He was brought up in Pontefract Yorkshire and educated at Giggleswick school, after which he began training under his father on the Liverpool dock estate.
[4] His health failed in 1860, and he had left for the warmer climate of the Mediterranean when he received news of his father's death.
He was appointed to his father's position on the Liverpool Docks estate, but retired owing to poor health, although he was retained as a consulting engineer.
He subsequently lived at Letrualt House near Rhu, Dumbarton, while also travelling to spas in Switzerland.
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