13 Facts About James Newlands

James Newlands was a Scottish civil engineer who worked in Liverpool as the first Borough Engineer appointed in the United Kingdom.

James Newlands is credited with designing and implementing the first integrated sewerage system in the world in 1848.

James Newlands attended the Royal High School, Edinburgh and then studied mathematics and natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh.

James Newlands became an accomplished draughtsman and was trained as a musician, playing the flute and piano.

James Newlands received additional training in chemistry, mathematics and mechanics, and wrote copiously for Encyclopaedia Britannica and other publications.

James Newlands married in 1845, but was widowed in 1848 and never remarried, living in his later years with his sister, Jessie.

James Newlands was one of a celebrated trio of pioneering officers appointed under a private act, the 1846 Liverpool Sanatory Act, by the Borough of Liverpool Health of Towns Committee.

One of five applicants for the post, James Newlands was appointed Borough Engineer of Liverpool on 26 January 1847.

From this elaborate survey James Newlands proceeded to lay down a comprehensive system of outlet and contributory sewers, and main and subsidiary drains, to an aggregate extent of nearly 300 miles.

James Newlands was an early proponent for a ring-road serving Liverpool.

James Newlands had a forward-thinking holistic view of public health, which was a driver for his other projects, like the provision of public baths.

James Newlands was the main pioneer of sewage systems that not only transformed Liverpool but were so well thought out and constructed, they continue to be effective and have greater longevity than modern constructions.

James Newlands was an accomplished musician and artist, creating several hundred sketches.