Falshaw was born in
Leeds, of an "old yeoman family" and was the son of William Falshaw, wool merchant, and Hannah Shaw. He was the sixth of fourteen children. His grandfather, George, came from Coverdale in the
North Riding of Yorkshire. In youth he studied under Jonathan Lockwood and then, aged 14, he was articled to the architect and surveyor, Joseph Cusworth, and trained as an engineer and surveyor. There he befriended
John Hawkshaw (later Sir John Hawkshaw). In 1836, he went to work for George Leather, an engineer. Here he worked on
Leeds Waterworks situated in
Eccup. From 1837 to 1841, he worked on the Stockton and
Hartlepool railway line and began to specialise in that field of work. The most impressive structure on this line was the 92-arch brick viaduct over Greatham Marsh. From 1838 to 1844, he also worked on the
Bradford Waterworks. In June 1844, he moved to
Kendal to oversee the construction of the
Lancaster and Carlisle Railway. In 1845, he acted as an advisor to the House of Commons on various forthcoming railway projects. In 1845, he moved to
Stirling to oversee the building of the
Caledonian Railway. This project involved joining to the existing
Edinburgh to
Glasgow line at
Greenhill and extending a 100-mile line (most of which was double track) in a broad loop via Stirling and
Dunblane to reach
Forfar. The most impressive part of this is the mile-long Moncrieff Tunnel. This was completed by 1848. His first wife, Anne Morkill, died in April 1864 and is buried in Whitkirk in Yorkshire. In 1871, he married Jane Gibbs (b.1825) at the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Nicholson Square, Edinburgh. From 1882 to 1887 he was chairman of the
North British Railway Company. Falshaw was
Lord Provost of Edinburgh between 1874 and 1877. His
Town Clerk was
William Skinner of Corra. He was created a
baronet, of Belgrave Crescent in the City of Edinburgh, in 1876. He died at home, 14 Belgrave Crescent, in western Edinburgh in June 1889, aged 79, when the baronetcy became extinct. He is buried close to his home, in
Dean Cemetery,
Edinburgh and has an impressive marble monument of great height and ornament over his grave. He is buried with both wives, including his second wife, Jane Gibbs, Lady Falshaw (d.1889). The grave lies on the main east-west path of the northern extension to the original cemetery. ==Memorials==