Tony Marchington
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Tony Marchington
OR:
Tony Marchington on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Anthony Frank Marchington (2 December 1955 – 16 October 2011) was an English
biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...
entrepreneur and businessman, famous as the co-founder of Oxford Molecular, and the former owner of the famous Class A3 4472 ''Flying Scotsman'' locomotive.


Early life

Born in
Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
, he was brought up on the family farm in
Buxworth Buxworth is a village in the High Peak of Derbyshire, England. The area, which was once an important centre for the limestone industry, became the terminus of the Peak Forest Canal. Its pub, the Navigation Inn, was once owned by ''Coronation Str ...
. He passed his motorcycle test at the age of 16, having learned to ride his father's 1914 Bradbury motorcycle and
sidecar A sidecar is a one-wheeled device attached to the side of a motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle, making the whole a three-wheeled vehicle. A motorcycle with a sidecar is sometimes called a ''combination'', an ''outfit'', a ''rig'' or a ''hack''. ...
combination. He attended New Mills Grammar School. He gained his bachelor's degree, master's and D.Phil. at Brasenose College, Oxford.


Association with Walter Hooper

While at Oxford, Marchington befriended and later lodged with American
Walter Hooper Walter McGehee Hooper (March 27, 1931December 7, 2020) was an American writer and literary advisor of the estate of C.S. Lewis. He was a literary trustee for Owen Barfield from December 1997 to October 2006. Life Hooper was born in Reidsville, No ...
, the last personal secretary of the writer
C.S. Lewis CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...
. Through this relationship Marchington shared a lectern with Hooper in 1975 in
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
, co-wrote the script of ''Through Joy and Beyond'' (the 1977 documentary life of Lewis), and created the Lewis bonfire hoax letter, sent to Christianity and Literature in 1978.


Career

Marchington began his career as a product manager with ICI Agrochemicals in 1983, becoming marketing manager for
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
in 1986. In 1988, he started several companies in the areas of intellectual property, drug discovery and
biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...
. As these expanded, in the same year, under his tutor Professor Graham Richards, Marchington co-founded Oxford Molecular Ltd. (later to become Oxford Molecular Plc.). Worth £450 million at its peak, it was eventually sold for £70million. A former member of the Department of Trade and Industry's Competitiveness Advisory Group, from 2000 Marchington's entrepreneurial activities included: running Marchington Consulting, based at the Sheffield Bioincubator; CEO at Savyon Diagnostics; and co-founded, as chairman and director, Venture Hothouse Ltd. From 2010, Marchington was CEO at Oxford Medical Diagnostics; leading the development and application of advanced proprietary methods of gas analysis; and in particular, the development of breath analysis for the screening of type 1 and type 2
diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
. Marchington was made a
Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...
in 1997 and was an honorary fellow of
St Edmund Hall, Oxford St Edmund Hall (sometimes known as The Hall or informally as Teddy Hall) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. The college claims to be "the oldest surviving academic society to house and educate undergraduates in any universit ...
.


