G. T. Clark
Encyclopedia
Colonel George Thomas Clark (26 May 1809 – 6 April 1885) was a British
engineer
and antiquary, particularly associated with the management of the Dowlais Iron Company.
, the eldest son of the Revd George Clark (1777–1848), chaplain
to the Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea, and Clara, née Dicey. He was educated at Charterhouse School
then articled
to a surgeon
, Sir Patrick Macgregor, in 1825 and later to George Gisborne Babington. Clark became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1832.
but by the mid 1830s was in the employ of Isembard Kingdom Brunel as an engineer
on the construction of the Great Western
and Taff Vale Railway
s. His position was a senior one with overall responsibility for some stretches of the line and for civil structures. Involvement in major earth-moving works seems to have fed his interest in geology
and archaeology
and he, anonymously, authored two guidebooks on the railway, in addition to a critique of Brunel's methods.
Sometime in 1835, Clark made the acquaintance of John Josiah Guest
, Taff Vale promoter and proprietor of the massive Dowlais Ironworks
, and his family, by 1838 becoming a confidant. It was to prove a pivotal meeting, but not until Clark's return from India.
, from Bombay to Thana
which was opened in 1852. On his return to England, he published a report on the geology of the region
, one of the original 1759 partners
in the Dowlais Ironworks. Ann's brother had sold her family's last remaining interests in the firm that year, to Guest. Guest died in 1852, naming Clark, his widow Lady Charlotte Guest
and Edward Divett as executor
s and trust
ees. Lady Guest would be sole trustee while a widow but she remarried in 1855 and de facto
control fell on Clark.
The works had been, for a while, in some decline and Clark took rapid steps to improve management controls, bringing in William Menelaus as general manager
. The pair worked closely together and Dowlais became a centre of innovation. Though the Bessemer process
was license
d in 1856, nine years of detailed planning and project management were needed before the first steel
was produced. The company thrived with its new cost-effective production methods, forming alliances with the Consett Iron Company
and Krupp
.
By the mid 1860s, Clark's reforms had borne fruit in renewed profitability
and he was rewarded with an annual salary of £3,500 and five percent of the profits. As his wealth grew, he delegated the day-to-day management to Menelaus, his trusteeship terminating in 1864 when ownership passed to Sir Ivor Guest
. However, Clark continued to direct policy, in particular, building a new plant at the docks at Cardiff
and vetoing a joint-stock company. He formally retired in 1897.
and served on a royal commission
on the coal
trade (1866–1871).
He was an active citizen in Merthyr Tudful, his offices and duties including:
However, he opposed incorporation
of Merthyr Tudful as he believed it would harm the Dowlais
business interests.
Clark's combined medical and engineering knowledge led to a general interest in public health.
He was retained by the General Board of Health and worked on analysing the sanitary condition of towns and villages countrywide.
(Charters and Other Muniments which Pertain to the Lordship of Glamorgan), published in 6 vols. at Cardiff in 1910. http://www.archive.org/details/cartaeetaliamuni06claruoft On this monumental work is built most of the reconstructed mediaeval history of Glamorgan and much of the later history up to the 16th.c. It consists of transcripts of some 1,660 ancient charters, numbered in Roman numerals, in their original language and spelling, which Clark had searched out from various sources including Margam Abbey
and Ewenny Priory
. It is an invaluable work to historians and genealogists alike, and is a tribute to the energy of a man who found the time to engage on such a project in addition to his business interests. His familiarity with the names of old Glamorgan led him to produce another great work, on Welsh genealogy, "Limbus Patrum Morganiae et Glamorganiae (trans: The Border/Fringe/Hem of the Fathers, perhaps in the sense of "remnants of the ancient chieftains"): Being the Genealogies of the Older Families of the Lordships of Morgan and Glamorgan". Published in 1886.
, Glamorgan and set about building an estate of some 924 acres (3.7 km²) with the intention of founding a landed dynasty. Clark died at Tal-y-garn and was buried there. His wealth at death was £333,305 (£27 million at 2003 prices).
However, the dynasty did not thrive and most of the land was sold off shortly after the death of his son in 1918.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
and antiquary, particularly associated with the management of the Dowlais Iron Company.
