View source for Edward Watkin

{{Short description|British railway entrepreneur (1819–1901)}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{about other people|the railway chairman born 1819||Edward Watkin (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =  Sir
| name             = Edward Watkin
| honorific_suffix = [[Baronet|Bt]]
| image            = File:Portrait of Sir Edward W. Watkin.jpg
| image_size       = 
| alt              = 
| caption          = Watkin by [[Augustus Henry Fox]] now in the [[National Railway Museum]]
| birth_name       = 
| birth_date       = {{birth date|df=y|1819|9|26}}
| birth_place      = 
| death_date       = {{death date and age|df=y|1901|4|13|1819|9|26}}
| death_place      = 
| nationality      = [[United Kingdom|British]]
| other_names      = 
| alma_mater       = 
| occupation       = 
| years_active     = 
| known_for        = 
| notable_works    = 
| spouse           = (1) Mary Briggs Mellor (d.1888);<br>(2) Ann Ingram
| relatives        = [[William Thompson Watkin]] (cousin)
| children         = 2: [[Alfred Mellor Watkin]] (son)
}}

'''Sir Edward William Watkin, 1st Baronet''' (26 September 1819 – 13 April 1901) was a British [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Member of Parliament]] and railway entrepreneur. He was an ambitious visionary, and presided over large-scale [[railway engineering]] projects to fulfil his business aspirations, eventually rising to become chairman of nine different [[List of railway companies involved in the 1923 grouping|British railway companies]].

Among his more notable projects were: his expansion of the [[Metropolitan Railway]], part of today's [[London Underground]]; the construction of the [[Great Central Main Line]], a purpose-built high-speed railway line; the creation of a pleasure garden with a partially constructed iron tower at [[Wembley]]; and a failed attempt to dig a [[Channel Tunnel]] under the [[English Channel]] to connect his railway empire to the [[Rail transport in France|French rail network]].

== Early life ==
[[File:Edward William Watkin.jpg|thumb]]
[[File:Portrait of 'The Railway Interest' (4672126).jpg|thumb|upright|"The Railway Interest". Caricature by [[Carlo Pellegrini (caricaturist)|Ape]] published in ''[[Vanity Fair (UK magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' in 1875.]]
Watkin was born in [[Salford, Greater Manchester|Salford]], Lancashire, the son of wealthy cotton merchant [[Absalom Watkin]],.{{sfn|Sutton|Bagwell|2004}} After a private education, Watkin worked in his father's mill business.{{sfn|Sutton|Bagwell|2004}} Watkin's father was closely involved in the [[Anti-Corn Law League]], and Edward soon joined him, rising to become a key League organiser in Manchester.{{sfn|Hodgkins|2002|pp=19-27}} Through this work, Watkin gained the friendship of the Radical leader [[Richard Cobden]], with whom he remained in contact for the rest of Cobden's life.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Watkin |first1=Edward |title=Alderman Cobden of Manchester |date=1891 |publisher=Ward, Lock, Bowden & Co |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924028029993/page/n11}}</ref>

From 1839 to 1840 Watkin was one of the directors of the [[Manchester Athenaeum]]. In 1843 he wrote a pamphlet entitled "A Plea for Public Parks" and was involved in a committee which successfully sought the provision of parks in Manchester and Salford. He also took a prominent role in the Saturday Half-holiday Movement.<ref name="Lan"/> In 1845, Watkin co-founded the ''[[Manchester Examiner]]'',<ref>{{cite book |title=The Liberal Unionist Party: A History |first=Ian |last=Cawood |publisher=I. B. Tauris |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-84885-917-3 |pages=132–133 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hfiFOImjjN8C&pg=PA132}}</ref> by which time he had become a partner in his father's business.

== Railways ==
{{More citations needed|section|date=November 2022}}
[[File:Up freight near Braunston & Willoughby 2127110.jpg|thumb|Watkin's high-speed Great Central Main Line]]
Watkin began to show an interest in railways and in 1845 he took on the secretaryship of the [[Trent Valley Railway]], which was sold the following year to the [[London and North Western Railway]] (LNWR), for £438,000.{{sfn|Sutton|Bagwell|2004}} He then became assistant to [[Mark Huish|Captain Mark Huish]], general manager of the LNWR.<ref name="Lan">{{cite journal |title=In Memoriam - The Late Sir Edward Watkin |journal=Lancashire Faces & Places |date=May 1901 |volume=1 |issue=5 |pages=74–76}}</ref> He visited USA and Canada and in 1852 he published a book about the railways in these countries. Back in Great Britain he was appointed secretary of the proposed [[Worcester and Hereford Railway]].