Steam preservation


Buxworth Steam Collection

A steam fan from a young age, aged 22 Marchington bought his first steamroller from haulage contractor and scrap dealer Ted Eansworth in
Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
. The collection that he started with his father eventually became the Buxworth Steam Group, which comprised a full working Victorian fair, and raised revenue through offering them for hire: *25
traction engine A traction engine is a steam engine, steam-powered tractor used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin ''tractus'', meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any t ...
s, including the famous showman's engine '' The Iron Maiden,'' which starred in the film of the same name. *Two matched pairs of
ploughing engine A traction engine is a steam-powered tractor used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin ''tractus'', meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any traction engin ...
s *Two
steam wagon A steam wagon (or steam lorry, steam waggon or steamtruck) is a steam-powered truck for carrying freight. It was the earliest form of lorry (truck) and came in two basic forms: ''overtype'' and ''undertype'', the distinction being the position ...
s *Six steamrollers * Road locomotive, built in 1900, which was the first armour-plated vehicle in the world *Steam fire engine *Seagoing steam tug *Victorian fairground rides: 1893 Steam Galloping Horses, a Helter skelter, a
Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsule ...
,
cakewalk The cakewalk was a dance developed from the "prize walks" (dance contests with a cake awarded as the prize) held in the mid-19th century, generally at get-togethers on Black slave plantations before and after emancipation in the Southern Uni ...
, a 1925 set of German-built
Chair-O-Planes The swing ride or chair swing ride (sometimes called a swing carousel, wave swinger, yo-yo, waver swinger, Chair-O-Planes, Dodo or swinger) is an amusement ride that is a variation on the carousel in which the seats are suspended from the ro ...
*
Wall of Death The wall of death, motordrome, velodrome or well of death is a carnival sideshow featuring a silo- or barrel-shaped wooden cylinder, typically ranging from in diameter and made of wooden planks, inside which motorcyclists, or the drivers of mi ...
, with 1930s
Indian motorcycle Indian Motorcycle (or ''Indian'') is an American brand of motorcycles owned and produced by American automotive manufacturer Polaris Inc.BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
documentary 'A Gambol on Steam', which featured his first steam rally in the group, hosted at
Lyme Park Lyme Park is a large estate south of Disley, Cheshire, England, managed by the National Trust and consisting of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens and a deer park in the Peak District National Park. The house is the largest in Ches ...
, and featured exhibits from names such as
Fred Dibnah Frederick Travis Dibnah, (29 April 1938 – 6 November 2004) was an English steeplejack and television personality, with a keen interest in mechanical engineering, who described himself as a "backstreet mechanic". When Dibnah w ...
in addition to his current collection of a 1904 Fowler D2 steamroller and his pair of Fowler BB1 ploughing engines ('Fame' and 'Fortune') and was one of the largest rallies of its time.


LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman

In 1996, Marchington bought the famous
LNER LNER may refer to: * London and North Eastern Railway, a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1923 until 1947 * London North Eastern Railway, a train operating company in the United Kingdom since 2018 * Liquid neutral earthing resistor, a typ ...
steam locomotive Class A3 4472 ''Flying Scotsman'' at a cost of £1.5M. After a three-year restoration which cost an additional £1M, she returned to steam in 1999. She made an appearance on
Peak Rail Peak Rail is a preserved railway in Derbyshire, England, which operates a steam and heritage diesel service for tourists and visitors to both the Peak District and the Derbyshire Dales. The preserved railway line is over 3½ miles (5.6 km) ...
in summer 2000, together with most of the Buxworth Steam Group collection. In 1997, Marchington purchased LNER Class A4 4464 ''Bittern'' from the family of Geoff Drury, which he also based at the
Southall Railway Centre Southall Railway Centre is a non-publicised railway heritage centre at Southall in west London, near to Southall railway station and the Grand Union Canal. Formerly of the Great Western Railway the site is now run partly by Locomotive Service ...
. However, after the completion of the £1 million over-budget restoration of ''Flying Scotsman'' was complete, he sold ''Bittern'' in 2000 to
Jeremy Hosking Jeremy John Hosking (born 20 July 1958) is a British businessman and political donor. Ranked number 351 in the Sunday Times Rich List 2019, with a net worth of £375 million, he is a shareholder in Crystal Palace F.C. and a noted railway e ...
, who moved her to the Mid-Hants Railway in Hampshire in January 2001, for a major restoration. Despite this, the ownership of both ''Bittern'' and ''Flying Scotsman'' meant that he is still the only ever private owner to own two Gresley Pacific class locomotives. With ''Flying Scotsman's'' regular use on the VSOE Pullman, in 2002, Marchington proposed a business plan, which included the construction of a 'Flying Scotsman Village' in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
, to create revenue from associated branding. After floating on OFEX as 'Flying Scotsman Plc.' in the same year, in 2003 Edinburgh City Council turned down the village plans, and in September 2003 Marchington was declared bankrupt. This resulted in the sale of most of the assets of the Buxworth Steam Group, including ''The Iron Maiden'' to Graeme Atkinson, who displays the engine alongside a collection of other engines and fair organs as part of the
Scarborough Fair Collection The Scarborough Fair Collection is a museum of fairground mechanical organs and showman's engines, located in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, one of the largest collections of its type in Europe. The museum was founded by local Farmer turned ...
, at his holiday park in
Lebberston __NOTOC__ Lebberston is a rural village and civil parish in North Yorkshire on the east coast of England. The village is situated south-east from Scarborough, and between the villages of Cayton and Gristhorpe. Community and landmarks Acc ...
, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire. At the company's AGM in October 2003, CEO
Peter Butler Peter or Pete Butler may refer to: * Pete Butler (coach) (1909–1983), American football, basketball, and baseball coach and college athletics administrator * Peter Butler (politician) (born 1951), Conservative Member of Parliament * Peter Butler ...
announced losses of £474,619, and with a £1.5M overdraft at
Barclays Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...
, stated that the company only had enough cash to trade until April 2004. The company's shares were suspended from OFEX on 3 November 2003, after it failed to declare interim results. With the locomotive effectively placed up for sale, after a high-profile national campaign it was bought in April 2004 by the
National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant ...
in
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, and it is now part of the National Collection. Marchington's time with the ''Flying Scotsman'' was documented in the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
documentaries ''A Steamy Affair: The Story of Flying Scotsman'', directed by former Blue Peter presenter
Simon Groom Simon Groom (born 12 August 1950) is a British producer and director. He was a presenter of ''Blue Peter'' from 1978 to 1986. Early life Groom was born in Chesterfield in Derbyshire, and was brought up on a farm in Dethick, which he often vis ...
.


