A fascinating, well-illustrated and internationally researched biography of Richard Brunton, a talented civil engineer in the nineteenth century and a proud representative of his profession in a rapidly changing world. Brunton was born in Muchalls, Aberdeenshire and initially worked on railway line development. He then came to prominence as chief lighthouse engineer to the Japanese government when the country was forced to “open up”. As well as building 25 lighthouses he also took a lead in town planning of the chief trading settlement of Yokohama. Returning to Scotland, Brunton became manager of a large petrochemical plant and then took over an architectural ornaments business in London. The company won prizes and worked at home and around the globe. Unfortunately, he over-dipped into its income to the extent he was declared personally bankrupt. However, one of his theatrical clients, based in Ireland, approached him to become their architect and there he created three gems of theatre design, two of which, in Cork and Dublin, still successfully function.
