The Sun.
London, England, 1856-06-03 00:00:00

THE BOLYHEAD GREAT HARBOUR

AND BREAKWATERS.

The gigantic public works now in progress at Holy-
head, under the able direction of Mr. J. M. Bendel, the
engineer, are proceeding with undiminished activity ;
and so much of this national underfakidg has already
been finished as to show that, when the harbour and
the two breakwaters, with others, are completed, they
will rank among the highest efforts of engineering
skill iu the United Kingdom. •
It will he in the recollection of the public that the
works of the breakwater were commenced in 1849-50.
In 1852 those works had sufficiently advanced to tempt
vessels to seek its protection, and in the winter of 1853
it was ascertained that tho number of vessels resorting
to it demanded the immediate consideration of the Ad-
miratty. The question was whether an enlargement
of its design could be carried out in the then state
of the works ? The qtiestion in that:shape was referred
to Mr. Rendel, and the result was an extension of the
north breakwater to the extent of 2,000 feet beyond
the plan first proposed for its termination.

The works now hi course of construction will coin-
price a harbour of upwards of 300 acres of deep water,
and a roadstead eastward of this, comprising from 300
to 403 acres of deep water, always available for ves-
sels in ca a of their having to run to tho old or the
new harbour.

The_ works involve a north breakwater. 7,000 feet
in length, of which 6,400 feet have a'ready bean termed,
in from seven to eigh fathoms of low water at spring
tides ; also an eastern breakwater of 2,500 feet, formed
in from three to four fathoms of lo w water at spring
tides, with all the necessary convenience of landing-
pier for the largest &ass Of transatlantic steamers, with
ftiffiltrACtrs449tasio shell lam-ling-pier that passen-
ei. ituratep rein thst bofft into.the railway carriages.
7113 quantity of stone used' in the works up to the
prasent time, and since IS4O, is upwards of 5,000,000
tons. The peculiarity in the construction of the
works, which has enabled. the Government to carry
and place in the breakwater this enormous quantity
of et one in less than six ytt-,rs, is the intratnc:
tion of a timber staging, first built into the tea,
slightly in advance of the stone xork, upon which there
are laid five lines of railway', ovyr which the waggons
laden with stone are drawn from the quarry by locomo-
tives, and the stone is depasited into the sea at 20 feet
above high water by the falling of the bottom of the
waggons. somewhat in the same way as the " hopper
waggons" in the coal districts of the north of England.
The quarries from which the stone is obtainel are in
Holyhead Mountain, are excellent in quality, and of the
most extensive kind. The stone is quarried, not in the
ordinary way, but by mining, the quantity of powder
exploded in the mine being frPquently as much as six
tons, and fired by the zalvanic battery. It is no uncom-
mon thing to witness 50,000 or 60,000 tons of stone
brought down from the mountain at a single blast, and
on a recent occasion the quantity etceedei 90,003 tons.
The stone is obtained in masses varying in size from that
of rrdinary budding stone up to 14 or 15 tons in a stone.

The superstructure has just been commenced, and is
formed of masenry, the largest stones produced in the
quarry being used in the rough state in the building of
the work, and presenting an unusual appearance of so-
lidity and strength, so needful to withstand the violence
of the sea in north•westerly gales on the coast. Some
idea may be formed of this violence from the fact that it
is not an uncommon occurrence during the winter to see
the wave dash over the breakwater to a height of from
20 to 28 feet above high water.
The average number of labourers and mechanics em-
ployed in the quarries and on the railways is from 1,0(0
to 1,200.
The expenditure up to the present time, including the
purchase of land, has been upwards of 500,000/. ; and it
is calculated that by the time the works are completed,
including the enlargement of the harbour as before re-
ferred to, the total cost will amount to upwards of
1,000,000/.
Already the number of vessels resorting to the harbour
for shelter and refuge is more than 3,000 a-year. It is
now intended to employ a class of st.ans-paekets for the
Irish packet service of a size of upwards of 400 feet in
length, with a view to complete the passage between Holy-
head and Kingstown harbour in three hours awl a half
certain, so that the whole distance between London and
Dublin shall be accomplished by picket and rail in 11
hours. The necessary arrangements by the railwiy
comp miss, the Cay of Dahlia Steam-packet Company,
and the Government for the settlement of this important
alteration are now, we understand, nearly completed.