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 The grave of Joseph Locke at Kensal Green Cemetery, Kensal Green, London. Picture by Androom (18 Apr 2024) |
Locke, Joseph |
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BORN 9 Aug 1805, Sheffield, Yorkshire: Attercliffe - DIED 18 Sep 1860 CAUSE OF DEATH appendicitis GRAVE LOCATION London: Kensal Green Cemetery, Harrow Road, Kensal Green (099/PS (6865)) |
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Joseph Locke was the son a manager at Wallbottle colliery on Tyneside at the time that the engineer George Stephenson (1781-1848) was a fireman there. Joseph joined Stephenson's company and became a close friend of George's son Robert Stephenson (1803-1859). After Locke criticized George Stephenson's work in a report about the proposed tunnel works for the Liverpool anbd Manchester Railway, Stephenson was furious, and their relationship became strained. He assisted Stephenson when the railway was constructed, but he fell out with the other assistant, Charles Vignole (1793-1875), who left the company. When the line was opened in 1830, the MP William Huskisson was killed by a train. In 1834 he married Phoebe McCreery (d.1866) and they adopted a girl, Gertrude Laurence Locke (1856-1939). Locke worked again with George Stephenson on the Grand Junction Railway. They were supposed to manage half of the line each, but Locke's administration was more efficient than that of Stephenson and in in 1835 he became the chief engineer of the entire line. This led to further problems between the men. In 1837 the Grand Junction Railway was opened. In 1838 Locke was elected to the Royal Society. He replaced Charles Vignoles as chief engineer for the railway line from Manchester to Sheffield. It was finally opened in 1845. He worked on the railway from London to Southampton (1836-1840), in Scotland (1837-1841) and abroad in France, Spain and the Netherlands. In work made him a rich man and in 1847 he bought the manor of Honiton, Devonshire. From 1847 until his death he sat in parliament for the liberals the borough of Honiton. After George Stephenson died in 1848 his close friendship with his son Robert was revived. From 1857 to 1859 he was the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He died in 1860 of appendicitis during a shooting holiday near Dumfries. Events |
| 15/9/1830 | William Huskisson is killed by a train. It happened at the opening of the train line from Manchester to Liverpool. Many people were invited to the festivities, including the prime minister the Duke of Wellington and the actress Fanny Kemble and her mother Thérèse. Their train was driven by George Stephenson and pulled by the locomotive Northumbrian. Fanny Kemble recalled that Thérèse was frightened by the speed of the train. When the train stopped after an hour at Parkside railway station near the midpoint to take water for the engine, several people disembarked to strech their legs. William Huskisson, the MP for Liverpool, was fetched by chief whip William Holmes to talk to the Duke of Wellington. Huskisson had recently fallen out with Wellington and wanted to repair their relationship. Wellington shook Huskisson's hand from his carriage. But suddenly the train pulled by Rocket, driven by Joseph Locke, approached on the other track. The passengers on the track moved aside and, but Huskisson was old and stiff and could not get away in time. He tried to climb into Wellington's carriage but he was too late. His leg was crushed by the train. He was prevented from bleeding to death on the spot by Lord Wilton, but he died soon afterwards at Eccles. Holmes had pressed himself against the carriage and escaped. [Huskisson, William][Kemble, Fanny][Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of] |
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The grave of Joseph Locke at Kensal Green Cemetery, Kensal Green, London. Picture by Androom (18 Apr 2024) |
Sources • Jenkins, Rebecca, Fanny Kemble, A Reluctant Celebrity, Simon & Schuster, London, 2005 • Paths of Glory, The Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery, London, 1997 • Joseph Locke - Wikipedia (EN) • Dictionary of National Biography - Wikisource, the free online library |
