Henry Robertson

Henry Robertson (11 June 1816 – 22 March 1888) was a Scottish mining engineer and prolific railway builder, industrialist and Liberal Party politician. He was head of Brymbo Steelworks, Wrexham. He was the co-founder of Beyer-Peacock, with Charles Beyer, and Richard Peacock. His son Sir Henry Beyer Robertson was knighted by Queen Victoria for the achievements of his father.

Biography The son of Duncan Robertson, he was born in Banff, Aberdeenshire on 16 January 1816, and educated at King's College, Aberdeen University, and graduated M.A. He was initially to enter the ministry but turned to engineering.

Career He started as a railway contractor securing some contracts at Port Glasgow, under Joseph Locke.

On the offer of a Scottish bank to invest in the North Wales mineral district in 1842, Robertson ventured south, and purchased Brymbo Iron Works and colliery, formerly owned by John Wilkinson. Robertson decided that for the venture to succeed he needed to build a railway from Brymbo to Connah's Quay to export the coal and iron. This became the North Wales Mineral Railway, which runs from Wrexham to Chester, with a branch to Brymbo. At Chester he had access to the Birkenhead Joint Railway and its associated docks.

Robertson's railways Robertson was the chief civil engineer responsible for the building of the following (often with Thomas Brassey as the construction contractor)

North Wales Mineral Railway Shrewsbury and Chester Railway Shrewsbury and Hereford Railway Bala and Festiniog Railway Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway Vale of Llangollen Railway Llangollen and Corwen Railway Corwen and Bala Railway Bala and Dolgellau Railway Wirral Railway Wrexham, Mold and Connah's Quay Railway (extension to Wirral Railway) Central Wales Railway (from Craven Arms to Llandovery)

Notable bridges Robertson's bridges, all in north Wales, included:

Coal and mineral companies Robertson's mining and related interests included: This enabled the company to have preferential rates to transport the coal. Minera Lime Company (to supply the ironworks) Brymbo Waterworks

Charles Beyer Robertson was co-founder in 1854 of Beyer, Peacock and Co with Charles Beyer and Richard Peacock. Based at Gorton Foundry, in Gorton, Manchester, it would become one of the world's leading locomotive manufacturers. Robertson knew Beyer because he supplied some of the locomotives to his railways. He was a sleeping partner but his connections with the Great Western Railway proved useful in securing orders.

Personal life He was a keen walker and enjoyed dancing.

He married Elizabeth Dean in St James Westminster, London in 1848. She was the daughter of a London solicitor .

They had four children. Elizabeth (1851), Annie (1854), Henrietta (1858), and Henry Beyer Robertson (1864).

Residences 1851: Richmond Place, Chester.

1861: St Mary's Court, Shrewsbury. In the 1860s, he also bought a large estate in Crogen, Llandderfel, near Bala, Gwynedd.

1871, 1881: 13, Lancaster Gate, Paddington, London (at the time of the 1871 Census, he was an MP sitting at Westminster). In 1871, he built Palé Hall, a large country house, in Llandderfel, which became his country seat.

He died at Palé Hall on 22 March 1888, aged 71.