Captain Mark Huish (9 March 1808 – 18 January 1867) was an English railway manager. He is best known for his term as General Manager of the

London & North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

, a position he held for 12 years, beginning from the Company's formation in 1846.

Early life

Huish was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

on 9 March 1808, the son of Mark Huish and Elizabeth Gainsford. He was baptised in High Pavement Presbyterian Church on 6 April 1808. His father, Mark Huish (1 March 1776 – 14 January 1833) was a deputy-lieutenant for Nottinghamshire. His mother, Elizabeth Gainsford (d. 1824), was the daughter of John Gainsford of

Worksop Worksop ( ) is a market town in the Bassetlaw District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located east-south-east of Sheffield, close to Nottinghamshire's borders with South Yorkshire and Derbyshire, on the River Ryton and not far from the nor ...

. They married on 5 August 1799.

Military career

At age 16 he was sent to India to enter the service of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

, where he joined the 67th regiment

Bengal Native Infantry The regiments of Bengal Native Infantry, alongside the regiments of Bengal European Infantry, were the regular infantry components of the East India Company's Bengal Army from the raising of the first Native battalion in 1757 to the passing int ...

as an Ensign. Huish rose through the ranks and by 1834, at the age of 26, he became entitled to a 3-year leave which allowed him to return to England. While he was in England his promotion to captain was gazetted. For the rest of his life he always styled himself Captain Mark Huish.

Business career

At this time Huish had to make a choice: either to return to India at the end of the leave, which would have committed him to a long period without the prospect of returning home, or to look for employment in another sphere. He had become interested in the possibility of working in railway management and applied for the position of Secretary to the newly formed

Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway The Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway (GP&GR) was an early Scottish railway, opened in 1841, providing train services between Greenock and Glasgow. At the time the River Clyde was not accessible to sea-going ships, and the intention was to c ...

. Huish was selected from amongst the more than 60 applicants and he began work in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

on 24 November 1837. He remained with the company until 7 July 1841 when he resigned on being offered the job of Secretary to the

Grand Junction Railway The Grand Junction Railway (GJR) was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was amalgamated with other railways to form the London and North Western Railway. The line built by the company w ...

company, a significant promotion. The Grand Junction Railway merged with the

London and Birmingham Railway The London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom, in operation from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway (L&NWR). The railway line which the company opened in 1838, betw ...

and the

Manchester and Birmingham Railway The Manchester and Birmingham Railway was built between Manchester and Crewe and opened in stages from 1840. Between Crewe and Birmingham, trains were worked by the Grand Junction Railway. The M&BR was merged into the London and North Western ...

to become the

. In October 1846 the Directors of the combined company appointed Huish General Manager at a salary of £2,000 p.a.(), This was an incredibly high salary for the time. In 1851-52 a paper on 'Railway Accidents' submitted to the Institution of Civil Engineers was awarded the

Telford Medal The Telford Medal is a prize awarded by the British Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) for a paper or series of papers. It was introduced in 1835 following a bequest made by Thomas Telford, the ICE's first president. It can be awarded in gold ...

in silver. Huish exerted a strong influence over the development of the Company, and he was responsible for several important developments in railway management and accounting practice which were taken up by other companies. However, his bullying style and arrogance meant that he made enemies. This management style coupled with increasingly difficult trading conditions brought about Huish's downfall. By 1858 his position had become untenable, and he resigned his situation with the London & North Western. Despite all he had done for the Company, and his contribution was certainly considerable, he received a pay-off of just 18 months salary, and a free pass for life. Significantly, he did not get a pension.

After the London & North Western

In 1859 Huish was appointed deputy chairman of the

London Pneumatic Despatch Company The London Pneumatic Despatch Company (also known as the London Pneumatic Dispatch Company) was formed on 30 June 1859, to design, build and operate an underground railway system for the carrying of mail, parcels and light freight between locati ...

. Huish was also a director of the Isle of Wight Railway Company which was authorised in 1860 and which opened in 1864. By this time Huish was living in

Bonchurch Bonchurch is a small village to the east of Ventnor, now largely connected to the latter by suburban development, on the southern part of the Isle of Wight, England. One of the oldest settlements on the Isle of Wight, it is situated on Undercliff ...

in the South East of the Island. Huish died on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

on 18 January 1867 at the age of 58. Huish's wife Margaret commissioned a memorial grotto to her husband which was constructed at eastern end of Bonchurch Pond, Bonchurch, Isle of Wight. The inscription records that following a successful business career he retired to the Island and "in Mitchell Avenue, opposite the bowling green he built several houses. He also initiated the local geological collection."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huish, Mark People from Nottingham 1808 births 1867 deaths British East India Company Army soldiers 19th-century British businesspeople Military personnel from Nottingham