In January 1854 he became the general manager of the [[Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway]] (MS&LR), a position held until 1861.<ref name="Lan"/>{{sfn|Sutton|Bagwell|2004}}  In 1863 he was persuaded to return as a director of the company and shortly afterward became chairman,<ref name="Lan"/> holding the position from 1864 to 1894. He was [[knight]]ed in 1868 and made a [[baronet]] in 1880.{{sfn|Sutton|Bagwell|2004}}

Manager from 1858, then president 1862–69, of the [[Grand Trunk Railway]] of eastern Canada, he promoted the [[Intercolonial Railway]], which eventually connected [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]] with the GTR system in [[Quebec]]. His grand vision was a transcontinental railway lying largely within Canada, but owing to the sparse population west of [[Lake Superior]], the scheme could not be profitable in the absence of government financial backing. Opposition to the idea within the company led to Watkin's ouster. The GTR would later miss various opportunities to build a viable [[National Transcontinental Railway#The Grand Trunk partnership|Canadian transcontinental railway]].{{sfn|MacKay|1986|pp=27, 29, 30, 40, 45 & 47}}

Abroad, he helped to build the [[Athens–Piraeus Electric Railways]], advised on the [[Indian Railways]] and organised transport in the [[Belgian Congo]].

Watkin was involved with other railway companies. In 1866 he became a director of the [[Great Western Railway]] and in January 1868 the [[Great Eastern Railway]]. In fact it was Watkin who recommended [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Robert Cecil]], who is credited with leading the GER out of its financial crisis. Watkin resigned as a director of the GER in August 1872.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ashton|first1=Geoff|title=The GER 1867–72|journal=Great Eastern Journal|date=October 2013|volume=156|page=43}}</ref>

By 1881 he was a director of nine railways and trustee of a tenth. These included the [[Cheshire Lines Committee]], the [[East London Line|East London]], the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire, the [[Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway|Manchester, South Junction & Altrincham]], the [[Metropolitan Railway|Metropolitan]], the [[Oldham, Ashton and Guide Bridge Railway|Oldham, Ashton & Guide Bridge]], the [[Sheffield and Midland Railway Companies' Committee|Sheffield & Midland Joint]], the [[South Eastern Railway (UK)|South Eastern]], the [[Wigan Junction Railways|Wigan Junction]] and the [[Erie Railroad|New York, Lake Erie and Western]] railways.

He was instrumental in the creation of the MS&LR's 'London Extension', Sheffield to Marylebone, the [[Great Central Main Line]], opened in 1899.{{sfn|Sutton|Bagwell|2004}}

=== Channel tunnel ===
For Watkin, opening an independent route to London was crucial for the long-term survival and development of the MS&LR, but it was also one part of a grander scheme: a line from Manchester to Paris.{{sfn|Sutton|Bagwell|2004}} His chairmanships of the [[South Eastern Railway (UK)|South Eastern Railway]], the Metropolitan Railway,{{sfn|Sutton|Bagwell|2004}} in addition to 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; he was also on the board of the [[Chemin de Fer du Nord]], a French railway company based in [[Calais]]. Watkin's ambitious plan was to develop a railway route which could carry passenger trains directly from [[Liverpool]] and Manchester to Paris, crossing from Britain to France via a tunnel under the English Channel.<ref name=Haywood>{{cite book|last=Haywood|first=Russell|title=Railways, Urban Development and Town Planning in Britain: 1948–2008|year=2012|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=9781409488255|page=22|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r8Q2spUijrgC&pg=PA21e}}</ref> The Great Central Railway's main line to London was also built to a comparatively generous [[structure gauge]], but contrary to popular belief it was not built to a 'continental' gauge, not least because there were no agreed dimensions for such a gauge until the [[Berne Gauge]] Convention was signed in 1912. Healy mentions two bridges which were built to "unusual dimensions ... to provide for possible widenings in case the Channel Tunnel project ever took off ..."{{sfn|Healy|1987|p=30}}

Watkin started his tunnel works with the [[South Eastern Railway (England)|South Eastern Railway]] in 1880–81. Digging began at [[Shakespeare Cliff Halt railway station|Shakespeare Cliff]] between [[Folkestone]] and [[Dover]] and reached a length of {{convert|2020|yd}}. The project was highly controversial and fears grew of the tunnel being used as a route for a possible French invasion of Great Britain; notable opponents of the project were the War Office Scientific Committee, [[Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley|Lord Wolseley]] and [[Prince George, Duke of Cambridge]];<ref name=Amkhan>{{cite book|last=Hadfield-Amkhan|first=Amelia|title=British foreign policy, national identity, and neoclassical realism|year=2010|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-44220-546-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eDYQ70KjPa8C&pg=PA67 |pages=67–72}}</ref>

