Why did Thomas Morris leave his job as Liverpool’s dock engineer?
Morris seems to have been asked to leave his job as dock engineer by Liverpool’s Dock Committee early in 1799. This was after he asked for a large pay rise. At the time he was paid one hundred guineas a year (equivalent to £5666 in 2002). After leaving Liverpool Morris got a job at the West India Export Docks in London. There he earned £840 a year (the same as £45,335 in 2002). What was Thomas Morris’ reputation? The circumstances surrounding Morris’ departure in 1799 should not cloud the view of his work as Liverpool’s dock engineer. However, historians have noted that some of the walls at Queen’s Dock collapsed and that the entrance to the dock often silted up because it was too near to Pluckington sand bank in the River Mersey. Yet a Guide to Liverpool by William Moss published in 1799 paid tribute to the high standard of Morris’ work at Liverpool’s docks. It seems unlikely that Morris would have walked straight into a highly paid job at the West India Export Docks in London if his
