Edward Watkin
Encyclopedia
Sir Edward William Watkin, 1st Baronet (26 September 1819 - 13 April 1901) was an English railway chairman and politician.
, the son of a wealthy cotton
merchant, Absalom Watkin who was noted for his involvement in the Anti-corn Law League.
After a private education, he returned to work in his father's mill business. In 1845 he founded the Manchester Examiner, by which time he had become a partner in his father's business.
He lived at Rose Hill
, Northenden
, a suburb of Manchester
, in a house bought by his father in 1832. He is buried in St Wilfrid's
churchyard in Northenden, where a memorial plaque commemorates his life.
and Grand Junction
railways (which were about to amalgamate to form the London and North Western Railway
(LNWR)), for £438,000. He then became assistant to Captain Mark Huish
, General Manager of the LNWR. He visited USA and Canada and published a book about the railways in these countries in 1852. Back in Great Britain he was appointed secretary of the Worcester & Hereford Railway. He then left the LNWR and became the general manager of the Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR). He held this position from 1854 to 1862 and was chairman of the company from 1864 to 1894. He was knight
ed in 1868 and made a baronet
in 1880.
Abroad he encouraged the uniting of the Canadian provinces by the building of a railroad
. He also helped to build the railway between Athens
and Piraeus
, advised on the Indian railways
and organised the transport of the Belgian Congo
.
Watkin also served on other railway companies. In 1866 he became a director on the Great Western Railway
and later on the Great Eastern Railway
. By 1881 Watkins was director of nine railways and trustee of a tenth. These included the Cheshire Lines, the East London
, the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire, the Manchester, South Junction & Altrincham
, the Metropolitan
, the Oldham, Ashton & Guide Bridge, the Sheffield & Midland Joint, the South Eastern
, the Wigan Junction and the New York, Lake Erie and Western
railways.
Watkin is perhaps best known for being responsible for the building of the MS&LR's 'London Extension'
during the 1890s, which was the last main line to be constructed into London (until the opening of 'High Speed 1' in 2007). Watkin not only saw an independent route to London as crucial for the long term survival and development of the MS&LR, but saw it as part of a grander scheme. Watkin's chairmanships of the South Eastern Railway
, the Metropolitan Railway and the MS&LR meant that he controlled railways from England's south coast ports, through London
and (with the London Extension) through the Midlands to the industrial cities of the North.
Watkin's name lives on in the form of a locomotive tribute. GB Railfreight
British Rail Class 66
no. 66722, currently sporting Metronet livery, carries "Sir Edward Watkin" on both sides of the locomotive. This loco can also be found in model form, with 66722 being made by Bachmann Branchline
.
, the French railway company on the Calais
side of the English Channel
. Watkin's vision was for a Channel Tunnel
coupled to a new mainline to the north of England providing Sheffield
, Manchester
and Leeds
with a railway link to the Continent
. The MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway
in 1892, and construction of the London Extension was completed by 1899. However, Watkin's plans for a Channel Tunnel ground to a halt soon after early excavations started due to both financial and political problems.
Member of Parliament
for the constituencies of Great Yarmouth
(1857–1858) Stockport
(1864–1868) and later that of Hythe
in Kent
(1874–1895). He also served as High Sheriff of Cheshire
for 1874 .
at Dungeness in Kent
.
for Great Grimsby (UK Parliament constituency)
in 1877. His nephew Edward Watkin
was general manager of the Hull and Barnsley Railway
.
Biography
Watkin was born in Salford, LancashireLancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, the son of a wealthy cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
merchant, Absalom Watkin who was noted for his involvement in the Anti-corn Law League.
After a private education, he returned to work in his father's mill business. In 1845 he founded the Manchester Examiner, by which time he had become a partner in his father's business.
He lived at Rose Hill
Rose Hill, Northenden
Rose Hill in Longley Lane, Northenden, Manchester, England, is a 19th-century Victorian villa, most notable as the home of Sir Edward Watkin, "railway king and cross-channel visionary". The house was designated a Grade II* listed building on 11 April 1991.Sir Edward's father, Absalom Watkin,...
, Northenden
Northenden
Northenden is a suburban area and electoral ward of the city of Manchester in North West England. It lies on the south side of both the River Mersey and the M60 motorway, west of Stockport and south of Manchester city centre. Northenden is bounded by the districts of Didsbury, Gatley and...
, a suburb of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, in a house bought by his father in 1832. He is buried in St Wilfrid's
Church of St Wilfrid, Northenden
The Church of St Wilfrid in Ford Lane, Northenden, Manchester, England, is an Anglican church of late medieval origins which was substantially re-built in the 19th century by J. S. Crowther...
churchyard in Northenden, where a memorial plaque commemorates his life.
Railways
Watkin began to show an interest in railways and at age 26, also in 1845, he took on the secretaryship of the Trent Valley Railway, which was sold the following year to the London & BirminghamLondon and Birmingham Railway
The London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....
and Grand Junction
Grand Junction Railway
The Grand Junction Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was merged into the London and North Western Railway...
railways (which were about to amalgamate to form the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
(LNWR)), for £438,000. He then became assistant to Captain Mark Huish
Mark Huish
Captain Mark Huish was an English railway manager. He is best known for his term as General Manager of the London & North Western Railway, which he held for 12 years, beginning from the Company's formation in 1846....
, General Manager of the LNWR. He visited USA and Canada and published a book about the railways in these countries in 1852. Back in Great Britain he was appointed secretary of the Worcester & Hereford Railway. He then left the LNWR and became the general manager of the Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR). He held this position from 1854 to 1862 and was chairman of the company from 1864 to 1894. He was knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed in 1868 and made a baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
in 1880.
