Josias Parkes
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Josiah Parkes (1793–1871) was an English
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
, inventor of a
deep drainage Groundwater recharge or deep drainage or deep percolation is a hydrologic process, where water moves downward from surface water to groundwater. Recharge is the primary method through which water enters an aquifer. This process usually occurs in ...
system.


Early life

The brother of Joseph Parkes, and third son of John Parkes, a manufacturer, he was born at
Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
on 27 February 1793. He was educated at
Charles Burney Charles Burney (7 April 1726 – 12 April 1814) was an English music historian, composer and musician. He was the father of the writers Frances Burney and Sarah Burney, of the explorer James Burney, and of Charles Burney, a classicist a ...
's school at Greenwich. At the age of 17 Parkes started to work in his father's mill; in 1820 the factory at Warwick closed, and Parkes moved to Manchester, where he knew William Henry and
John Dalton John Dalton (; 5 or 6 September 1766 – 27 July 1844) was an English chemist, physicist and meteorologist. He is best known for introducing the atomic theory into chemistry, and for his research into colour blindness, which he had. Colour b ...
. He worked on inventions for the prevention of smoke, and then took up a new process for refining salt, near
Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...
. On 11 March 1823 he was chosen an associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and became a member on 26 December 1837. In 1825 Parkes removed to Puteaux-sur-Seine and set up in business; he was often visited by Louis-Philippe, then the Duc d'Orléans. He took part in the
July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...
of 1830 in Paris, but lost his business and he returned to England.


Drainage engineer

For Mr. Heathcote of Tiverton, Parkes carried out a plan for draining a part of Chat Moss,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, which he tried to cultivate by using
steam power A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
. The steam cultivation was a failure. Parkes, however, observed the deep cuttings on the bog, and found that deep drains began to run after wet weather, not from the water above, but from rising water. Draining the stagnant moisture from about a metre below the surface had a marked effect on the soil. Parkes's views replaced the convention wisdom of the time, of James Smith of Deanston. A Birmingham manufacturer on Parkes's suggestion produced in 1844 the first set of drain-cutting implements, and in 1843 John Reade, a self-taught mechanic, invented a cylindrical clay pipe as a cheap conduit for the water. Sir Robert Peel in 1846 helped finance drainage on Parkes's principle. Parkes, though, had less success with practical projects, was touchy, and rejected innovations in his field by
John Bailey Denton John Bailey Denton (1814–1893) M. Inst. C.E.; F.G.S., was a British surveyor and civil engineer.John ...
and others. His last major work was for the War Department: the draining, forming and fixing of sea slopes in the fortifications at Yaverland and
Warden Point A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...
,
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 ...
, from 1862 to 1869. Immediately afterwards he retired from business.


Death

Parkes died at
Freshwater, Isle of Wight Freshwater is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the western end of the Isle of Wight, England. The southern, coastal part of the village is Freshwater Bay, named for the adjacent small cove. Freshwater sit ...
, on 16 August 1871.


Works

Parkes's main contributions to agricultural literature were: * ''On the Influence of Water on the Temperature of Soils'', and ''On the Quantity of Rain-water and its Discharge by Drains'' (''Journal Royal Agricultural Society of England'', 1845, v. 119–58); * ''On Reducing the Permanent Cost of Drainage'' (JRASE 1845, vi. 125–9); and * ''On Draining'' (JRASE 1846, vii. 249–72). To the minutes of the ''Proceedings'' of the Institution of Civil Engineers he contributed five communications: * ''On the Evaporation of Water from Steam Boilers'', (1838) for which a
Telford Silver 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 ...
was awarded; * ''On Steam Boilers and Steam Engines'' (1839); * ''On Steam Engines, principally with reference to their Consumption of Fuel'', (1840) for which a
Telford Gold 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 ...
was awarded; * ''On the Action of Steam in Cornish Single-pumping Engines'' (1840); and * ''On the Percussive or Instantaneous Action of Steam and other Aëriform Fluids'' (1841). Parkes was also the author of: * ''Lecture on Draining'', 1846. * ''Work on Draining, with observations upon it by the Duke of Portland'', 1847. * ''Essay on the Philosophy and Art of Land Drainage'', 1848. * ''Fallacies on Land-Drainage Exposed''. * ''A Refutation of a Letter by Lord Wharncliffe to P. Pusey'', 1851.


References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Parkes, Josiah 1793 births 1871 deaths English civil engineers
Josiah Josiah ( or ) or Yoshiyahu; la, Iosias was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE) who, according to the Hebrew Bible, instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Josiah is credited by most biblical s ...