Important Natural Dyes of History

Abstract

Samuel Brown, born January 1774, was one of a number of pioneer engineers who have until recent years been overshadowed by their more eminent contemporaries and been forgotten. Brown did not acquire his engineering expertise in the usual manner; initially he served with some distinction as a Naval officer during the Napoleonic wars. Before being retired on half pay he actively promoted the use of chain cables for securing ships at anchor. This proposal was soon taken into use and it was from his position as a manufacturer of chain cables that he gained his experience in the use of wrought iron and the financial independence to allow him to turn his attention to the development of bar-chain suspension bridges. In 1820 the Union Bridge, the first of its type in the United Kingdom and designed by Brown, was constructed across the river Tweed. From then on he became one of the main promoters of suspension bridges, either designing them or acting as contractor for the supply of ironwork. In the period 1828-32 he constructed four bridges in NE Scotland which are the subject of this paper.