[[Queen Victoria]] reportedly found the tunnel scheme "objectionable". Watkin was skilled at [[public relations]] and attempted to garner political support for his project, inviting such high-profile guests as the [[Edward VII|Prince]] and [[Alexandra of Denmark|Princess of Wales]], Liberal Party Leader [[William Ewart Gladstone|William Gladstone]] and the [[Archibald Tait|Archbishop of Canterbury]] to submarine champagne receptions in the tunnel.{{sfn|Goffin|2005|pp=23–25}} In spite of his attempts at winning support, his tunnel project was blocked by parliament, then cancelled in the interests of national security. The original entrance to Watkin's tunnel works remains in the cliff face but is now closed for safety reasons.<ref>{{Cite AV media | title=Channel Tunnel – Yes or No? | url=http://www.britishpathe.com/video/channel-tunnel-yes-or-no | access-date=6 September 2013 | publisher=British Pathé | date=1957 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite episode | title=Making Connections | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b038rj1b | series=Dreaming the Impossible: Unbuilt Britain | first=Olivia | last=Horsfall Turner | network=British Broadcasting Corporation | station=BBC Four | date=2013 }}</ref>

== Wembley Park and Watkin's Tower ==
[[File:Watkin tower first stage.jpg|thumb|The first and only completed stage of Watkin's Wembley Tower (c.1900)]]
Watkin's last project was the construction of a large iron tower, called [[Watkin's Tower]], in [[Wembley Park]], north-west London. The {{convert|1200|ft|adj=on}} tower was to be the centrepiece of a large public [[amusement park]] which he opened in May 1894 to attract London passengers onto his Metropolitan Railway. The park was served by [[Wembley Park tube station|Wembley Park station]], which officially opened in the same month, though it had in fact been open on Saturdays since October 1893 to cater for football matches in the pleasure gardens.

Watkin's vision of Wembley Park as a day-out destination for Londoners had far-reaching consequences, shaping the history and use of the area to the present day. Without Watkin's pleasure gardens and station it is unlikely that the [[British Empire Exhibition]] would have been held at Wembley, which in turn would have prevented Wembley becoming either synonymous with English football or a successful popular music venue. Without Watkin, it is likely that the district would have simply become inter-war semi-detached suburbia like the rest of west London.

The tower was intended to rival the [[Eiffel Tower]] in Paris.{{sfn|Goffin|2005|pp=23–25}} The foundations of the tower were laid in 1892, the first stage was completed in September 1895 and it was opened to the public in 1896.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=A History of Wembley|last=Hewlett|first=Geoffrey|publisher=Brent Library Service|year=1979|pages=170–1}}</ref>

After an initial burst of popularity, the tower failed to draw large crowds. Of the 100,000 visitors to the Park in 1896 rather less than a fifth paid to go up the Tower. Furthermore, the marshy site proved unsuitable for such a structure. Whether the original design (which was to have had eight legs) would have distributed the weight more evenly cannot be known, but by 1896 the four-legged tower was clearly tilting. In addition, Watkin had retired from the chairmanship of the Metropolitan in 1894 after suffering a stroke, so the tower's enthusiastic champion was gone. In June 1897 the tower was illuminated for [[Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria|Queen Victoria's 60th Jubilee]], but it was never extended beyond the first stage.

In 1902 the Tower, now known as ‘Watkin's Folly’, was declared unsafe (though this was because of concerns about the safety of the lifts, rather than directly about the subsidence) and closed to the public. In 1904 it was decided to demolish the structure, a process that ended with the foundations being destroyed by explosives in 1907, leaving four large holes in the ground.{{sfn|Goffin|2005|pp=23–25}}<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|title=Sir Edward Watkin 1819–1901 The Last of the Railway Kings|last=Greaves|first=John Neville|publisher=Melrose Books|year=2014|isbn=978-1909757325|page=203}}</ref>{{sfn|Hodgkins|2002|p=652}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Rowley|first=Trevor|title=The English landscape in the twentieth century|year=2006|publisher=Hambledon Continuum|isbn=978-1-85285-388-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/englishlandscape0000rowl/page/405 405–7]|url=https://archive.org/details/englishlandscape0000rowl/page/405}}</ref> The [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Empire Stadium]] (later known as Wembley Stadium) was built on the site in 1923.

