Louis Harper
Encyclopedia
Louis Harper was a civil engineer
from the north-east of Scotland
who designed a number of suspension
footbridge
s towards the end of the 19th century.
His father John Harper came from Turriff
in Aberdeenshire
, and worked as a fencer in Edinburgh
and Glasgow
before starting the family firm in Aberdeen
in 1856, which became Harpers Ltd in 1885. John Harper patented a mechanism for straining wire
, used both to make fence
s and later also for the cable
s of bridges. His son John took charge of the business until 1887, while his second son Louis served an apprenticeship with Jenkins & Mar, Civil Engineers.
Louis set up his own firm in 1889, later collaborating with the contractors James Abernethy & Co. In addition to his bridge projects, he assisted Aberdeen Council in surveying their town water scheme. He became an Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers
in 1893, resigning in 1921.
The firm's early bridges included suspension bridges at Aboyne
, spanning
300 feet, and at Shocklach in Cheshire
, both built in 1871. Neither bridge exists today. The early bridges had wooden towers, although these were replaced in later bridges by structural steel
or cast iron
members.
A number of other bridges are proposed as having been designed by Louis Harper at the Harper Bridges website, although in the absence of clear documentary evidence, they are not listed above.
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
from the north-east of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
who designed a number of suspension
Suspension bridge
A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders. Outside Tibet and Bhutan, where the first examples of this type of bridge were built in the 15th century, this type of bridge dates from the early 19th century...
footbridge
Footbridge
A footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...
s towards the end of the 19th century.
His father John Harper came from Turriff
Turriff
Turriff is a town and civil parish in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It is approximately above sea level, and has a population of 5,708.Turriff is known locally as Turra in the Doric dialect of Scots...
in Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
, and worked as a fencer in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
before starting the family firm in Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
in 1856, which became Harpers Ltd in 1885. John Harper patented a mechanism for straining wire
Wire
A wire is a single, usually cylindrical, flexible strand or rod of metal. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads and to carry electricity and telecommunications signals. Wire is commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die or draw plate. Standard sizes are determined by various...
, used both to make fence
Fence
A fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary. It is generally distinguished from a wall by the lightness of its construction: a wall is usually restricted to such barriers made from solid brick or concrete, blocking vision as well as passage .Fences...
s and later also for the cable
Cable
A cable is two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly. In mechanics cables, otherwise known as wire ropes, are used for lifting, hauling and towing or conveying force through tension. In electrical engineering cables are used to carry...
s of bridges. His son John took charge of the business until 1887, while his second son Louis served an apprenticeship with Jenkins & Mar, Civil Engineers.
Louis set up his own firm in 1889, later collaborating with the contractors James Abernethy & Co. In addition to his bridge projects, he assisted Aberdeen Council in surveying their town water scheme. He became an Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers
Institution of Civil Engineers
Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...
in 1893, resigning in 1921.
The firm's early bridges included suspension bridges at Aboyne
Aboyne
Aboyne is a village on the edge of the Highlands in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the River Dee, approximately west of Aberdeen. It has a rugby club, which plays on The Green and also has a swimming pool, a golf course with 18 holes, all-weather tennis courts, and a bowling green...
, spanning
Span (architecture)
Span is the distance between two intermediate supports for a structure, e.g. a beam or a bridge.A span can be closed by a solid beam or of a rope...
300 feet, and at Shocklach in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, both built in 1871. Neither bridge exists today. The early bridges had wooden towers, although these were replaced in later bridges by structural steel
Structural steel
Structural steel is steel construction material, a profile, formed with a specific shape or cross section and certain standards of chemical composition and mechanical properties...
or cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
members.
Later bridges
- MonymuskMonymuskMonymusk is a planned village in the Marr area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland which was almost entirely rebuilt in 1840, although its history dates back to 1170.It is a site for fishing on the nearby River Don.-External links:* *...
, 1879 over the River Don, AberdeenshireRiver Don, AberdeenshireThe River Don is a river in north-east Scotland. It rises in the Grampians and flows eastwards, through Aberdeenshire, to the North Sea at Aberdeen. The Don passes through Alford, Kemnay, Inverurie, Kintore, and Dyce...
, 107 feet span - Burnhervie, circa 1880, near KemnayKemnayKemnay is a town west of Aberdeen in Scotland. It has a population of about 4,500 .- History :The villagename Kemnay is believed to originate from the Celtic words that mean bend and river due to...
