Berkeley Deane Wise
Berkeley Deane Wise
Berkeley Deane Wise (1855-1909) was born in New Ross, County Wexford, after schooling in England and Trinity College, Dublin, he became a Civil Engineer and studied under James Price, Chief Engineer of the Midland Great Western Railway of Ireland. His first job was as resident engineer for Navan and Kingscourt Railway followed by a two-year post with Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway where he built a tunnel through Bray Head. He then took the position of Chief Engineer for the Belfast and County Down Railway (BCDR) before becoming Chief Engineer for the Belfast & Northern Counties Railway whom he worked for from 1888 until he retired due to ill health in 1906. (Image above from a personal card collection shows Berkeley Dean Wise, his wife Leah and dog at the Gobbins.)
He was an inventive, forward-thinking engineer who introduced many new ideas and a higher level of safety to the network. One of his first projects in Ulster was the Quoile viaduct where he introduced interlocking signals, he later developed the signalling staff system which carried his name. As well as routine railway duties he designed numerous stations, a harbour, promenades, footbridges, walks, hotels and one of the major attractions in Ireland, the Gobbins Cliff Walk. When renewing the BNCR line he opened a quarry at Ballymoney with the latest crushing machinery to provide high-grade stone for the track, he also carried out a major extension and refurbishment of York Road Station including the clock tower, concourse, tramway canopy, hotel, freight offices and goods store.
The renewal of the signalling system was the largest in Ireland at the time, to complement this he designed the new station at Larne for rail passengers arriving and departing to Scotland and England. He worked with the General Manager Edward John Cotton, both men had a vision for the railway and the development of tourism, their joint vision developed the company into one of the most unique railways of the time. Another innovation he pioneered in Ireland was reinforced concrete for structures. Whitehead was developed into an excursion seaside town which you can read about in the history and railway era section.
Another fabulous building designed by Deane was Portrush Railway Station, a Tudor styled building with a clock tower, he upgraded the whole site to include three covered platforms along with a Café and Restaurant. He designed the Northern Counties Hotel in Portrush with Charles Lanyon and the tramway terminus in Portstewart which came of the mainline at Cromore Halt. In the Glens of Antrim, the beautiful walks, bridges and viewing points along the gorge in Glenariff were designed by him including the tea room at the bottom and the little shelter below Ess-na-Larach waterfall. The land was leased and visitors would be brought down by jaunting cart or open coaches from Parkmore Railway Station at the top of the glen which was connected to Ballymena by a narrow-gauge railway.
He made a significant contribution to the railway system and the infrastructure of Victorian tourism, he was highly regarded for his vision and mannerism. In 1906 he retired due to health and came to live with his sister at 18, Salisbury Terrace, Portrush, he died here in 1909. He was a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in London and a Vice President of the Institution of Civil Engineers of Ireland from 1904 to 1906. A tribute in the Railway Engineer Journal reads: ‘ His designs were both original and artistic, and he always strove to make the stations under his charge as attractive as possible. He was a great lover of the beauties of nature, and he will perhaps be best remembered as one who made several of the beauty spots of a beautiful country easily accessible without in the least marring their natural charms. His kindly disposition and gentle manners made him deservedly popular.'
Some of the work he designed and was responsible for are: Dundrum Harbour - Larne Harbour Railway Station - Glenarriff Walk and Tea Room - Whitehead Promenade and Blackhead Path - Portrush Railway Station - Ballymoney Railway Station - Greenisland Railway Station - Refurbish / Extension Northern Counties Hotel, Portrush - Carrickfergus Railway Station - Whiteabbey Railway Station - Jordanstown Railway Station - Trooperslane Railway Station - York Road Station and Midland Hotel - Portstewart Tramway Terminus - Whitehead Station (extension) - The Gobbins Path, Islandmagee - Laharna Hotel, Larne - Limavady Railway Station - Antrim Railway Station - Ballymena Railway Station, 1904.