== Political career ==
Throughout his life, Watkin was a strong supporter of [[Manchester Liberalism]]. This did not equate to consistent support for a single party. Watkin was first elected [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] Member of Parliament for [[Great Yarmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Great Yarmouth]] (1857–1858), and then [[Stockport (UK Parliament constituency)|Stockport]] (1864–1868). He unsuccessfully contested the [[East Cheshire (UK Parliament constituency)|East Cheshire]] seat in 1869. He was knighted in 1868 and became a [[baronet]] in 1880.<ref name="Lan"/> He was also [[High Sheriff of Cheshire]] in 1874.{{sfn|Sutton|Bagwell|2004}}

In 1874, he was elected Liberal MP for [[Hythe (UK Parliament constituency)|Hythe]] in Kent. He increasingly moved away from the Liberal party under [[William Ewart Gladstone]] and in 1880 it was claimed that he had taken the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] [[Whip (politics)|whip]].{{sfn|Hodgkins|2002|p=511}} He never stood for election as a Conservative and continued to sit with the Liberals. Between 1880 and 1886, he was regarded variously as a Liberal, a Conservative and an [[Independent politician|independent]].{{sfn|Hodgkins|2002|pp=512, 544-550}} In 1886, he voted against Gladstone's [[Irish Home Rule movement|Irish Home Rule]] bill and was thereafter commonly described as a [[Liberal Unionist Party|Liberal Unionist]].{{sfn|Hodgkins|2002|pp=551-552}}

The confusion over his status came to the fore when he resigned his Hythe seat in 1895. The Liberal Unionists and the Conservatives were in alliance and each claimed [[Incumbent|incumbency]] and the right to nominate his replacement. Watkin for his part insisted that he was a Liberal, albeit one who had moved away from the official party.{{sfn|Hodgkins|2002|pp=653-654}} The Conservative [[Aretas Akers-Douglas, 1st Viscount Chilston|Aretas Akers-Douglas]] commented that no one knew what his politics were, except that he had voted for anyone or anything to get support for his Channel Tunnel.{{sfn|Hodgkins|2002|p=653}} The Conservatives forced the Liberal Unionists to back down and won the seat in the [[1895 United Kingdom general election]].

== Personal life ==
[[File:Watkin grave, St Wilfrid’s 18 23 12 220000.jpeg|thumb|Edward Watkin's grave in [[Church of St Wilfrid, Northenden|St Wilfrid's churchyard, Northenden]]]]
Watkin lived at [[Rose Hill, Northenden|Rose Hill]], a large house in [[Northenden]], [[Manchester]]. The family home was purchased by his father in 1832 and Edward inherited it upon his father's death in 1861.<ref>{{cite web |title=Watkin Family |url=http://www.friendsofrosehill.org/the-watkin-family/ |website=Friends of Rose Hill |access-date=9 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303114208/http://www.friendsofrosehill.org/the-watkin-family/ |archive-date=3 March 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Watkin married Mary Briggs Mellor in 1845, with whom he had two children.{{sfn|Sutton|Bagwell|2004}} Their son, [[Alfred Mellor Watkin]], became locomotive superintendent of the South Eastern Railway in 1876<ref>{{cite web |url=https://steamindex.com/people/engrs.htm#watkinalfred |title=Brief Biographies of Major Mechanical Engineers |at=Watkin, Sir Alfred Mellor }}</ref> and Member of Parliament for the [[Great Grimsby (UK Parliament constituency)|Great Grimsby constituency]] in 1877.{{sfn|Sutton|Bagwell|2004}} A daughter, Harriette Sayer Watkin, was born in 1850.{{sfn|Hodgkins|2002|p=98}} Mary Watkin died on 8 March 1888.

After four years a widower, Watkin married Ann Ingram, widow of [[Herbert Ingram]], on 6 April 1892.{{sfn|Hodgkins|2002|p=622}}

