User:MIDI/Drafts/Mordecai Brooks

Mordecai Brooks (1761/2 – 25 May 1840) was a civil engineer, known for his association with the Thames Navigation Commission.

In 1802, under the direction of John Treacher Sr., Brooks constructed a new length of canal in Reading, Berkshire as part of the Thames Navigation Commission's work on the lower stretches of the River Kennet. The new cut bypassed the Kennet's natural course near Reading Abbey and Reading Jail, and Treacher built the new Blake's Lock upon the new cut.

Brooks was mentioned in the 1805 quit-rent rolls in Hungerford.

Personal life
Brooks was married to Mary. He died at the age of 78 on 25 May 1840 and was interred in the graveyard of St Lawrence's Church, Hungerford. Mary had predeceased him on 1 June 1817 at the age of 43.