Who was William George Laws?
William George Laws was the eldest son of Cuthbert Umfreville Laws of Prudhoe Castle, Northumberland, he was born at the Manor House, Tynemouth on the 18th April, 1836.
Life and Work
William Laws completed his education at Durham University and work under Mr. James Burnett of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and was then subsequently engaged under Mr. John F. Tone on the surveys for the Border Union, Border Counties, and Wansbeck Railways. The Wansbeck Railways were constructed under the supervision of Laws as the Resident Engineer.
During 1865 and 1867 Laws was occupied on completing surveys for the Bristol and North Somerset Railways, the Teign Valley Line, and other projects. During 1867, he entered into partnership with his brother, Mr Hubert Laws, and practiced in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The partnership was dissolved in 1874 and Laws accepted the post of Chief Assistant to the later Mr. T. E. Harrison on the North Eastern Railway. Laws assisted in the design of many important works, including the extension and alteration of Hartlepool Docks, the railway joining Monkwearmouth and Sunderland with the bridge over the river Wear and the extension of the South Shields branch of the North Eastern Railway.
Laws received the appointment of City Engineer of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1881 and remained in that post for 20 years. Whilst in post and working jointly with Mr. Messent, Laws he undertook the building of the refuse destructor at Byker and designed and built floating hospitals for the Tyne and Tees Ports Sanitary Authorities. In 1901 Laws resigned and was appointed Consulting Engineer to the Corporation. He remained in this appointment until his death on 22nd December, 1904.
Laws was a Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the North of England Institution of Mining and Mechanical Engineers and also a Member and Past-President of the Association of Municipal and County Engineers.