Ahead of the game – masonry dam design in the British colonies 1800–1900, part 2: 1872–1900 Available to Purchase

British dam practice in the nineteenth century was dominated by the use of earth embankments. The theoretical approaches to masonry dam design developed in France in the mid-nineteenth century, although commented on by Rankine, therefore had little immediate impact on British practice. However, British engineers working overseas made more widespread use of masonry structures. Differing geological conditions, geography and cost all played their part, but the overall impression is one of innovation that at times astounded the UK engineering establishment. This paper chronicles the work of the pioneers of colonial dam design in the context of the history of masonry dams. The first part of this paper (Dams and Reservoirs, 2009, 19, No. 2, 55–66) described developments down to the introduction of the ‘rational method’; this part describes how dam design changed in the next 30 years.