MARK OF JOSEPH ANGELL, LONDON, 1856

The arms are those of Hawkshaw impaling Jackson, for Sir John Hawkshaw Kt. (1811 - 1891) and his wife Ann (1814 - 1895), daughter of James Jackson, whom he married in 1835. Born in Leeds, Hawkshaw attended Leeds Grammar School before becoming apprenticed to Charles Fowler working on Turn Pike Roads. At 18, Hawkshaw left Leeds to work for Alexander Nimmo drawing plans for a railway from Liverpool to Leeds. Though the scheme was never realized, this began Hawkshaw's lengthy career in transportation engineering. Just three years later, Hawkshaw was placed in charge of the British owned Bolivar Copper Mines in Venezuela where he improved transportation links through the construction of a new road to the port. Hawkshaw's career continued upon his return to England in 1834, with highlights including the design for the Lockwood Viaduct over the River Holme for the Huddersfield & Sheffield Junction Railway Company in 1845, the design for the stations and bridges over the Thames for the Charing Cross and Cannon Street railways in 1864 and 1867, and overseeing the construction of a section of the London Underground between Aldgate and Mansion House stations in 1881. As a fellow of the Royal Society and member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, as well as a regular consultant on engineering projects throughout England and Europe, it is likely that the ewer offered here was presented to Hawkshaw on the occasion of the demolition of the old Westminster Bridge in preparation for the construction of the current bridge, completed in 1862.