Thomas Sopwith (geologist)
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Thomas Sopwith FRS (3 January 1803 – 16 January 1879) was an English
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, and ...
, teacher of geology and local historian.


Early life

The son of Jacob Sopwith (1770–1829), by his wife Isabella, daughter of Matthew Lowes, Thomas was born at
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 als ...
. His father was a builder and cabinet-maker; Sopwith maintained links with the family furniture and joinery business throughout his life. Initially an illustrator of antiquities, he then took up land and mineral surveying, and subsequently described himself as a civil engineer. He invented, and the family firm manufactured, an ingenious type of desk with all its drawers secured by a single lock, the 'monocleid', which won a prize at the 1851 Exhibition; an improved levelling stave; and wooden
geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...
teaching models.


Career


Mining engineer

In 1824 Sopwith completed an apprenticeship with his father, and took employment as a surveyor. He worked closely with
Richard Grainger Richard Grainger (9 October 17974 July 1861) was a builder in Newcastle upon Tyne. He worked with the architects John Dobson and Thomas Oliver, and with the town clerk, John Clayton, to redevelop the centre of Newcastle in the 19th century. G ...
in the redevelopment of
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 ...
. He worked with Joseph Dickinson of
Alston, Cumbria Alston is a town in Cumbria, England, within the civil parish of Alston Moor on the River South Tyne. It shares the title of the 'highest market town in England', at about above sea level, with Buxton, Derbyshire. Despite its altitude, the town ...
, on a survey of the lead mines in the area owned by Greenwich Hospital. He later built up contacts in London, especially in the area of geology, where he became a fellow of the
Geological Society The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...
(and its more exclusive Geological Club) in 1835, sponsored by John Phillips. Sopwith advocated the collection of mine surveys; he was associated in a Northumbrian survey with William Smith, and he was instrumental, after the meeting of the
British Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...
in 1838, in inducing the government to found the Mining Record Office. In the same year he made a mining survey in
County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...
in Ireland. From 1845, Sopwith was based in
Allenheads Allenheads is a former mining village in the Pennines to the north of Weardale in Northumberland, England. Lead extraction was the settlement's industry until the mine closed in the late 19th century. Allenheads, which is above sea level, is si ...
, Northumberland, where he was agent for W.B. Lead Mines (the Blackett-Beaumont Company). He kept the position until his retirement in 1871.


Railway engineer

Sopwith became a railway
surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
, working on commissions. This included being commissioned to work on a central Newcastle station project with
Richard Grainger Richard Grainger (9 October 17974 July 1861) was a builder in Newcastle upon Tyne. He worked with the architects John Dobson and Thomas Oliver, and with the town clerk, John Clayton, to redevelop the centre of Newcastle in the 19th century. G ...
(see plan right). He became involved with
George Stephenson George Stephenson (9 June 1781 – 12 August 1848) was a British civil engineer and mechanical engineer. Renowned as the "Father of Railways", Stephenson was considered by the Victorians a great example of diligent application and thirst for ...
and Sir
William Cubitt Sir William Cubitt FRS (bapt. 9 October 1785 – 13 October 1861) was an eminent English civil engineer and millwright. Born in Norfolk, England, he was employed in many of the great engineering undertakings of his time. He invented a type of ...
creating the French railway network. In 1843 he was employed on the development of railways in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. For the Sambre-Meuse line he did preliminary surveys, and then accompanied George Stephenson, by then retired, on an inspection visit. The result was that the Belgian de Grandvoir constructed the line, supervised by
Robert Stephenson Robert Stephenson Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS HFRSE FRSA Doctor of Civil Law, DCL (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railway ...
. Sopwith had called attention to the scientific importance of recording the geological features exposed in the cuttings of railways; and the British Association, at his initiative, made a grant in 1840 for the purpose.


Teaching models

Sopwith was an early user of 3-dimensional models both for practical illustration of regional geology (
Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the n ...
;
Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr con ...
; Nentsberry) and for teaching, for which he produced sets (as recommended by Charles Lyell in his 1841 ''Elements of Geology''). He also took advice from
William Buckland William Buckland Doctor of Divinity, DD, Royal Society, FRS (12 March 1784 – 14 August 1856) was an English theologian who became Dean of Westminster. He was also a geologist and paleontology, palaeontologist. Buckland wrote the first full ...
about what structures would be useful. Different coloured woods represented the different types of rock.


