Charles John Mare (1815 – 8 February 1898) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician, and shipbuilder.

Family

In 1844, Mare married Mary ńee Rolt, daughter of Conservative MP for

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

(1852–1857)

Peter Rolt Peter Rolt (1798 – 3 September 1882) was a British businessman and Conservative Party politician. The son of John David Rolt of and his wife Sophia ''née'' Butt, he was born in Deptford. Both of his grandfathers held senior positions in the t ...

, and they had at least two sons, Charles J. and John.

Shipbuilding

Born in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, Mare travelled to London where he started training to be a solicitor in

Doctors' Commons Doctors' Commons, also called the College of Civilians, was a society of lawyers practising civil (as opposed to common) law in London, namely ecclesiastical and admiralty law. Like the Inns of Court of the common lawyers, the society had buildi ...

but, upon his father's death in 1835, he leased the family home in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

to form shipbuilding firm Ditchburn and Mare with Thomas J. Ditchburn on the Thames. They established a yard at Dudman's Creek,

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...

where they started building iron ships. In 1838, their yard was completely destroyed by fire. It was suspected arson by rival wooden shipbuilders. They moved the business to the

Orchard House Yard Orchard House Yard (known as Orchard Yard and Hercules Wharf) was an English shipbuilding yard located at Leamouth, on the River Lea at Bow Creek . Forming part of the Orchard House estate, a number of shipbuilders occupied the site over time: ...

, Canning Town, taking over the premises of the recently bankrupt firm of William and Benjamin Wallis. After Ditchburn's retirement in 1846, Mare continued to run the firm, and expanded the company on the west side of Bow Creek, before dissolving the partnership in 1847. The following year, he was accused in court of threatening Ditchburn but the accusations also went the other way and the case was dismissed. In 1855, Mare found himself in financial difficulties due to several government contracts. It culminated in Mare declaring insolvency, Mare's father-in-law took over the firm and renamed it Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Co. Following the bankruptcy, Mare managed the shipbuilding company belonging to W. & H. Pitcher at

Northfleet Northfleet is a town in the borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. It is located immediately west of Gravesend, and on the border with the Borough of Dartford. Northfleet has its own railway station on the North Kent Line, just east of Ebbsfl ...

until it also failed in 1857. By 1859 he had found sufficient backing to re-establish himself, this time as C.J. Mare and Co, Millwall.Arnold, AJ, 2000, Iron Shipbuilding on the Thames 1832-1915, Ashgate, Aldershot, p85 Mare's business expanded and, in 1861 he took over the part of Napier's yard which

John Scott Russell John Scott Russell FRSE FRS FRSA (9 May 1808, Parkhead, Glasgow – 8 June 1882, Ventnor, Isle of Wight) was a Scottish civil engineer, naval architect and shipbuilder who built '' Great Eastern'' in collaboration with Isambard Kingdom Brunel. ...

had unsuccessfully used to attempt to re-establish his own shipbuilding enterprise. It remained in Mare's name until being bought out by

Overend, Gurney and Company Overend, Gurney & Company was a London wholesale discount bank, known as "the bankers' bank", which collapsed in 1866 owing about £11 million, equivalent to £ million in . The collapse of the institution triggered a banking panic. History Ear ...

in 1862. Subsequently he did not thrive financially, was bankrupted again in 1874 and died destitute in Stepney.

Political career

Mare was first elected Conservative MP for

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...

, but was the next year unseated for bribery and corruption during the election campaign.

References

External links

* Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1852–1857 1815 births 1898 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Plymouth {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1810s-stub