Personal life

Marchington met his second wife Caroline after he and his father offered her a lift on their steam engine to the Devonshire Arms, Peak Forest, the local
public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
on the
A6 road This is a list of roads designated A6. * A006 road (Argentina), a road connecting Las Cuevas with the Christ the Redeemer monument in the border between Argentina and Chile * ''A6 highway (Australia)'' may refer to : ** A6 (Sydney), a road connec ...
, where they were staying that night. The couple had two children, and family homes in Buxton, Derbyshire and Oxfordshire. He also had two children from a previous marriage. His passion for vintage restoration continued with his family for the rest of his life, even after the sagas of Buxworth Steam Group and Flying Scotsman. After meeting Jim Daniel, the Grand Secretary of the
United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic grand lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...
, at a dinner of Brasenose College members, Marchington was initiated as a Freemason at Oxford-based
Apollo University Lodge Apollo University Lodge No 357 is a Masonic Lodge based at the University of Oxford aimed at past and present members of the university. It was consecrated in 1819, and its members have met continuously since then. University of Oxford Membershi ...
number 357 in January 1991. He was passed and raised the following year, and went into the chair in November 1996. Marchington celebrated his installation as
Worshipful Master In Craft Freemasonry, sometimes known as Blue Lodge Freemasonry, every Masonic lodge elects or appoints Masonic lodge officers to execute the necessary functions of the lodge's life and work. The precise list of such offices may vary between the ...
of the Lodge with the commissioning of a set of limited edition glass tankards, engraved with the square and compasses on one side and the Flying Scotsman on the other. Marchington joined a number of other Masonic Orders, including the
Holy Royal Arch The Royal Arch is a degree of Freemasonry. The Royal Arch is present in all main masonic systems, though in some it is worked as part of Craft ('mainstream') Freemasonry, and in others in an appendant ('additional') order. Royal Arch Masons meet ...
, the Order of the
Red Cross of Constantine The Red Cross of Constantine, or more formally the Masonic and Military Order of the Red Cross of Constantine and the Appendant Orders of the Holy Sepulchre and of St John the Evangelist, is a Christian fraternal order of Freemasonry. Candidates ...
, the
Order of Mark Master Masons The Order of Mark Master Masons is an appendant order of Freemasonry that exists in some Masonic jurisdictions, and confers the degrees of ''Mark Mason'' and ''Mark Master''. Purpose Similarly to Craft Freemasonry, Mark Masonry conveys moral a ...
, and the Royal Ark Mariners. He was appointed a Provincial Grand Steward for Oxfordshire in 1997, and became Oxfordshire's Assistant Provincial Grand Master in 1998. After a long period of treatment, Marchington died of
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
at Buxton's Cottage Hospital on 16 October 2011.


References


External links


Authorised Entry
at
Debretts Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company, publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John Deb ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marchington, Tony People from Buxton Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford English chemists Biotechnologists British people associated with Heritage Railways Deaths from cancer in England 1955 births 2011 deaths Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England 20th-century English businesspeople