James Jenkinson Master

Merchant Taylors 1728-29

Was he the father-in law of John Smeaton FRS?

There can be little room for doubt, from the records quoted below, that James Jenkinson, whose name is included in the Roll of Merchant Taylors’ Masters hanging in the Small Hall, was indeed the father-in-law of John Smeaton FRS, the famous 18th-century civil engineer and best known for designing the Eddystone Lighthouse, was born at Austhorpe Lodge, Whitkirk, Leeds in 1724, and was responsible for the design of a huge variety of civil engineering projects across the country until his death in 1792.

The most authoritative book about John Smeaton, edited by Professor Alec Skempton – Professor of Civil Engineering at Imperial College, London - was published in 1981. From their research of original documentation of the time, the book records that John Smeaton married ‘Ann Jenkinson, youngest daughter of James and Faith Jenkinson of York. Her father who died in 1742, was a merchant tailor and freeman of the city’. This is supported by the the city’. This is supported by the following:

All Saints North Street York church records include the marriage of a James and Faith Jenkinson on 1st January 1713

There is only one Ann Jenkinson recorded in York at that time (she was the youngest of three sisters) and she was baptised at St Michael le Belfry, York on 3rd Feb 1725. The church’s baptismal record quotes her father as ‘James Jenkinson, stay maker’.

Here is an enlarged section of the Roll of Masters showing the 1728 entry for James Jenkinson

Merchant Taylors Roll of Masters, including James Jenkinson's name as Master in 1728

Stay making would have been a tailoring accessory craft and presumably, therefore come under the umbrella of Merchant Taylors

The Merchant Taylors archives record that a James Jenkinson had been apprenticed to Thomas Periott, was abled on 1707 and became Master of Merchant Taylors in 1728 – recorded on the Roll of Masters and in the Merchant Taylors’ Minute Books.

· The York Poll Book for 1741 lists ‘James Jenkinson - stay maker - Petergate’

· James died and his burial is recorded at St Michael le Belfry on 21st August 1742.

· The records of St George’s Church, Hanover Square, London record John Smeaton and Ann Jenkinson’s marriage there on 7th January 1756. John Smeaton had had his practice in London for a number of years.

The above makes a fascinating connection between James Jenkinson, Master of York Merchant Taylors in 1728 and John Smeaton, the father of civil engineering!

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In later years, John Smeaton had an involvement in York, as he became a proprietor of York Waterworks and in 1784 personally designed and supervised improvements to the steam engine located in Lendal Tower, which pumped water from the River Ouse to a tank on the top of the Tower, to provide the City’s water supply.

GA Wilford Nov 2024