Thomas Meik ( – )Thomas Meik
''Grace's Guide''. Retrieved: 8 October 2015. was a 19th-century Scottish engineer. He is particularly associated with

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

s and railways in Scotland and northern England, Meik fathered two prominent engineering sons:

Patrick Meik Patrick Walter Meik (1851 - 12 July 1910)Patrick Meik
''Grace's Guide''. Retrieved: 9 October 2015. was a ...

and

Charles Meik Charles Scott Meik (1853 - 5 July 1923) was an English civil and mechanical engineer, and part of a minor engineering dynasty. His father Thomas Meik was also a civil engineer, as was Charles' brother Patrick Meik; collectively, they establishe ...

. The firm they founded remains active, today part of the

Jacobs Engineering Group Jacobs Solutions Inc. is an American international technical professional services firm. The company provides engineering, technical, professional and construction services, as well as scientific and specialty consulting for a broad range of cli ...

Early career

He was born at Easter

Duddingston Duddingston ( sco, Duddiston) is a historic village in the east of Edinburgh, Scotland, next to Holyrood Park. Origins and etymology The estate wherein Duddingston Village now lies was first recorded in lands granted to the Tironensian monks ...

on 20 January 1812, the son of Patrick Meik and his wife, Barbara Scott. Educated at the High School and

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

, Thomas Meik worked for two years with a firm of millwrights named Moodie and was then apprenticed to John Steedman, an engineer and contractor who was working 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 popu ...

on the Hutcheson Bridge (designed by

Robert Stevenson Robert Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (actor and politician) (1915–1975), American actor and politician * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Stevenson (director) (1905–1986), Engli ...

, grandfather of author

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as '' Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

). His first long-term post was as assistant engineer to

William Chadwell Mylne William Chadwell Mylne, FRS (6 April 1781 – 25 December 1863) was an English civil engineer and architect. He was descended from a Scottish family of masons and architects, and was the second son of Robert Mylne (1733–1811), survey ...

of the New River Company, London.

River Wear Commission

In 1845, at the age of 33, Meik was appointed engineer to the

River Wear The River Wear (, ) in North East England rises in the Pennines and flows eastwards, mostly through County Durham to the North Sea in the City of Sunderland. At long, it is one of the region's longest rivers, wends in a steep valley through ...

Commission (responsible for maritime works around

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

). In 1859, the commission took over the construction of the

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Gre ...

Dock on the south side of the Wear, and Meik was responsible for the entire works (the task included a grain warehouse and a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses m ...

– which, although relocated when the South Pier was shortened in 1983, still stands today). Just a few miles further north, he was also consulting engineer to Blyth Harbour from 1862.

Partnerships

The grave of Thomas Meik, Duddingston Kirkyard

In 1868, he entered into partnership with William David Nisbet (1837-1897) in Sunderland and Edinburgh. Commissions included a rail freight link, the Hylton, Southwick and Monkwearmouth Railway, transporting coal from collieries sited along the line to the nearby port at Sunderland. The railway was subsequently acquired by the North Eastern Railway. However, later railway designs were to prove more successful for Meik. In Scotland he designed a rail link to Eyemouth, an extension to the

Forfar Forfar ( sco, Farfar, gd, Baile Fharfair) is the county town of Angus, Scotland and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town has a pop ...

Brechin Brechin (; gd, Breichin) is a city and former Royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin was described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese (which continues today ...

line, the

Newburgh and North Fife Railway The Newburgh and North Fife Railway was a Scottish railway company formed to build a connecting line between St Fort and Newburgh, in Fife, intended to open up residential traffic between the intermediate communities and Dundee and Perth. It ope ...

and the East

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross ...

Central Railway. The partnership with Nisbet was dissolved in 1875 and Meik formed a new partnership with his sons. Work included the Scottish ports of

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

Burntisland Burntisland ( , sco, also Bruntisland) is a former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland, on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 6,269. It was previously known as Wester Kingho ...

and

Bo'ness Borrowstounness (commonly known as Bo'ness ( )) is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Fal ...

, and the firm acted as consulting engineers to the new dock at

Silloth Silloth (sometimes known as Silloth-on-Solway) is a port town and civil parish in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically in the county of Cumberland, the town is an example of a Victorian seaside resort in the North of Engl ...

for the

North British Railway The North British Railway was a British railway company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, and from the outset the company followe ...

. In 1880 he had offices at 6

York Place, Edinburgh York Place is a street in central Edinburgh of almost exclusively 18th century buildings, linking Queen Street, Edinburgh, Queen Street to Broughton, Edinburgh, Broughton Street and Leith Walk. The street's architecture remains almost completely ...

. He retired in 1888 and died at his home in Newbattle Terrace in Edinburgh in 1896 aged 84, leaving his business in the hands of his sons, Patrick and

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

. He was buried in Duddingston Kirkyard.Thomas Meik: 1812 - 1896
''Gazetteer of Scotland''. Retrieved: 8 October 2015. The grave lies in the south-west corner. The firm they founded remains active. It was later known as

Halcrow Group Limited Halcrow Group Limited was a multinational engineering consultancy company, based in the United Kingdom Halcrow was one of the UK's largest consultancies, with origins stretching back to 1868. The UK-based consultancy specialised in the provision ...

, taking its name from Sir William Halcrow, who joined the company in the early years of the 20th century; Halcrow was acquired by US firm CH2M Hill in 2011, and in 2017 CH2M was acquired by

Family

He was married to Julia Hunter (1825-1911), daughter of Walter Hunter of Bow in Middlesex. Their children included Thomas Carsie Meik (1847-1894), Julia (died in infancy), Patrick Walter Meik MICE (1851-1910), Edward (died in childhood), Charles Scott Meik (1853-1923) and Henry Hunter Meik WS (d.1923).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meik, Thomas 1812 births 1896 deaths People from Midlothian Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish civil engineers