Early life
Clark was born in Chelsea, LondonChelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
, the eldest son of the Revd George Clark (1777–1848), chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
to the Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea, and Clara, née Dicey. He was educated at Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
then articled
Articled clerk
An articled clerk, also known as an articling student, is an apprentice in a professional firm in Commonwealth countries. Generally the term arises in the accountancy profession and in the legal profession. The articled clerk signs a contract, known as "articles of clerkship", committing to a...
to a surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
, Sir Patrick Macgregor, in 1825 and later to George Gisborne Babington. Clark became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1832.
Surgeon to engineer
Clark opened a practice in BristolBristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
but by the mid 1830s was in the employ of Isembard Kingdom Brunel as an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
on the construction of the Great Western
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 Taff Vale Railway
Taff Vale Railway
The Taff Vale Railway is a railway in Glamorgan, South Wales, and is one of the oldest in Wales. It operated as an independent company from 1836 until 1922, when it became a constituent company of the Great Western Railway...
s. His position was a senior one with overall responsibility for some stretches of the line and for civil structures. Involvement in major earth-moving works seems to have fed his interest in geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
and archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
and he, anonymously, authored two guidebooks on the railway, in addition to a critique of Brunel's methods.
Sometime in 1835, Clark made the acquaintance of John Josiah Guest
John Josiah Guest
Sir Josiah John Guest, 1st Baronet, known as John Josiah Guest, was a Welsh engineer and entrepreneur.-Life:Born in Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, as the son of Thomas Guest, a partner in the Dowlais Iron Company...
, Taff Vale promoter and proprietor of the massive Dowlais Ironworks
Dowlais Ironworks
The Dowlais Ironworks was a major ironworks and steelworks located at Dowlais near Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. Founded in the 18th century, it operated until the end of the 20th, at one time in the 19th century being the largest steel producer in the UK...
, and his family, by 1838 becoming a confidant. It was to prove a pivotal meeting, but not until Clark's return from India.
India
From 1843 to 1847, Clark worked on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, surveying and planning the first passenger line in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, from Bombay to Thana
History of rail transport in India
The history of rail transport in India began in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1849, there was not a single kilometer of railway line in India. By 1929, there were 41,000 miles of railway line serving every district in the country...
which was opened in 1852. On his return to England, he published a report on the geology of the region
Renewed relationship with the Guests and Dowlais
In 1850, Clark married Ann Price Lewis (died 1885), a descendant of Thomas LewisThomas Lewis (industrialist)
Thomas Lewis was one of the founders of the Dowlais Ironworks, one of the largest ironworks in Wales.-Career:Born into a landed family from Llanishen, Thomas Lewis became an iron-master. He already owned the Pentyrch blast furnace and several small forges when he became a partner in Dowlais...
, one of the original 1759 partners
Partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
in the Dowlais Ironworks. Ann's brother had sold her family's last remaining interests in the firm that year, to Guest. Guest died in 1852, naming Clark, his widow Lady Charlotte Guest
Lady Charlotte Guest
Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Guest, , later Lady Charlotte Schreiber, was an English businesswoman and translator...
and Edward Divett as executor
Executor
An executor, in the broadest sense, is one who carries something out .-Overview:...
s and trust
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
ees. Lady Guest would be sole trustee while a widow but she remarried in 1855 and de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
control fell on Clark.
The works had been, for a while, in some decline and Clark took rapid steps to improve management controls, bringing in William Menelaus as general manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
. The pair worked closely together and Dowlais became a centre of innovation. Though the Bessemer process
Bessemer process
The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass-production of steel from molten pig iron. The process is named after its inventor, Henry Bessemer, who took out a patent on the process in 1855. The process was independently discovered in 1851 by William Kelly...
was license
License
The verb license or grant licence means to give permission. The noun license or licence refers to that permission as well as to the document recording that permission.A license may be granted by a party to another party as an element of an agreement...
d in 1856, nine years of detailed planning and project management were needed before the first steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
was produced. The company thrived with its new cost-effective production methods, forming alliances with the Consett Iron Company
Consett Iron Company
The Consett Iron Company Ltd was a major United Kingdom industrial undertaking based in the Consett area of County Durham. The company traded as colliery and limestone quarry owners and iron and steel manufacturers. The company was registered on 4 April 1864 as successor to the Derwent & Consett...
and Krupp
Krupp
The Krupp family , a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, have become famous for their steel production and for their manufacture of ammunition and armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th...
.
