John Clerk of Eldin
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

John Clerk of Eldin FRSE FSAScot (10 December 1728 – 10 May 1812) was a Scottish merchant, naval author, artist, geologist and landowner. The 7th son of Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, Bt, Clerk of Eldin was a figure in the Scottish Enlightenment, best remembered for his influential writings on
naval tactics in the Age of Sail Sailing ship tactics were the naval tactics employed by sailing ships in contrast to galley tactics employed by oared vessels. This article focuses on the period from c. 1500 to the mid-19th century, when sailing warships were replaced with steam ...
. A friend of geologist James Hutton, he was a brother-in-law of architect
Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...
, and a great-great-uncle of physicist
James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish mathematician and scientist responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism and li ...
.


Biography

John's father, John Clerk, 2nd Baronet of Penicuik was a judge and political figure of some importance who took part in the negotiations leading up to the Acts of Union 1707. Young John attended Dalkeith Grammar School where he was reputed to have been a keen scholar, and was enrolled at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
to study medicine, (his father had marked him to becoming a "top chyrugeon") but abandoned his studies and entered into business. Clerk made his fortune as a merchant (he is understood to have been a clothier) and manager of a coal mine, and in 1763 he was able to buy himself the property of Eldin, in
Lasswade Lasswade is a village and civil parish in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River North Esk, nine miles (14.5 kilometres) south of Edinburgh city centre, contiguous with Bonnyrigg and between Dalkeith to the east and Loanhead to the west. Melvil ...
, near
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
. There, he devoted himself to science and art. In 1753, having been a constant visitor of the Adam family, and being a close friend to the renowned architect
Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...
, he married Susannah Adam, Robert's younger sister by whom he had seven children, all who died unmarried. In 1783 he was a founder member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. By 1793, Clerk had retired, but still moved between Eldin and Edinburgh, having bought a house on Princes Street in 1788, overlooking the castle. A typical Enlightenment figure, he was a man of many interests, including geology, architecture, and art. He conducted several geological surveys with his friend James Hutton in the 1780s as background preparation to providing the illustrations for Hutton's renowned book ''
Theory of the Earth ''Theory of the Earth'' was a publication by James Hutton which laid the foundations for geology. In it he showed that the Earth is the product of natural forces. What could be seen happening today, over long periods of time, could produce what ...
'', and accompanied
Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...
on sketching tours. He died peacefully at Eldin on 10 May 1812, surrounded by his family.


Work in Naval Tactics

From an early age, Clerk had been interested in shipping, and had cultivated contacts among owners, sailors, and others involved in seafaring. He made the acquaintance of engineer and sometime
naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture occupations Design occupations Occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role ...
Patrick Miller of Dalswinton, who encouraged Clerk's interest in nautical matters. In about 1770, a former
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
officer, Commissioner Edgar, took up retirement in the village of Eldin where Clerk lived. Inevitably he met Clerk, and shared stories of his experiences at sea. He had served under Admiral
John Byng Admiral John Byng (baptised 29 October 1704 – 14 March 1757) was a British Royal Navy officer who was court-martialled and executed by firing squad. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen, he participated at the Battle of Cape Pass ...
, and was a friend of Admiral
Edward Boscawen Admiral of the Blue Edward Boscawen, PC (19 August 171110 January 1761) was a British admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall, England. He is known principally for his various naval commands during ...
. Edgar appears to have taken a keen interest in naval tactics, and was the key source for Clerk of Eldin's writings. As well as relying on Edgar's personal experience and knowledge, Clerk began to research naval tactics through the memoirs of former officers and campaigns, such as the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
operations during the
War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's ...
by Admiral
Thomas Mathews Thomas Mathews (October 16762 October 1751) was a British officer of the Royal Navy, who rose to the rank of admiral. Mathews joined the navy in 1690 and saw service on a number of ships, including during the Nine Years' War and the War of the ...
in 1744, and also more recent events, such as the Battle of Ushant, which led to a court case between Admirals Augustus Keppel and
Hugh Palliser Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser, 1st Baronet (26 February 1723 – 19 March 1796) was a Royal Navy officer. As captain of the 58-gun HMS ''Eagle'' he engaged and defeated the French 50-gun ''Duc d'Aquitain'' off Ushant in May 1757 during the Seven Y ...
. The unexpected British defeat at the
Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American Revolutionary War that took place near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 17 ...
may have been the event that led to Clerk moving on from studying tactics, to theorising and writing about them. In doing so, he broke new ground in English naval tactics. While technical manuals, notably signalling books and the various ''Fighting Instructions'', had been published before, no study of naval tactics had been written in English. The earlier 1762 work of Christopher O'Bryen, which is sometimes advanced as such, was merely an abridgement and translation of the late 17th century works of the French writer Father Paul Hoste, and of the same genre as the ''Fighting Instructions''. In his ''Essay on Naval Tactics'' (1779, published 1790), Clerk expounded on the tactic known as "cutting the line". This involved sailing into the enemy's line of ships, and attacking the rear ships of the enemy's line with the whole force of the attacking fleet. Horatio Nelson used several sentences from Clerk's work in his orders to the British fleet before the
Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...
.


