mining engineer Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, a ...

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary author ...

Davy Lamp The Davy lamp is a safety lamp for use in flammable atmospheres, invented in 1815 by Sir Humphry Davy.ventilation, and the prevention of flooding. He was also interested in shipping as an owner, and built Seaham Harbour, establishing an important trade dock. He was chairman of the company that built the Tyne Dock at

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 ...

, and was also involved in the creation of two harbours and the development of a tunnel.

Early life

Born on 15 September 1773 at West Kyo, near Stanley, County Durham, Buddle was the only son and the fourth of six children born to John Buddle, senior, and Mary Reay. John Buddle senior was a mathematician who worked at a local school before pursuing a career in the mining industry, being responsible for his son's wide education, particularly in maths and science. One of his earliest notebooks resides in the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, containing notes on a wide range of scientific and geographical topics. Buddle's father also gave him a practical education in mining, even as early, John Buddle commented as "six years old". At the age of 19, John Buddle became the underviewer to his father, and in 1801 he was appointed viewer of

Benwell Benwell is an area in the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. History The place-name 'Benwell' is first attested in the '' Historia de Sancto Cuthberto'' circa 1050 AD, where it appears as ''Bynnewalle'', from the Old English ''bionna ...

Colliery, soon buying a thirteenth share in the colliery worth £2,700, beginning his role as a Director with a salary of £100 a year.

The Wallsend colliery

John Buddle followed his father into the profession of

colliery viewer A colliery viewer or coal viewer was the manager of a coal mine or colliery. The term was mostly used in the late eighteenth to nineteenth centuries, in the UK. In modern use, the viewer would be the senior and responsible mining engineer at a sit ...

, a calling which he helped to develop towards the modern concept of a mining engineer. He succeeded his father as manager at Wallsend Colliery in 1806, though his work was not limited to just the local colliery. Buddle was involved with the introduction of the miners safety lamp invented by

Humphry Davy Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet, (17 December 177829 May 1829) was a British chemist and inventor who invented the Davy lamp and a very early form of arc lamp. He is also remembered for isolating, by using electricity, several elements for ...

being involved in the earliest discussions with Davy in August 1815 and providing "fire-damp" samples for experiments in Davy's London Laboratory. The moment when Buddle tested the new Davy safety lamp for the first time, for real, in

Northeast England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authority ...

, is recorded by him in a report to the Select Committee on Accidents in Mines on 4 September 1835 "I first tried the lamp in an explosive mixture on the surface; and then took it to the mine; it is impossible for me to express my feelings at the time when I first suspended the lamp in the mine and saw it red hot. I said to those around me: 'We have at last subdued this monster ire-damp'" This is a record of one of the most significant moments in the industrialization of the World. John Buddle was a member of the Sunderland Society, set up to investigate colliery safety, and in this connection made scientific investigations into mine ventilation and advocated the keeping of proper records. The most important appointment, however, came when Buddle was appointed as General Manager to

Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, (born Charles William Stewart; 1778–1854), was an Anglo-Irish nobleman, a British soldier and a politician. He served in the French Revolutionary Wars, in the suppression of the Irish Rebel ...

. Londonderry had married an incredibly wealthy heiress, said to be the wealthiest woman in Britain, Lady Frances Anee Vane Tempest, and thus came to run her Durham collieries . Together, Londonderry and Buddle embarked on a project to develop a Port at Seaham, intending to bypass the Tyne and Wear monopolies. The building of the port began in 1828, and would not be finished until fifteen years later, in which the first shipment of coal was sent out on Buddle's personal ship, Lord Seaham. He even saw through much of the development of the town, his influence being so great that, when his sister Ann died, the ships dressed in black and the shops closed as a matter of respect. He also represented the Marquess on the committee of coalowners who regulated the North East coal trade with

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Although he was mostly active in the Great North Coalfield, the records show Buddle took on work all over Britain, including matters in Portugal, South America, Russia and

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. Two of his latest colliery appointments were in 1837 when he became the owner of West Towneley Colliery and also the viewer to the Bishop of Durham- a post previously held by his Father. In collaboration with William Chapman, Buddle is also considered to have designed the pioneering

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...

''

Steam Elephant ''Steam Elephant'' was an early steam locomotive from North East England. Historiography An illustration of the locomotive first came to modern attention in 1931 and it was then generally assumed to be the work of George Stephenson. More rec ...

'' for Wallsend Colliery and an eight-wheeled geared engine for the Lambton Waggonway. Buddle was a coalowner in his own right as well as a viewer and practical manager for many pits in the region of the rivers

Tyne Tyne may refer to: __NOTOC__ Geography *River Tyne, England *Port of Tyne, the commercial docks in and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England *River Tyne, Scotland *River Tyne, a tributary of the South Esk River, Tasmania, Australia People ...

and

Wear Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical (e.g., erosion) or chemical (e.g., corrosion). The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology. Wear in ...

, and his advice was sought on both mining and railways from as far afield as

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. Buddle was an active member of Newcastle society, and held numerous positions in his lifetime. In 1838, he was elected vice-president of the prestigious Literary and Philosophical Society and also became vice- president of the North of England Fine Arts Society. In 1842 he was appointed as Steward for Northumberland at the Newcastle Infirmary, a position which allowed him to appoint physicians to the hospital, and, due to his interest in theatre, he was Chairman of the committee for the new theatre in the 1830s, and he personally designed the heating system for the Theatre Royal. Throughout his life, Buddle donated money to numerous causes, including one to relieve the poverty of seamen employed in the Northern Whale Fishery, the benefit of widows and orphans of mining disasters, and the erection of Penshaw monument in memory of his friend John George Lambton, first Earl of Durham.

Death

A Unitarian, Buddle died unmarried at his home in

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 ...

in 1843, after becoming ill after riding with Lord Londonderry to inspect the collieries. He left a personal fortune of around £150,000; mostly to his nephew Robert Thomas Atkinson who died less than two years later & his brother-in-law Thomas Burnett, as well as some distribution amongst his other nephews & nieces and some annuities to a number of other relatives and friends. They are both buried at St James' Churchyard,

Benwell Benwell is an area in the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. History The place-name 'Benwell' is first attested in the '' Historia de Sancto Cuthberto'' circa 1050 AD, where it appears as ''Bynnewalle'', from the Old English ''bionna ...

, along with Robert's aunt. When Buddle died, his funeral procession was over a mile long and took over three hours to travel from his home in Wallsend to his resting place in Benwell. The number of mourners was so great that, according to one contemporary newspaper report, "so large a concourse of people was perhaps never before assembled in Newcastle on such a mournful occasion". The long list of pall-bearers and principal mourners included many of the most rich and powerful men in Newcastle, such as local councillor and wealthy corn merchant William Armstrong and his son, also William, who was just a few years away from setting up his great engineering works on the banks of the Tyne in Elswick. Buddle's bust is displayed at the Neville Hall and Wood Memorial Hall (North of England Mining and Mechanical Engineers Institute) in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is one of two busts, the other being of Thomas Emerson Forster.

Notes

References

*This article is based upon the help o
''The King of the Coal Trade: John Buddle''
(Local People: Local Heroes. Local History Series No 1.) Newcastle upon Tyne: St James' Heritage and Environment Group, 2011.

Early life

The Wallsend colliery

Death

See also

Notes

References

Further reading