Rennie, George

Household account books, 1829-1851, kept by George Rennie, for his houses in London and Surrey.

George Rennie was born in London on 3 December 1791. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh. In 1811 he joined his father's engineering practice, where he remained until 1818. From 1818 to 1826 he was inspector of machinery and clerk of the irons at the Royal Mint. On the death of his father Rennie entered into practice with his brother. At the firm Rennie was responsible for the construction of the Grosvenor Bridge over the River Dee at Chester and several railway projects. He was also responsible for the firm's manufacturing business, which made various types of machinery including biscuit making machinery and engines for the Royal Navy. In 1822 he was elected fellow of the Royal Society and contributed papers to Transactions in 1829. Rennie died in 1866.

Access to the items in the collection is unrestricted for the purpose of private study and personal research within the controlled environment and restrictions of the Library's Palaeography Room Uncatalogued material may not be seen. Please contact the University Archivist for details.

The National Library of Scotland holds correspondence, journals and papers, 1814-1863 (Ref: MSS 19938-41), and letters to Rennie, 1808-1821 (Ref: MS 19932); Edinburgh University Library contains letters, 1812-1816; the Bodleian Library, Oxford University, holds a European travel diary, 1817 (Ref: MS Eng misc e203); the British Library, London, has correspondence with Charles Babbage, 1823-1849 (Ref: Add MSS 37183-94 passim); Birmingham City Archives holds letters to Boulton and Watt, 1830-1837 (Ref: Boulton and Watt Collection).

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