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 Elt ...

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 throu ...

, 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 and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

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 Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

. 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 __NOTOC__ Babbacombe Cliff Railway, also known as the Babbacombe Cliff Lift, is a funicular railway in the town of Torquay in the English county of Devon. It links Babbacombe Downs with Oddicombe Beach. The line runs every day, with a closure ...

. 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 inventio ...

. 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 of ...

(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 Gr ...

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

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 A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

as Baron Marks, of

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 Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

, 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