Thomas Emerson Forster (20 October 1802 – 7 March 1875) was an eminent English mining engineer.

Early years

Thomas Emerson Forster was born on 20 October 1802 at

Garrigill Garrigill, Cumbria is a small village in the North Pennine region of the UK, situated on the banks and close to the source of the River South Tyne. Historically part of Cumberland, today it is within the Garrigill ward of the civil parish of Al ...

, a hamlet on the left bank of the

South Tyne South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

river in Cumberland. The district is called the Manor of Alston Moor. It was a mining area, with valuable lead mines and some small coal beds. Westgarth Forster, one of his father's cousins, published a book in 1816 called ''A section of the Strata from Cross Fell to Newcastle-on-Tyne''. The family moved to

Hebburn Hebburn is a town in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It governed under the borough of South Tyneside; formerly governed under the county of Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the sout ...

, near the mouth of the river Tyne, where Foster was educated. When he was fifteen he was apprenticed to Mr. Wade, one of the owners of Hebburn Colliery.

Career

Thomas Forster learned from his relative, Westgarth Forster, and from John Buddle, head

viewer Viewer may refer to: * File viewer, application software that decodes and displays the data in a computer file * Image viewer, a computer program capable of displaying digital images * Pocket Viewer, a range of personal digital assistants markete ...

of the colliery. When just over 20 years old he was appointed resident viewer at Walker Colliery near

Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This f ...

, Northumberland. After two years he was given a senior position at Hetton Colliery, in the county of Durham. In 1831 he moved to

Haswell, County Durham Haswell is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated east of the city of Durham, south of the city of Sunderland and north-west of the town of Peterlee. Haswell was the birthplace of world champion road racing cyclist Tom Simpson, ...

. Forster took an active role in planning and building the

Durham and Sunderland Railway The York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway (YN&BR) was an English railway company formed in 1847 by the amalgamation of the York and Newcastle Railway and the Newcastle and Berwick Railway. Both companies were part of the group of business interest ...

during the period when the old wooden wagon-ways were being replaced in the north of England. He became connected with various collieries including Belmont, Shincliffe, Shotton, Byers Green, and Scremerston. He was appointed Consulting Engineer to the

Earl of Lonsdale Earl of Lonsdale is a title that has been created twice in British history, firstly in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1784 (becoming extinct in 1802), and then in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1807, both times for members of the Lowth ...

, to Lord Boyne, and to other large mining property owners. He was associated with many of the most important mining works in the north of England. Forster became a 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 ...

on 16 February 1836. In 1846 he moved to Ellison Place,

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 spent the rest of his life. Thomas Forster taught his relative Thomas Forster Brown (1835–1907), also born in Garrigill, who became prominent in South Wales mining. He was President of the

North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers The North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers (NEIMME), commonly known as The Mining Institute, is a British Royal Chartered learned society and membership organisation dedicated to advancing science and technology in the N ...

from 1866 to 1869. In 1868 he was one of the local Commissioners of Inquiry into the Produce and profitable future Supply of Coal. Thomas Emerson Forster died at Ellison Place on 7 March 1875 at the age of 72. His bust is displayed at the Neville Hall and Wood Memorial Hall (

) in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is one of two busts, the other being of John Buddle. His son, George Baker Forster, also became a well-known mining engineer.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, Thomas Emerson 1802 births 1875 deaths British mining engineers People from Alston Moor People from Haswell, County Durham People from Newcastle upon Tyne