Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1805, Handyside worked in his uncle Charles Baird's engineering business in St. Petersburg before taking over the Brittania Foundry in 1848.

It had first been opened around 1820 by Weatherhead and Glover to cast ornamental ironwork, and had achieved a high reputation, partly from the skill of the workers, but also because of the quality of the local moulding sand.

When one considers the small area occupied by the works, on the bank of the River Derwent, hemmed in by the slope behind, its output seems remarkable.

It began manufacturing arched structures, such as the train sheds for railway stations, including, in 1854, Bradford Adolphus Street, Middlesbrough, and St. Enoch in Glasgow.

Other bridges and structures were built in Russia, Japan, Africa, South America, Tasmania (Australia), Canada and India.

Structural components, such as support columns, were also used by architects in many countries - an example being found in the main square of the city of Tampico, Mexico.

Another Handyside structure that still exists is the Outwood Viaduct on the Bury to Clifton Junction line, converted from a timber superstructure in 1881.