Charles Labelye (1705, Vevey, Switzerland – 1762)[1] was a Swiss bridge engineer and mathematician. Moving to England in the 1720s and receiving patronage from the Duke of Bedford and Earl of Pembroke, he is best known there for his work on the original Westminster Bridge (rebuilt in 1854–62) and his invention on that project of caissons as a method of bridge-building. This was praised on its completion, though during the period of construction he received heavy criticism from ill-informed observers, which worsened his health.
Other British projects of his were Brentford Bridge (1740–42), London Bridge (his consultations were sought in 1746 but not acted upon by the corporation of London), designs for a harbour at Sandwich (engraved by Harris about 1740) and reports on the port and harbour facilities at Great Yarmouth (1747) and Sunderland (1748, also with suggested improvements to the River Wear).
United Kingdom legislation
Naturalizing Charles Labelye Act 1745
Act of Parliament
Parliament of Great Britain
Long title
An Act for naturalizing Charles Labelye.
Citation
19 Geo. 2. c. 26
Dates
Royal assent
4 June 1746
A private act of parliament in 1746 (19 Geo. 2. c. 26) naturalised him as a British citizen, but in April 1752 he decided to leave England for southern France. He is known to have been in Naples in 1753, and to have later lived in Paris. In Paris he met and became friends with the fellow bridge-builder Jean-Rodolph Perronnet, bequeathing him papers and a model of Westminster Bridge.
^"Labelye, Charles". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/15834. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
CharlesLabelye (1705, Vevey, Switzerland – 1762) was a Swiss bridge engineer and mathematician. Moving to England in the 1720s and receiving patronage...
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across the River Thames in London, designed by Swiss-born engineer CharlesLabelye, is officially opened. Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire, England, is commissioned...
January 8 – Jacques-François Blondel, French architect (died 1774) CharlesLabelye, Swiss civil engineer (died 1762) Approximate date – Richard Taliaferro...
apartments of a Past Grand Master of England, the Duke of Wharton, with Charles de Labelye as Master. This lodge was granted a Warrant by the Grand Lodge of...
Architect's Journal. Vol. 2. Published for the proprietor. p. 74. "Labelye, Charles" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900...
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