Charles Scott Meik (1853 - 5 July 1923) was an English

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

and

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

, and part of a minor engineering dynasty. His father

Thomas Meik Thomas Meik ( – )Thomas Meik
''Grace's Guide''. Retrieved: 8 October 2015. was a 19th-century Scottish eng ...

was also a civil engineer, as was Charles' brother Patrick Meik; collectively, they established a company which became one of the UK's major engineering consultancies.

Early career

Both brothers were born in Crow Tree Road,

Bishopwearmouth Bishopwearmouth is a former village and parish which now constitutes the west side of Sunderland City Centre, merging with the settlement as it expanded outwards in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is home to the Sunderland Minster church, which ...

. For three years from 1870, Charles Meik was an apprentice at

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

-based Hawthorne & Co, after which he spent two years in Sir William Armstrong's Elswick engine works. After three years (1875-1878) working for the borough engineer of Hull on riverside improvements, he became assistant to Sir

Thomas Bouch Sir Thomas Bouch (; 25 February 1822 – 30 October 1880) was a British railway engineer. He was born in Thursby, near Carlisle, Cumberland, and lived in Edinburgh. As manager of the Edinburgh and Northern Railway he introduced the first roll ...

. However, Bouch's career was finished by the

Tay Bridge disaster The Tay Bridge disaster occurred during a violent storm on Sunday 28 December 1879, when the first Tay Rail Bridge collapsed as a North British Railway (NBR) passenger train on the Edinburgh to Aberdeen Line from Burntisland bound for its final ...

on 28 December 1879 in east Scotland when the 13 high girders forming the central part of the bridge crashed into the river carrying a train and 75 men, women and children with it. In 1881 Charles Meik entered the office of Thomas Meik and Sons, as chief assistant, and was taken into partnership in 1882, working on the design and construction of dock and harbour works until 1887. He then went to Japan and worked as Chief Engineer of Harbours and Rivers for the Japanese government, returning to work in London with his brother Patrick in 1894.

PW & CS Meik

After Thomas Meik retired in 1888, his firm (renamed Thomas Meik & sons) had passed into the hands of his sons, and in 1896, it was renamed PW Meik and CS Meik. Charles then assisted Patrick on the firm's first venture into Wales, a massive commission to construct docks and a railway at

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...

for the

Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company The Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company (PTR&D) was formed in 1894 to secure the means of bringing minerals, chiefly coal, to the harbour in South Wales. It took over the docks at Port Talbot that had been operated by the Port Talbot Company. I ...

, followed by an equally ambitious scheme to expand the port of

Seaham Seaham is a seaside town in County Durham, England. Located on the Durham Coast, Seaham is situated south of Sunderland and east of Durham. The town grew from the late 19th century onwards as a result of investments in its harbour and ...

, officially opened in 1905. The Meiks' expertise saw port and railway designs developed in many parts of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

, including

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...

, India,

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. The firm was then commissioned to design the

Kinlochleven Kinlochleven () ( gd, Ceann Loch Lìobhann) is a village located in Lochaber, in the Scottish Highlands and lies at the eastern end of Loch Leven. To the north lie the Mamores ridge; to the south lie the mountains flanking Glen Coe. The village ...

hydroelectric scheme in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

. This was a huge undertaking at the time and it was to lead to an even greater hydroelectric project, the

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creatio ...

Water Power Scheme. Meik died before construction started, leaving the project's completion in the hands of

William Halcrow Sir William Halcrow (4 July 1883Application for election to AMICE 9 October 1908 – 31 October 1958) was one of the most notable English civil engineers of the 20th century, particularly renowned for his expertise in the design of tunnels and ...

(the firm name later changed to CS Meik and Halcrow, and later traded as the

Halcrow Group Halcrow Group Limited was a multinational engineering consultancy company, based in the United Kingdom Halcrow was one of the UK's largest consultancies, with origins stretching back to 1868. The UK-based consultancy specialised in the provision ...

). Meik is remembered on the family memorial in

Duddingston Duddingston ( sco, Duddiston) is a historic village in the east of Edinburgh, Scotland, next to Holyrood Park. Origins and etymology The estate wherein Duddingston Village now lies was first recorded in lands granted to the Tironensian monks ...

Kirkyard.Charles Scott Meik: 1853 - 1923
Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved: 8 October 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meik, Charles 1923 deaths English civil engineers People from Sunderland Engineers from Tyne and Wear 1853 births