Personal life

Sopwith married three times: first, Mary Dickenson in 1828, who died in 1829; secondly, Jane Scott in 1831, who died in 1855; and thirdly, Anne Potter in 1858. Among his eight children were: *Jacob Sopwith, who died at the age of 19 after travelling to India with the Army under a false name. *Ursula Sopwith, who married David Chadwick, M.P. on 11 June 1878 *Thomas Sopwith, a civil engineer and manager of a lead mining company in Linares in Spain. His children included: **Olive Sopwith, who married South African mining magnate
Jack Barnato Joel Isaac "Jack" Barnato Joel (29 September 1862 – 13 November 1940) was a South African mining magnate and a champion horse breeder. Early life Isaac Barnato Joel was born on 29 September 1862 into a Jewish family, being one of three sons of Jo ...
in 1907. **
Thomas Sopwith Sir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith, CBE, Hon FRAeS (18 January 1888 – 27 January 1989) was an English aviation pioneer, businessman and yachtsman. Early life Sopwith was born in Kensington, London, on 18 January 1888. He was the eig ...
, founder of the
Sopwith Aviation Company The Sopwith Aviation Company was a British aircraft company that designed and manufactured aeroplanes mainly for the British Royal Naval Air Service, the Royal Flying Corps and later the Royal Air Force during the First World War, most famously ...
. *Anna Sopwith, who married Sir William Shelford, K.C.M.G. *Arthur Sopwith, who married William Shelford's sister Catherine and had four children, including clergyman
Karl Sopwith The Ven Thomas Karl Sopwith MA (known as Karl; 28 May 1873 – 14 December 1945) was an eminent Anglican clergyman in the first half of the 20th century. He was born on 28 May 1873, the eldest son of Arthur Sopwith of Chasetown & his wife Cathe ...
. Sopwith died in London and was buried at
West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of L ...
where there is a "Sopwith Path".


Awards and honours

Sopwith was elected a member or a fellow of many learned societies, including the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
, the Athenaeum Club, the Geological Societies of
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, 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 ...
, the
Royal Institution The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...
, the
Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
, the
British Association for the Advancement of Science The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chie ...
, the
Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...
, the
Royal Meteorological Society The Royal Meteorological Society is a long-established institution that promotes academic and public engagement in weather and climate science. Fellows of the Society must possess relevant qualifications, but Associate Fellows can be lay enthus ...
, the
Statistical Society of London The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good. ...
and the Archaeological Institute and
Archaeological Association This page is a glossary of archaeology, the study of the human past from material remains. A B C D E F ...
. He was awarded the Telford Silver Medal by the Institute of Civil Engineers in 1842 and elected the fifth President of the Royal Meteorological Society in 1859. He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
in 1845. His candidature citation read: ''Thomas Sopwith Esq FGS London, Memb Inst CE and Member of the Geological Society of France, Civil Engineer fSt Marys Terrace Newcastle on Tyne. The Author of a Treatise on Isometric Drawing. The Inventor or improver of Methods of representing Mineral structure by dissected Models''.


Works

In 1826 Sopwith published ''A Historical and Descriptive Account of All Saints' Church in Newcastle-upon-Tyne'' (Newcastle). He later wrote a book on the Alston mining area, and two editions (1834, 1838) of a treatise on the use of the isometric projection for drawing surveys. He also made the case for mining records in book form.


Diaries

Sopwith wrote detailed diaries spanning the 57 years 1821–1878, recording daily events in his professional and personal life. He travelled widely, first by coach, then on the railways, and kept records of the times, prices, and conditions of travel in his diaries. His diaries also provide accounts of his meeting with people who were, or became, significant such as
Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. Babbage is considered ...
,
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
and
John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...
. The diaries are now held in the Special Collections at Newcastle University Library. Contemporaries also considered that Sopwith had substantial artistic ability, including as a cartoonist, although few of his drawings now survive.


Other works

*''Eight Views of Fountains Abbey … with Description'', Newcastle, 1832. *''Description of Monocleid Writing Cabinets'', Newcastle, 1841?. *''An Account of the Museum of Economic Geology'', London, 1843. *''Education: its Present State and Future Advancement'', Newcastle, 1853. *''Notes of a Visit to Egypt'', London, 1857. *''Notes of a Visit to France and Spain'', Hexham, 1865. *''Education in Village Schools'', London, 1868. *''Three Weeks in Central Europe'', London, 1869.


References


Further reading

* Rennison, R. W
Thomas Sopwith (1803-1879): civil and mining engineer: a brief biography.
''Archaeologia Aeliana'' Series 5. 25, 1997, 115-123 ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Sopwith, Thomas 1803 births 1879 deaths Burials at West Norwood Cemetery English engineers Fellows of the Royal Society Scientists from Newcastle upon Tyne Presidents of the Royal Meteorological Society