George Croydon Marks, 1st Baron Marks,
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(9 June 1858 – 24 September 1938), known as Sir George Marks between 1911 and 1929, was an English engineer, patent agent and
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
(later
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
) politician.
Background and education
Marks was born in
Eltham
Eltham ( ) is a district of southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three wards of E ...
in Kent, the eldest of eight children of William Marks and Amelia Adelaide Croydon, of whom only four survived childhood. After attending a local private school, at age 13 he became apprenticed at the
Royal Arsenal,
Woolwich
Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...
, where his father William was a
foreman
__NOTOC__
A foreman, forewoman or foreperson is a supervisor, often in a manual trade or industry.
Foreman may specifically refer to:
*Construction foreman, the worker or tradesman who is in charge of a construction crew
* Jury foreman, a head j ...
, and continued his general education part-time at the
Royal Arsenal School. At 17, he won a
Whitworth Exhibition for two years at
King's College, University of London.
Business career
Noted by many as a disciple of
Brunel, he joined
Sir Richard Tangye's company, whose works were closely associated with
funicular lifts. Marks was appointed head of the lift department, in which role he was in charge of the installation of the
Saltburn Cliff Lift
The Saltburn Cliff Lift is a funicular railway in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Redcar and Cleveland in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It provides access to Saltburn Pier and the seafront from the town. The cliff lift is the oldest op ...
.
[ 1880, he set up a private practice in ]Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
and married Margaret Maynard;[ they never had any children. In 1887 he formed a partnership with ]Dugald Clerk
Sir Dugald Clerk (sometimes written as Dugald Clark) KBE, LLD FRS (1854, Glasgow – 1932, Ewhurst, Surrey) was a Scottish engineer who designed the world's first successful two-stroke engine
in 1878 and patented it in England in 1881. He wa ...
, forming the international intellectual property firm Marks & Clerk
Marks & Clerk is an international group of intellectual property service providers, encompassing patent attorneys, trade mark attorneys, lawyers and consultants. Including partners, it currently employs over 300 legal practitioners worldwide and ...
, which now operates in 18 countries worldwide. The firm became big enough to move its headquarters to London in 1893, with branches in Birmingham and Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. Developing a number of cliff railways and steep-incline tramcar systems, including the Matlock Cable Tramway
Matlock Cable Tramway was a cable tramway that served the town of Matlock, Derbyshire, UK between 28 March 1893 and 30 September 1927.
History
The principal purpose was to serve the Hydro Spa Hotels, bringing customers from the railway statio ...
in 1893, the Swansea Constitution Hill Incline Railway
The Swansea Constitution Hill Incline Tramway operated a cable funicular tramway service on Constitution Hill in Swansea between 1898 and 1901.
History
The Swansea Constitution Hill Incline Tramway Company developed this tramway with consultin ...
in 1896–8, commissions included the design of the new Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
pavilion at the Royal Pier and the Cambrian Hotel (later the United Theological College), both in Aberystwyth. He was also responsible for the Bridgnorth Castle Hill Railway in Shropshire, begun in 1891. The company, which still operates the railway today, was founded by Marks, who became its first managing director from 1891 until 1901. He was also the founder of the patent attorneys Marks & Clerk, who continue to trade.
Marks continued his engineering practice alongside his patent interests. This included a partnership from 1890 with Sir George Newnes
Sir George Newnes, 1st Baronet (13 March 1851 – 9 June 1910) was a British publisher and editor and a founding figure in popular journalism. Newnes also served as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament for two decades. His company, George Newnes ...
, which also concentrated on cliff railways, including an early stage development of Babbacombe Cliff Railway. In 1911 he set up an office in New York in conjunction with Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...
.[
Marks was a member of the ]Institution of Mechanical Engineers
The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 member ...
and an Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers
The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...
.
Political career
In 1906, Marks was elected as Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) for the North-Eastern or Launceston Division of Cornwall in the Liberal landslide general election victory.
He received a knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...
in 1911, served at the Ministry of Munitions
The Minister of Munitions was a British government position created during the First World War to oversee and co-ordinate the production and distribution of munitions for the war effort. The position was created in response to the Shell Crisis o ...
during the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and was awarded the CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
for work as a commissioner for the dilution of labour in 1917. He held his Parliamentary seat until it was abolished at the 1918 general election, when he was returned for the new Northern Division of Cornwall. He held that seat until his defeat at the 1924 general election.
In 1929, he left the Liberals and joined Ramsay MacDonald's Labour Party. His almost immediate reward came when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Marks, of Woolwich
Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained thr ...
in the County of Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...
on 16 July 1929.
Death
Marks continued his engineering and business activities and died at his home in Poole, Dorset in September 1938, aged 80. As he had no children, his peerage died with him.
Awards and memberships
*Member, Institution of Mechanical Engineers
*Associate Member, Institution of Civil Engineers, and Telford Premium Award, 1893-4
*Knight of the Ducal Order of Ernest (Hungary), 1896
*Knight Bachelor at the Coronation of George V, 1910
*Commander, Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.), 1917
*1st Baron Marks, of Woolwich, 16 July 1929
References
External links
*
George Croydon Marks @ ''The Peerage''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Croydon
People from Eltham
Alumni of King's College London
English engineers
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1906–1910
UK MPs 1910
UK MPs 1910–1918
UK MPs 1918–1922
UK MPs 1922–1923
UK MPs 1923–1924
UK MPs who were granted peerages
Labour Party (UK) hereditary peers
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
English knights
Works by George Croydon Marks
1858 births
1938 deaths
National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) politicians
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Launceston
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for North Cornwall
Barons created by George V