Abroad he encouraged the uniting of the Canadian provinces by the building of a railroad
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
. He also helped to build the railway between Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
and Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
, advised on the Indian railways
Indian Railways
Indian Railways , abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking of Government of India, which owns and operates most of India's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India....
and organised the transport of the Belgian Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
.
Watkin also served on other railway companies. In 1866 he became a director on the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
and later on the Great Eastern Railway
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia...
. By 1881 Watkins was director of nine railways and trustee of a tenth. These included the Cheshire Lines, the East London
East London Line
The East London Line is a London Overground line which runs north to south through the East End, Docklands and South areas of London.Built in 1869 by the East London Railway Company, which reused the Thames Tunnel, originally intended for horse-drawn carriages, the line became part of the London...
, the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire, the Manchester, South Junction & Altrincham
Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway
The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway was a suburban railway which operated a 13.7 km route between Altrincham in Cheshire and London Road Station in Manchester....
, the Metropolitan
Metropolitan railway
Metropolitan Railway can refer to:* Metropolitan line, part of the London Underground* Metropolitan Railway, the first underground railway to be built in London...
, the Oldham, Ashton & Guide Bridge, the Sheffield & Midland Joint, the South Eastern
South Eastern Railway (UK)
The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
, the Wigan Junction and the New York, Lake Erie and Western
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
railways.
Watkin is perhaps best known for being responsible for the building of the MS&LR's 'London Extension'
Great Central Main Line
The Great Central Main Line , also known as the London Extension of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway , is a former railway line which opened in 1899 linking Sheffield with Marylebone Station in London via Nottingham and Leicester.The GCML was the last main line railway built in...
during the 1890s, which was the last main line to be constructed into London (until the opening of 'High Speed 1' in 2007). Watkin not only saw an independent route to London as crucial for the long term survival and development of the MS&LR, but saw it as part of a grander scheme. Watkin's chairmanships of the South Eastern Railway
South Eastern Railway (UK)
The South Eastern Railway was a railway company in south-eastern England from 1836 until 1922. The company was formed to construct a route from London to Dover. Branch lines were later opened to Tunbridge Wells, Hastings, Canterbury and other places in Kent...
, the Metropolitan Railway and the MS&LR meant that he controlled railways from England's south coast ports, through London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and (with the London Extension) through the Midlands to the industrial cities of the North.
Watkin's name lives on in the form of a locomotive tribute. GB Railfreight
GB Railfreight
GB Railfreight is a British freight train operating company. Formerly called First GBRf, its new owner Eurotunnel bought the company in May 2010.-History:...
British Rail Class 66
British Rail Class 66
The Class 66 is a six axle diesel electric freight locomotive developed in part from the British Rail Class 59, for use on the railways of the UK. Since its introduction the class has been successful and has been sold to British and other European railway companies...
no. 66722, currently sporting Metronet livery, carries "Sir Edward Watkin" on both sides of the locomotive. This loco can also be found in model form, with 66722 being made by Bachmann Branchline
Bachmann Branchline
Bachmann Branchline is a brand name of Bachmann Industries used for British outline 00 gauge model railways.Bachmann, a US company founded in 1835, was purchased by Kader Industries in 1987. Kader had previously produced models for Palitoy under the 'Mainline' brand...
.
Channel tunnel
He also held a seat on the board of the Chemin de Fer du NordChemin de Fer du Nord
Chemin de Fer du Nord , often referred to simply as the Nord company, was a rail transport company created in September 1845, in Paris, France. It was owned by among others de Rothschild Frères of France, N M Rothschild & Sons of London, England, Hottinger, Laffitte and Blount...
, the French railway company on the Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
side of the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. Watkin's vision was for a Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
coupled to a new mainline to the north of England providing Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
with a railway link to the Continent
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The MS&LR changed its name to the Great Central Railway
Great Central Railway
The Great Central Railway was a railway company in England which came into being when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897 in anticipation of the opening in 1899 of its London Extension . On 1 January 1923, it was grouped into the London and North Eastern...
in 1892, and construction of the London Extension was completed by 1899. However, Watkin's plans for a Channel Tunnel ground to a halt soon after early excavations started due to both financial and political problems.
Politics
Watkin served as a LiberalLiberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the constituencies of Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth (UK Parliament constituency)
Great Yarmouth is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
(1857–1858) Stockport
Stockport (UK Parliament constituency)
Stockport is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
(1864–1868) and later that of Hythe
Hythe (UK Parliament constituency)
Hythe was a constituency centred on the town of Hythe in Kent. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons until 1832, when its representation was reduced to one member...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
(1874–1895). He also served as High Sheriff of Cheshire
High Sheriff of Cheshire
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...
for 1874 .
Watkin's Tower
He was also responsible for the partially completed Watkin's Tower and an abortive attempt in the 1880s to create a new south-coast resort and deep-water portPort
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
at Dungeness in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
.
Family
Edward Watkin's son Alfred Mellor Watkin was locomotive superintendent of the South Eastern Railway in 1876 and Member of ParliamentMember of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Great Grimsby (UK Parliament constituency)
Great Grimsby (UK Parliament constituency)
Great Grimsby is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, consisting of the town of Grimsby in North East Lincolnshire. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
in 1877. His nephew Edward Watkin
Edward Watkin (disambiguation)
Edward Watkin may refer to the following people:*Sir Edward Watkin General manager of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway*Edward Watkin - nephew of the above, and general manager of the Hull and Barnsley Railway...
was general manager of the Hull and Barnsley Railway
Hull and Barnsley Railway
The Hull Barnsley & West Riding Junction Railway and Dock Company was opened on 20 July 1885. It had a total projected length of 66 miles but never reached Barnsley, stopping a few miles short at Stairfoot. The name was changed to The Hull and Barnsley Railway in 1905...
.