ABSTRACT
In 1797, McIntosh began work on a succession of contracts on the Grand Trunk Canal system. Many of McIntosh's agents became well-known in their own right, and made substantial fortunes from their connection with McIntosh. Hugh McIntosh's ability was rewarded by substantial government contracts. McIntosh earned out much work connected with the Royal parks and palaces, including ornamental ponds, roads etc. for the Commissioners of Woods and Forests in Regent's Park. He laid water pipes for Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, Kensington Palace and Brighton Pavilion. The McIntoshes took eight contracts on the Great Western Railway with a combined tender value of £188.903, and payments totalled £221,148. Hugh McIntosh was one of the key individuals in developing the British civil engineering industry. By the early nineteenth century, he had built up expertise and capital resources to provide the sort of reliability engineers like John Rennie and Thomas Telford needed to ensure their works were built to satisfactory standards for their clients.
