Sir Charles Mark Palmer, 1st Baronet (3 November 1822 – 4 June 1907) was an English shipbuilder born in
South Shields
South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...
, County Durham, England. He was also a
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
politician and
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 ...
. His father, originally the captain of a
whaler
A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales.
Terminology
The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...
, moved in 1828 to
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 ...
, where he owned a ship owning and ship-broking business.
Early life
At the age of 15 Charles Palmer entered a shipping business in the city. After six months, he travelled to
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, France, where his father had procured him a post in a large commercial house, at the same time entrusting him with the local agency of his own business. After two years' experience in Marseilles he entered his father's business in Newcastle, and in 1842 he became a partner.
His business capacity attracted the attention of a leading local colliery owner, and he was appointed manager of the
Marley Hill
Marley Hill is a former colliery village about six miles to the south west of Gateshead, near the border between Tyne and Wear and County Durham. It has been part of the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead since 1974. Prior to this it was part ...
colliery south of
Gateshead
Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...
, in which he became a partner in 1846. Subsequently, he was made one of the managers of the associated collieries north and south of the Tyne owned by Lord Ravensworth, Lord Wharncliffe, the Marquess of Bute and Lord Strathmore.
Emergence as an entrepreneur
Using the profits of the Marley Hill colliery, he gradually purchased the properties of his erstwhile employer, while simultaneously he greatly developed the recently established coke trade, obtaining the coke contracts for several of the large English and continental railways.
Establishment of Palmer's shipyard
About 1850 the question of coal-transport to the London market became a serious question for north country colliery proprietors. Palmer therefore built, largely according to his own plans, the , the first iron screw
collier, and several other steam-colliers, in a yard established by him at Jarrow, then a small Tyneside village.
He then purchased iron mines in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
and erected large shipbuilding yards along the Tyne at Jarrow, including blast-furnaces, steel-works, rolling-mills and engine works, all on a massive scale. The firm produced
warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...
s as well as merchant vessels, and its system of rolling armour plates, introduced in 1856, was generally adopted by other builders.
In 1865 he turned the business into ''Palmer's Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited''.
Military career
In 1868 Palmer raised a new unit in the
Volunteer Force
The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...
, the
1st Durham Engineer Volunteers at
Jarrow
Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the Tyne ...
, and he was commissioned as
Lieutenant-Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Commandant. Later, the 1st Durham EV merged with the smaller
1st Newcastle EV as the 1st Newcastle upon Tyne and Durham EV, with Palmer as commanding officer.
[''Army List''.][Westlake, p. 7.][Durham Fortress Engineers at Regiments.org]
/ref>
Palmer retired from the Volunteers in 1888 with the rank of Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
. The same year, the 1st Newcastle & Durham was split into three separate units: the 1st Durham Royal Engineers (Volunteers), at Jarrow,[ and the Tyne Division RE (V), Submarine Miners at ]North Shields
North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth.
Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...
, with Palmer as Honorary Commandant of both units,[''Burke's Peerage and Barinetage''.][Tyne Electrical Engineers at Regiments.org]
/ref> together with a new 1st Newcastle upon Tyne RE (V). Palmer's younger brother, Alfred Septimus Palmer (1834–1910), a Newcastle mining engineer who had been a major in the 1st Newcastle and Durham, became commanding officer of the third unit.[
]
Political career
At the 1874 general election, Palmer was elected as Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
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 North Durham
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' is ...
, and held the seat until its abolition for the 1885 general election. He was then elected for the new Jarrow constituency, and sat for the constituency until his death in London in 1907. He had a London home in Grosvenor Square
Grosvenor Square is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was developed for fashionable re ...
.
He was twice Mayor of Jarrow
Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the Tyne ...
, in 1875 and again in 1902–03.
Palmer was in 1902 President of the Newcastle and Gateshead Chamber of Commerce (he probably held this position for several years).
Baronetcy
In 1886, Palmer's services in connection with the settlement of the costly dispute between British ship-owners and the ''Suez Canal Company'' (of which he was then a director) were rewarded with a baronet
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
cy, as Sir Charles Palmer, 1st Baronet of Grinkle Park, County York.[
He was lord of the manor of ]Hinderwell
Hinderwell is a village and civil parish in the Scarborough (borough), Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England which lies within the North York Moors National Park, about a mile from the coast on the A174 road between the towns of Loft ...
which was inherited by his widow Gertrude.
Family
Palmer married, firstly, on 29 July 1846, Jane, daughter of Ebenezer Robson of Newcastle. They had two sons:[
* George Robson Palmer, later 2nd Baronet (1849–1910)
* Alfred Molyneux Palmer, later 3rd Baronet (1853–1935)
Jane Palmer died on 6 April 1865.
Palmer married, secondly, on 4 July 1867, Augusta Mary, daughter of Alfred Lambert, of Paris and Massa di Carraca, Italy. They had two further sons:][
* Lt-Col Claude Bowes Palmer, ]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 ...
, Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...
(Volunteers) (1868–1949)
* Capt Lionel Hugo Palmer, 3rd Bn West Yorkshire Regiment
)
, march = ''Ça Ira''
, battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine
, anniversaries = Imphal (22 June)
The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) was ...
and Royal North-West Mounted Police
The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territor ...
, Canada (1870–1914)
Augusta Palmer died 2 December 1875.
Palmer married, thirdly, on 17 February 1877, Gertrude, daughter of James Montgomrey James Montgomrey (1 September 1811 – 4 June 1883) ran a large timber mill in Brentford, Middlesex, that was in the family for 120 years. He also led the development of considerable infrastructure in the town to enhance public amenity.
Life and f ...
of Brentford, Middlesex. They had two children:[
* Major ]Godfrey Mark Palmer
Godfrey Mark Palmer (4 August 1878 – 12 June 1933) was an English industrialist and Liberal Party politician.
Family and education
Godfrey Palmer was the youngest son of Sir Charles Mark Palmer Bt, of Grinkle Park, near Loftus in the-then ...
, MP for Jarrow (1878–1933)
* Hilda Gertrude Montgomerie Palmer (1884–1946)
Sir Charles Palmer died on 4 June 1907, when he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his eldest son. Gertrude, Lady Palmer, died on 21 January 1918.[
]
Arms
Notes
References
*
* ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage'' (various edns).
* Maj O.M. Short, Maj H. Sherlock, Capt L.E.C.M. Perowne and Lt M.A. Fraser, ''The History of the Tyne Electrical Engineers, Royal Engineers, 1884–1933'', 1933/Uckfield: Naval & Military, nd, .
* R.A. Westlake, ''Royal Engineers (Volunteers) 1859–1908'', Wembley: R.A. Westlake, 1983, .
External links
*
Land Forces of Britain, the Empire and Commonwealth (Regiments.org)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Charles Mark
1822 births
1907 deaths
English shipbuilders
Royal Engineers officers
Palmer, Charles Mark, 1st Baronet
Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
UK MPs 1874–1880
UK MPs 1880–1885
UK MPs 1885–1886
UK MPs 1886–1892
UK MPs 1892–1895
UK MPs 1895–1900
UK MPs 1900–1906
UK MPs 1906–1910
People from South Shields
Businesspeople from Tyne and Wear
19th-century English businesspeople