. The principal portions of this work were the Kirton Lindsey tunnel, built on an incline and cut through a rock full of springs, and the railway bridge over the river Trent, where quicksand difficulties were met with and overcome.

At a later period Mr. Lister was engaged by Mr. John Fowler to cut a canal across the South Beveland in Holland. He was engineer to the Gainsborough Urban Authorities until l866, when be engaged in the shipbuilding business with Mr. Trenery, carrying out in the meantime private works for Lord Middleton, Sir T. Beckett, and Lord Hawke, father of the present captain of the Yorkshire County Cricket Eleven. Mr. Lister erected the Sheep bridge Ironworks in 1857, built in 1861 the Gainsborough Waterworks, and in 1867 became architect and surveyor to Messrs. Marshall and Co. of Gainsborough, during which he undertook many other important works. Mr. Lister retained his position with Messrs. Marshall until a few years ago. He was connected with the building of the first "skew" bridge notable in connection with all Stephenson's contracts, and his experiences of Yorkshire engineering works were exceptionally interesting. The later year of his life were spent in Gainsborough, and shortly before his death, which occurred at the advanced age of 96, he was in a very feeble state. He leaves a daughter and a son, the latter having been for many years the Russian representative of Messrs. Marshall, of Gainsborough.

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