, collapsed 1979 - BirkhallBirkhallBirkhall is a 53,000 acre estate on Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is alongside the River Muick to the southwest of Ballater....
, 1880, Royal Deeside, 60 feet span - CromdaleCromdaleCromdale is a village in Highland, Scotland and one of the ancient parishes which formed the combined ecclesiastical parish of "Cromdale, Inverallan and Advie" in Morayshire....
, 1881 over the River SpeyRiver SpeyThe River Spey is a river in the northeast of Scotland, the second longest and the fastest-flowing river in Scotland...
, collapsed and replaced by road bridge in 1922 - NairnNairnNairn is a town and former burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness...
, 1887, first bridge by Louis Harper - Crathorne Hall, 1888, 55 feet span, collapsed 1930 in flood
- Bandon, County CorkBandon, County CorkBandon is a town in County Cork, Ireland. With a population of 5,822 as of census 2006, Bandon lies on the River Bandon between two hills. The name in Irish means "Bridge of the Bandon", a reference to the origin of the town as a crossing-point on the river. In 2004 Bandon celebrated its...
, 1890, 120 feet span - LarbertLarbertLarbert is a small town in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley above the River Carron which flows from the west. Larbert is 3 miles from the shoreline of the Firth of Forth and 2.5 miles northwest of Falkirk, the main town in the area...
, 1893 over the River CarronRiver Carron (Forth)The River Carron is a river in central Scotland. This river has given its name to towns in Falkirk, a variety of regional features, a type of cannon, a line of bathtubs, two warships and an island in the Southern Hemisphere.-River Carron:The river rises in the Campsie Fells before flowing into...
, 90 feet span - Feugh, 1893 near BanchoryBanchoryBanchory is a burgh or town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, lying approximately 18 miles west of Aberdeen, near where the Feugh River meets the River Dee.- Overview :...
- Trentham, StaffordshireTrentham, StaffordshireTrentham is a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent, located to the south-west of the city centre and to the south of the neighbouring town of Newcastle-under-Lyme. Although the majority of Trentham is within the city limits, it is mostly separated from the main urban area by surrounding open space and the...
, 1893, 70 feet span, replaced in 1930s - GrimsbyGrimsbyGrimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...
, 1894, three bridges - Sellack Boat, 1895, near Ross-on-WyeRoss-on-WyeRoss-on-Wye is a small market town with a population of 10,089 in southeastern Herefordshire, England, located on the River Wye, and on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean.-History:...
(Pictures at Brantacan) - DoveridgeDoveridgeDoveridge is a village and Civil parish in Derbyshire, United Kingdom, near the border with Staffordshire and about east of Uttoxeter. Its name comes from its bridge over the river Dove , a tributary of the River Trent....
, 1898, replaced by a bridge by David Rowell & Co.David Rowell & Co.David Rowell & Co. was a company based in Westminster, London that fabricated wrought iron and wire rope, built suspension footbridges, and structural steel frame buildings. They were established in 1855 and closed in 1970.-History:...
(Picture at Bridgemeister) - Keswick, CumbriaKeswick, CumbriaKeswick is a market town and civil parish within the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England. It had a population of 4,984, according to the 2001 census, and is situated just north of Derwent Water, and a short distance from Bassenthwaite Lake, both in the Lake District National Park...
, 1898 over River GretaRiver GretaThe River Greta is a river in Cumbria, England. It is a tributary of the River Derwent and flows through the town of Keswick.The source of the river is to be found near to Threlkeld at the confluence of the River Glenderamackin and St. John's Beck...
, demolished 1979 - NarvaNarvaNarva is the third largest city in Estonia. It is located at the eastern extreme point of Estonia, by the Russian border, on the Narva River which drains Lake Peipus.-Early history:...
, EstoniaEstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, circa 1898, 260 feet span - NewquayNewquayNewquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port in Cornwall, England. It is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall approximately west of Bodmin and north of Truro....
, 1900, about 100 feet span (Picture at Bridgemeister) - Chundra Bridge, Chovar Gorge, NepalNepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, June 1903 (Currently not in use.)
A number of other bridges are proposed as having been designed by Louis Harper at the Harper Bridges website, although in the absence of clear documentary evidence, they are not listed above.