Editing John Rennie the Elder (section)

==Bridges==
[[File:Waterloo Bridge 1817.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|The opening of the first [[Waterloo Bridge]] on 18 June 1817]]
Over the next few years Rennie also attained a deserved reputation as a builder of bridges, combining stone with new cast-iron techniques to create previously unheard-of low, wide, elliptical arches. The first [[Waterloo Bridge]] (then known as the Strand Bridge), over the River Thames in London (1811–1817), with its nine equal arches and perfectly flat roadway, is thought to have been influenced by [[Thomas Harrison (architect)|Thomas Harrison]]'s design of [[Skerton Bridge]] over the [[River Lune]] in [[Lancaster, England|Lancaster]]. In Leeds he was commissioned to build two stone bridges, one over the River Aire and a second smaller structure over the Leeds & Liverpool Canal, to the west side of the town centre and upstream from [[Leeds Bridge]]. The main instigator of this scheme was mill owner [[Benjamin Gott]], who had properties on both sides of the waterways and wanted an easier route between them. The larger bridge was described as 'a beautiful structure, consisting of an elliptical arch of one hundred feet span'.<ref>[http://www.leodis.net/discovery/discovery.asp?page=200335_284221828&topic=200335_929714382&subsection=2003516_543316067&subsubsection=2003520_553997219 Parsons' Directory (1934)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923042102/http://www.leodis.net/discovery/discovery.asp?page=200335_284221828&topic=200335_929714382&subsection=2003516_543316067&subsubsection=2003520_553997219 |date=23 September 2020 }}</ref> The bridge, initially known as Waterloo Bridge, was soon renamed Wellington Bridge. Rennie's later efforts in this line also show that he was a skilful architect, endowed with a keen sense of beauty of design. [[Waterloo Bridge]] was considered his masterpiece and was the most prestigious bridge project in England, described as 'perhaps the finest large masonry bridge ever built in this or any other country'.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Skempton|first=A.W.|year=1971|title=Early Members of The Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers|journal=Transactions of the Newcomen Society|volume= 44|pages=23–47|doi=10.1179/tns.1971.002}}</ref> The Italian sculptor [[Canova]] called it 'the noblest bridge in the world' and said that 'it is worth going to England solely
to see Rennie's bridge.'<ref>{{Cite book|title=The London Book of Lists|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DwjhTVsY73YC&pg=PA24|first=Nick|last=Rennison|publisher=Cannongate Books, Edinburgh|year=2006|page=24|isbn = 9781841956763}}</ref> After Rennie's death, [[London Bridge]] was built from his design by his sons [[John Rennie (railway engineer)|John Rennie]] (junior) and [[George Rennie (engineer)|George Rennie]]. It replaced the medieval bridge which was proving a serious impediment to the flow of the river. Rennie's bridge was eventually moved to Arizona. [[Southwark Bridge]] (1815–1819) was built as three cast-iron spans over the river. He also designed the [[Vauxhall Bridge#Old Vauxhall Bridge|Old Vauxhall Bridge]].