Etchings

John Clerk of Eldin learned to draw from an early age. It was in his father, Sir John Clerk of Penicuik's opinion that "I recommend to all young lads of this family to lairn to draw or design as the best means of advancing their fortunes, for they can neither be good sojars nor first seamen if they know not how to design a Country, a Town, a House, and especially a fortified Town or Castle." Clerk and his friend Robert Adam were wont to go out drawing together, and were joined in the late 1740s, by the younger
Paul Sandby Paul Sandby (1731 – 7 November 1809) was an English map-maker turned landscape painter in watercolours, who, along with his older brother Thomas, became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768. Life and work Sandby was ...
, the later, well-known English draughtsman, who was in Scotland under the Board of Ordnance Survey from 1746 to 1751. The earliest known drawings belong to around 1750. Given the friendship between the three men it is no surprise to find a similarity in their drawing style at that time. Clerk was fundamentally a topographical artist, his landscapes often than not being centred on a particular historical building. Although Clerk would have known Sandby's own etchings, Clerk himself does not mention any teachers and so we must consider him as self-taught. Nonetheless Clerk would have been acquainted with engravers in Edinburgh if he sought advice. One name is Andrew Bell (1726-1810) who had been an apprentice engraver with Richard Cooper the Elder (1701-1764) between 1741 and 1748. Cooper's workshop had a high reputation and would have been a clear choice for anyone wishing to learn printmaking. Cooper received work from both Sir John Clerk of Penicuik and William Adam, placing him centrally within the Clerk/Adam circle. Clerk's early career was seemingly haphazard, a trial and error education. Overall, Clerk of Eldin went on to produce over one hundred and ten etchings, from the first impressions from around 1770, to the last in 1778. It is difficult to say exactly when he started etching; he states himself to have commenced at age forty five, that is in 1773, but as dated works of 1772 survive, this is unlikely. The standard even in 1772 is too high for a complete beginner. Clerk made sets of etchings which he sold, at a time well before any concept of formal editions. He printed up to order though he was to pass this burden to Thomas Philipe "Printseller at his shop, second door of the Bull turnpike, opposite the Tron Church, Edinburgh" who also made up the sets. His images, handled in a style that owed much to European master printers, capture the castles and ruins of Scotland in a fine picturesque manner. They are quite charming and of a surprisingly high quality for an amateur printmaker. On his death, the collection of prints and plates were retained by his family, and in 1825, with the help of his son
John Clerk, Lord Eldin John Clerk, Lord Eldin FRSE FSA (1757– 30 May1832) was a Scottish judge based in Edinburgh. Life He was the eldest son of Susannah Adam, the sister of John Adam and Robert Adam, and John Clerk of Eldin. He was born in April 1757 in Edinburgh ...
, the
Bannatyne Club The Bannatyne Club, named in honour of George Bannatyne and his famous anthology of Scots literature the Bannatyne Manuscript, was a text publication society founded by Sir Walter Scott to print rare works of Scottish interest, whether in history ...
of Edinburgh issued a volume of etching called 'Etchings, Chiefly Views of Scotland by John Clerk of Eldin'. This publication contained twenty-six views. In 1855, the Bannatyne Club published another issue, this time with seventy-six etchings, as additional plates had been discovered at Eldin. It is understood that The Bannatyne Club then destroyed the plates, their quality having seriously deteriorated.


Legacy

In ''
Guy Mannering ''Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer'' is the second of the Waverley novels by Walter Scott, published anonymously in 1815. According to an introduction that Scott wrote in 1829, he had originally intended to write a story of the supernatural, ...
'',
Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...
described Clerk of Eldin in the following manner:
You who are a worshipper of originality should come a pilgrimage to Edinburgh to see this remarkable man. The table at which he sits is covered with a miscellaneous collection of all sorts — paints and
crayons A crayon (or wax pastel) is a stick of pigmented wax used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from pastels, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry binder such as gum arabic, and from oil pastels, where the binder is a mixture of wax a ...
, clay models, books, letters, instruments, specimens of mineralogy of all sorts, vials and chemical liquors for experiments, plans of battles ancient and modern, models of new mechanical engines, maps, sheets of music – in short an emblematical chaos of literature and science.


References

* Depeyre, Michel, ''Entre vent et eau: un siècle d'hésitations tactiques et stratégiques, 1790–1890.'' Paris: Editions Economica/Institut de Stratégie Comparée, 2003. * Depeyre, Michel, ''Tactiques et stratégie navales de la France et du Royaume-Uni de 1690 à 1815.'' Paris: Editions Economica/Institut de Stratégie Comparée, 1998. * Lambert, Andrew, ''The Last Sailing Battlefleet: Maintaining Naval Mastery, 1815–1850.'' London: Conway Maritime, 1991. * Bertram, Geoffrey, 'The Etchings of John Clerk of Eldin.' Enterprise Editions, Taunton, 2012.


External links


The James Clerk Maxwell Foundation siteThe Etchings of John Clerk of Eldin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clerk of Eldin, John 1728 births 1812 deaths People from Midlothian Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Members of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh Founder Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scottish naval historians Scottish merchants Scottish artists Scottish geologists Scottish landowners Scottish antiquarians Younger sons of baronets