Thomas Hyde Page
Encyclopedia
In 1777 he married Susanna, widow of Edmund Bastard of Kitley, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, and sister of Sir Thomas Crawley-Boevey, baronet
Crawley-Boevey Baronets
The Barrow, later Crawley-Boevey Baronetcy, of Highgrove in the County of Gloucester, is a title in the Baronetage of Great Britain. It was created on 22 January 1784 for Charles Barrow, Member of Parliament for Gloucester, with remainder to Thomas Crawley-Boevey, who succeeded as second Baronet...
. In 1783 he married Mary Albinia (d. 1794), daughter of John Woodward (formerly captain in the 70th regiment) of Ringwould
Ringwould
Ringwould is a village near Dover in Kent, England. Ripple Windmill, which is being restored, lies within the parish....
, 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...
, and they had five children. His third marriage, to Mary, widow of Captain Everett RN, was childless.
Early life
He was born in Harley StreetHarley Street
Harley Street is a street in the City of Westminster in London, England which has been noted since the 19th century for its large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery.- Overview :...
, City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
in 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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and was the son of Robert Hyde Page (d. 1764), also a military engineer, and Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Morewood.
Thomas Hyde Page attended the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, receiving a gold medal from King George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
.
Career
In July 1769, Page was appointed as a practitioner engineer and second lieutenant in the Corps of Royal Engineers. Page was promoted sub-lieutenant and engineer in 1774.In 1775, Lord George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend
George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend
Field Marshal George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, PC , known as The Viscount Townshend from 1764 to 1787, was a British soldier who reached the rank of field marshal.-Early life:...
, master-general of the ordnance, asked Page ‘to take a view of the Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
Level’ to improve the general drainage in the county. His report to Lord Townshend, dated 31 March 1775, was deposited in the library of the Institution of Civil Engineers
Institution of Civil Engineers
Founded on 2 January 1818, the Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association, based in central London, representing civil engineering. Like its early membership, the majority of its current members are British engineers, but it also has members in more than 150...
.
He constructed a ferry in Chatham for which he won a gold medal from the Royal Society of Arts in 1775.
Page went with the corps of engineers to North America and distinguished himself in service to General Pigott at the Battle of Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
on 17 June 1775, where he was severely wounded. As a result of this disability, he received a pension of 10 shillings per day.
In England, for the next few years he was the commanding royal engineer of the eastern coastal district and supervised the refurbishment of defences at Dover, Chatham, Tilbury, Gravesend, Sheerness, and Landguard Fort. In 1780, he organized the Dover Volunteers.
In 1782 the Board of Ordnance commissioned him to bore a well at Sheerness garrison. He tried a new technique and the experiment failed, resulting in his being blamed. In the House of Commons the experiment was said to be ‘not a well for fresh water, but a sink for the money of the public’.
Page made a second attempt in Fort Townshend at Sheerness
Sheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
which was successful. Page's report on making the Sheerness well is dated 12 May 1783 and plans and sections were published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society of London. It was established in 1665, making it the first journal in the world exclusively devoted to science, and it has remained in continuous publication ever since, making it the world's...
, 74.
In 1783, Page was a candidate for the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, supported by the mathematician Charles Hutton
Charles Hutton
Charles Hutton was an English mathematician.Hutton was born at Newcastle-on-Tyne. He was educated in a school at Jesmond, kept by Mr Ivison, a clergyman of the Church of England...
and others. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society on 10 July 1783 being described as ‘a gentleman well versed in mechanics and many other branches of experimental philosophy’.
He was knighted on 23 August 1783.
Page was promoted to captain-lieutenant in 1784 and made a captain on 20 April 1787, before being moved to the invalid engineers months later.
His expertise was still in demand and was made the chief consulting engineer in the improvement of the port of Dublin, of Wicklow
Wicklow
Wicklow) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. Located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island, it has a population of 10,070 according to the 2006 census. The town is situated to the east of the N11 route between Dublin and Wexford. Wicklow is also connected to the rail...
harbour, of the inland navigation of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, and of the Royal Shannon and Newry canals. In 1792, he was the director for repairing the breach in the dock canal in Dublin.
Page also worked on forming the new cut ("The Eau Brink Cut") and channel from Eau Brinck (Eau Brink) to King's Lynn
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, England, and along the River Great Ouse
River Great Ouse
The Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...
, a problem of navigation and drainage that had baffled engineers since the time of King Charles I of England
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
in the 17th century.
Later years
Page lived for many years at Betshanger Park, KentKent
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...
, but retired for reasons of health, abroad to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
He died in Boulogne
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
, France on 30 June 1821, and was buried there.
Selected works
- Page, Thomas Hyde, "Considerations upon the state of Dover-harbour, with its relative consequence to the navy of Great Britain ... To which is prefixed, a letter, addressed to the Military Association for the defence of the town and harbour of Dover", printed for the author, by Simmons and Kirkby, Canterbury : 1784
- Page, Thomas Hyde, "The reports or observations of Sir Thomas Hyde Page on the means of draining the south and middle levels of the Fens", Reprinted, [London ?] : 1794
- Page, Thomas Hyde; Mylne, RobertRobert MylneRobert Mylne was a Scottish architect and civil engineer, particularly remembered for his design for Blackfriars Bridge in London. Born and raised in Edinburgh, he travelled to Europe as a young man, studying architecture in Rome under Piranesi...
, Correspondence Upon The Subject Of The Eau-Brink Cut, Between Sir Thomas Hyde Page And Mr. Mylne: In The Years 1801 And 1802, Lynn, England : Andrew Pigge, 1802
External links
- Works by Sir Thomas Hyde Page stored in the National Library of Australia
- Maps by Sir Thomas Hyde Page - in the Library of Congress collection
- Entry for Thomas Hyde Page - in The Peerage.