By the mid 1860s, Clark's reforms had borne fruit in renewed profitability
Profit (economics)
In economics, the term profit has two related but distinct meanings. Normal profit represents the total opportunity costs of a venture to an entrepreneur or investor, whilst economic profit In economics, the term profit has two related but distinct meanings. Normal profit represents the total...
and he was rewarded with an annual salary of £3,500 and five percent of the profits. As his wealth grew, he delegated the day-to-day management to Menelaus, his trusteeship terminating in 1864 when ownership passed to Sir Ivor Guest
Ivor Bertie Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne
Ivor Bertie Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne was a Welsh industrialist.Sir Ivor Bertie Guest was born at Dowlais, near Merthyr Tydfil, the son of Lady Charlotte Guest, translator of the Mabinogion, and Sir John Josiah Guest, owner of the world's largest iron foundry:Dowlais Ironworks...
. However, Clark continued to direct policy, in particular, building a new plant at the docks at Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
and vetoing a joint-stock company. He formally retired in 1897.
Public service
Clark took little interest in party politics but was an opponent of protectionismProtectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
and served on a royal commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
on the coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
trade (1866–1871).
He was an active citizen in Merthyr Tudful, his offices and duties including:
- Chair of:
- Board of GuardiansBoard of GuardiansBoards of guardians were ad hoc authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930.-England and Wales:The boards were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish Overseers of the Poor established under the old poor law, following the recommendations...
; - Board of Health;
- Burial board; and
- School board, working to extend the schools founded by the Guests;
- Board of Guardians
- Supporting further places of worship, including the building of St. Mary's Welsh Church;
- Command, as lieutenant-colonel of the 2nd (Dowlais) corps, Glamorgan Rifle Volunteers;
- MagistrateMagistrateA magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
; - High SheriffHigh SheriffA high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...
of GlamorganGlamorganGlamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
(1868).
However, he opposed incorporation
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
of Merthyr Tudful as he believed it would harm the Dowlais
Dowlais
Dowlais is a village and community of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. As of 2001, it has a population of 6646.Dowlais is notable within Wales and Britain for its historic association with ironworking; once employing, through the Dowlais Iron Company, roughly 5,000 people, the works...
business interests.
Clark's combined medical and engineering knowledge led to a general interest in public health.
He was retained by the General Board of Health and worked on analysing the sanitary condition of towns and villages countrywide.
Antiquary
Not the least of Clark's fame attaches to his great work Cartae et Alia Munimenta Quae ad Dominium de Glamorgancia Pertinent(Charters and Other Muniments which Pertain to the Lordship of Glamorgan), published in 6 vols. at Cardiff in 1910. http://www.archive.org/details/cartaeetaliamuni06claruoft On this monumental work is built most of the reconstructed mediaeval history of Glamorgan and much of the later history up to the 16th.c. It consists of transcripts of some 1,660 ancient charters, numbered in Roman numerals, in their original language and spelling, which Clark had searched out from various sources including Margam Abbey
Margam Abbey
Margam Abbey was a Cistercian monastery, located in the village of Margam, a suburb of modern Port Talbot in Wales.-History:The abbey was founded in 1147 as a daughter house of Clairvaux by Robert, Earl of Gloucester and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The abbey was dissolved by King...
and Ewenny Priory
Ewenny Priory
Ewenny Priory, in Ewenny in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, was a monastery of the Benedictine order, founded in the 12th century.The building was unusual in having military-style defences. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the priory, like many of its kind, was converted into a private...
. It is an invaluable work to historians and genealogists alike, and is a tribute to the energy of a man who found the time to engage on such a project in addition to his business interests. His familiarity with the names of old Glamorgan led him to produce another great work, on Welsh genealogy, "Limbus Patrum Morganiae et Glamorganiae (trans: The Border/Fringe/Hem of the Fathers, perhaps in the sense of "remnants of the ancient chieftains"): Being the Genealogies of the Older Families of the Lordships of Morgan and Glamorgan". Published in 1886.
Family and legacy
The Clarks had a son and a daughter. In 1865, Clark purchased Tal-y-garn a small property near LlantrisantLlantrisant
Llantrisant is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The town's name translates as The Parish of the Three Saints. The three saints in question are St Illtyd, St Gwynno and St...
, Glamorgan and set about building an estate of some 924 acres (3.7 km²) with the intention of founding a landed dynasty. Clark died at Tal-y-garn and was buried there. His wealth at death was £333,305 (£27 million at 2003 prices).
However, the dynasty did not thrive and most of the land was sold off shortly after the death of his son in 1918.