Edward Watkin died on 13 April 1901 and was buried in the family grave in the churchyard of [[Church of St Wilfrid, Northenden|St Wilfrid's, Northenden]], where a memorial plaque commemorates his life.{{sfn|Scargill|2021|pp=171,122}}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
*{{cite book |last=Goffin |first=Magdalen |title=The Watkin path: an approach to belief |year=2005 |publisher=Sussex Academic Press |isbn=978-1-84519-128-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JYW-bhEiPCsC&pg=PA23 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Hartwell |first1=Clare |last2=Hyde |first2=Matthew |last3=Pevsner |first3=Nikolaus |author-link3=Nikolaus Pevsner |title=The Buildings of England: Lancashire: Manchester and the South East |year=2004 |publisher=Yale University Press }}
*{{cite book |last=Healy |first=John |year=1987 |title=Echoes of the Great Central |publisher=Greenwich Editions |isbn=0-86288-076-9 }}
*{{cite book |title=The Second Railway King – The Life and Times of Sir Edward Watkin 1819–1901 |first=David |last=Hodgkins |publisher=Merton Priory Press |isbn=1-898937-49-4| year=2002 }}
*{{cite ODNB |title=Watkin, Sir Edward William, first baronet (1819–1901), railway promoter |first1=C. W. |last1=Sutton |first2=P. S. |last2=Bagwell |author-link=Philip Bagwell |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/36762 |year=2004 }}
*{{cite book |last=MacKay |first=Donald |title=The Asian Dream: The Pacific Rim and Canada's National Railway |url=https://archive.org/details/asiandreampacifi0000mack |url-access=registration |year=1986 |publisher=Douglas & McIntyre |isbn=0-88894-501-9}}
*{{cite book |last1=Scargill |first1=Geoff |title=Victoria's Railway King: Sir Edward Watkin, One of the Victorian Era's Greatest Entrepreneurs and Visionaries |date=30 May 2021 |publisher=Frontline Books |isbn=978-1-5267-9280-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2eclEAAAQBAJ |access-date=9 October 2021 |language=en}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last=Dyckhoff |first=Nigel |title=Portrait of the Cheshire Lines Committee |publisher=Ian Allan |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-7110-2521-9}}
*{{cite news |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/southmanchesterreporter/news/s/366967_the_nearly_man_of_northenden |title=The nearly man of Northenden |first=Kirsty |last=Elleray |date=4 December 2002 |work=The South Manchester Reporter |access-date=13 March 2012 |archive-date=12 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112162401/http://menmedia.co.uk/southmanchesterreporter/news/s/366967_the_nearly_man_of_northenden |url-status=dead }}
*{{cite journal |url=http://www.liberalhistory.org.uk/uploads/55_Greaves_Watkin.pdf |title=Sir Edward Watkin and the Liberal cause in the Nineteenth Century |first=John |last=Greaves |journal=Journal of Liberal History |date=Summer 2007 |pages=25–27 |issue=55}}{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Edward William Watkin|Edward Watkin}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=2231}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Edward William Watkin}}
* {{Hansard-contribs | sir-edward-watkin | Edward Watkin }}

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{{s-par|uk}}
{{succession box
| title=Member of Parliament for [[Great Yarmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Great Yarmouth]]
| with=[[William Torrens McCullagh]]
| years=[[1857 United Kingdom general election|1857]] – August 1857
| before=[[Charles Edmund Rumbold]] <br /> [[Sir Edmund Lacon, 3rd Baronet|Sir Edmund Lacon]]
| after=[[Adolphus William Young]] <br /> [[John Mellor (judge)|John Mellor]]
}}
{{succession box
| title=Member of Parliament for [[Stockport (UK Parliament constituency)|Stockport]]
| with=[[John Benjamin Smith]]
| years=1864–[[1868 United Kingdom general election|1868]]
| before=[[James Kershaw]] <br /> [[John Benjamin Smith]]
| after=[[William Tipping]] <br /> [[John Benjamin Smith]]
}}
{{succession box
| title=Member of Parliament for [[Hythe (UK Parliament constituency)|Hythe]]
| years=[[1874 United Kingdom general election|1874]]–[[1895 United Kingdom general election|1895]]
| before=[[Mayer Amschel de Rothschild|Baron Amschel de Rothschild]]
| after=[[James Bevan Edwards|Sir James Bevan Edwards]]
}}
{{s-reg|uk-bt}}
{{s-new}}
{{s-ttl
| title=[[Watkin Baronets|Baronet]] <br /> '''(of Rose Hill)'''
| years=1880–1901
}}
{{s-aft | after=[[Alfred Mellor Watkin]] }}
{{S-end}}
{{portal bar|United Kingdom|Biography}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkin, Edward}}
[[Category:Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:People associated with transport in London]]
[[Category:1819 births]]
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[[Category:Watkin baronets|1]]
[[Category:Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1857–1859]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1859–1865]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1865–1868]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1874–1880]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1880–1885]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1885–1886]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1886–1892]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1892–1895]]
[[Category:Channel Tunnel]]
[[Category:Great Central Railway people]]
[[Category:South Eastern and Chatham Railway people]]
[[Category:Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway]]
[[Category:High sheriffs of Cheshire]]
[[Category:Politics of the Borough of Great Yarmouth]]
[[Category:Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:Directors of the Great Eastern Railway]]
[[Category:19th-century business executives in rail transport]]
[[Category:British railway entrepreneurs]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Stockport]]
[[Category:19th-century British businesspeople]]