Charles Mitchell (1820 – 22 August 1895) was a Scottish engineer from

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

who founded major shipbuilding yards on the Tyne. He became a public benefactor who funded notable buildings that still survive today.

Career

He attended Aberdeen University. After an

engineering apprentice An engineering apprenticeship in the United Kingdom is an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering or aeronautical engineering to train craftsmen, technicians, senior technicians, Incorporated Engineers and Chartered Engine ...

ship in London, he became a ship designer working for John Coutts'

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

yard in 1842. He became a shipbuilder in his own right at the Low Walker yard on the Tyne in 1852. The cable ship ''Hooper'', second in size only to SS ''Great Eastern'' and the first ship designed specifically to lay trans-Atlantic cable, was launched for

Hooper's Telegraph Works The Hooper's Telegraph Works Ltd was established by William Hooper in 1870 to manufacture and lay submarine communications cable using his patented vulcanized rubber core. Before the company was formed to produce finished submarine cable Hooper h ...

at the yard on 29 March 1873 after four and a half months construction. That shipyard joined in partnership with the Armstrong yard to form

Armstrong Mitchell Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and ...

in 1882. He was decorated with the Imperial Order of St Stanislaus, 2nd class (normal for foreign nationals), which may be seen in the coat of arms over the door of Jesmond Towers. Jesmond Towers, until 2008 the

La Sagesse School La Sagesse School was a 3–18, Roman Catholic, private school for girls in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. It was established in 1906 and closed in 2008. It occupied Jesmond Towers, a Grade II* listed building and was loca ...

, is a

gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

building that was built in several stages in the nineteenth century. The main work is by the Newcastle architect John Dobson. In 1871, Mitchell was among those greeting the High Admiral, Grand Duke Konstantin at

Newcastle Central station Newcastle Central Station (also known simply as Newcastle and locally as Central Station) is a major railway station in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the East Coast Main Line, around north of . It is the primary national rail station ...

, after which the party drove on to Jesmond Towers. The Russian guests had come to visit the Low Walker yard and have a quick tour of the river. In 1887 Mitchell commissioned the

art nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

church of St George,

Jesmond Jesmond is a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, situated to the east of the Town Moor. Jesmond is considered to be one of the most affluent suburbs of Newcastle upon Tyne, with higher average house prices than most other areas of the city. H ...

from Thomas Ralph Spence (1845–1918), secretary of the Newcastle Arts Association. The building is tall and dramatic inside and of excellent workmanship throughout (commented upon by

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

on his visit in the 1890s). The stained glass is especially fine, and the mosaic figures were designed by Mitchell's own son, C.W. Mitchell. The Lewis organ was originally provided with air by two powerful hydraulic engines supplied by Mitchell's neighbour in Jesmond Dene, Baron Armstrong. In

he gave the land from the Jesmond Towers estate and £30,000 for the construction of the ''art nouveau'' St George's church (1888). Until his death at the age of 75 he directed the shipbuilding activities of Sir W.G. Armstrong, Mitchell and Co. In 1897, after he died, the firm became

Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and a ...

which is now part of

Rolls-Royce plc Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a British multinational aerospace and defence company incorporated in February 2011. The company owns Rolls-Royce, a business established in 1904 which today designs, manufactures and distributes power systems for ...

and

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...

References

Sources

*Obituary in ''The Times'', Monday, 26 Aug 1895; pg. 7
Swan Hunter History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Charles 1820 births 1895 deaths People from Aberdeen Scottish shipbuilders Alumni of the University of Aberdeen 19th-century Scottish businesspeople