Adlib Internet Server 5

Title
Hackworth Family Archive
Reference
HACK
Production date
1810 - 1980

Creator

Hackworth, Timothy Biography Biography
Timothy Hackworth was born on 22 December 1786 in Wylam, Northumberland, he was the eldest of three sons and five daughters. His father was John Hackworth, master blacksmith at Wylam colliery and his mother Elizabeth Sanderson of Newcastle. Hackworth was apprenticed to his father at Wylam, where he later worked for Christopher Blackett and the coal viewer William Hedley and went on to be responsible for engines the ‘Wylam Grasshopper’ and the ‘Wylam Dilly’. Hackworth left Wylam in 1816 because of the Sunday working hours which conflicted with his Methodist beliefs. He moved to Warbottle Colliery where he worked for William Patter as a foreman blacksmith. Timothy Hackworth and Jane Hackworth (nee Golightly) were married in 1813 at Ovingham Parish Church, both were converted Methodists. They had six daughters and three sons. One son, Thomas died shortly after his birth. Hackworth then moved to Forth Street Works in Newcastle; a works built to construct engines for the Stockton and Darlington Railway. He managed the works whilst George and Robert Stephenson were away the former surveying Liverpool and Manchester Railway line and the latter working in South America. Apparently around this time Hackworth was offered the job of manager and a share in Forth Street Works but declined this offer. In 1825 he moved to Shildon to take up position of locomotive superintendent, manager and contractor for the Stockton and Darlington Railway Company. During this time he built marine engines, coal stathes at Middlesbrough and doubled the line between Brusselton foot and Stockton. He also designed locomotives for the line including the ‘Royal George’ a high performing locomotive which featured the ‘blast pipe’ an invention that discharged exhaust steam through a converging nozzle blast pipe in the chimney, greatly increasing combustion intensity and steam production. Went on to design more locos including ‘‘Majestic’’ and ‘’Wilberforce’’ type locomotives these were manufactured by Stephenson and co and R & W Hawthorne. Hackworth entered his locomotive ‘‘Sanspareil’’ into the Rainhill Trials of 1829; a competition initiated by the directors of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company. The Sanspareil was not successful and Robert Stephenson’s ‘‘Rocket’’ won the contest. The Sanspareil was purchased by the directors for £500 went on to run successfully on the Bolton and Leigh Railway until 1844. It has been suggested that a cylinder of the Sanspareil had been sabotaged by in the Forth Street, thus resulting in Hackworth losing the trail, however this view has generally been dismissed by historians. In 1833 Hackworth ceased to be a salaried employee and instead contracted work to the Stockton and Darlington Railway Company and also did work on a private basis. By this time his role had evolved from superintendent of locomotives to also managing the workshops, tools and machinery. Private contracts that he carried out during this time including manufacturing an engine for the Russian government in 1836, which John Wesley Hackworth couriered to Russia and manufacturing locomotives for the Albion Coal Mining Company in Nova Scotia, order by John Buddle in 1838. In 1840 Hackworth gave up his contract with the Stockton and Darlington Railway concentrated on his own works in Soho works in Shildon. He took over the works from his brother Thomas Hackworth who had run Hackworth and Downing from the premises. Timothy fulfilled contracts for the Clarence Railway and various collieries and also built stationary marine and industrial engines. In 1846 began to build engines for the London and Brighton Railway when John Gray was Locomotive superintendent. Gray designed a class of express passenger locomotives and the whole of this class (12 engines) was built by Timothy Hackworth at Soho 1846-1848. In 1849 Hackworth built Sanspareil no. 1, he had difficulty selling this locomotive and it remained unsold by the time of his death of typhus on 7 July 1850 at Soho Works, Shildon after an outbreak in the area. His sons and other relatives went on to be engineers. His eldest son, John Wesley Hackworth did a lot of work to promote his fathers memory after he died. His daughters, friends, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and ancestors to this day have worked to try and gain him a prominent place in railway history. Notably his grandson Robert Young wrote Timothy Hackworth and the Locomotive (London: Locomotive Publishing Company, 1923) in a bid to preserve and promote his memory.

Scope and Content
The Hackworth family archive is a record of early railway development in Britain. It contains records of Timothy Hackworth’s (1786-1850) work with the Stockton and Darlington Railway Company and features original documents to and from prominent railway individuals such as George and Robert Stephenson and Edward and Joseph Pease. It describes business activities and events on the line and discusses developments of railway engineering and travel that enabled the railways of today. Business records such as ledgers, notebooks and drawings provide detailed information about locomotives built; records also document business activities, such as the passport of John Wesley Hackworth from when he delivered the first locomotive to Russia (HACK/1/3/5). There is also a large amount of correspondence between various individuals regarding Soho Works’ order for the London and Brighton Railway Company. Correspondence between the members of the family describes the early railway industry informally; Timothy Hackworth appears to regularly correspond with his children in a personal and business capacity and writes to his wife regularly when he is away from home. Timothy Hackworth’s correspondence with his wife and two sons describe his feelings about how his business and railway developments at the time. Letters are also heavily tinged with religious references and are evidence of the family’s Methodist faith and describe every day events. The archive contains a large amount of family records from after the death of Timothy Hackworth. There are hundreds of papers regarding the settling of his estate gathered by his friend and executor of his estate Thomas Greener (HACK/2/1). These show how the family administered the estate and, dealt with running Soho Works without their father and their various decisions to sell the business. Papers also deal with private matters such as the mental health of Timothy Hackworth’s eldest daughter Ann Ambler who was put into a mental asylum and the family’s attempts communicate with her husband William Amber. The mental health of another sister Mary Hackworth is also discussed, along with the threat of her marrying an unsuitable husband as the estate was being settled. Thomas Greener filed personal letters alongside estate papers; the series includes letters regarding the death of Timothy Hackworth’s wife Jane, letters announcing marriages, illness of his son Timothy Hackworth and often express money troubles within the family. Disagreements between family members are played out, notably between the two sons John Wesley and Timothy who both attempt to buy the business. At another point John Wesley Hackworth attempts to bring legal action on his brother and another executor. Letters between the children of Timothy Hackworth and also their friends give an insight into what life was in Victorian times (HACK/4). Letters between women and girls are an example of this; Timothy Hackworth’s daughter Prudence Nightingale (nee Hackworth)’s correspondence with her friend Elizabeth Dove describes family matters and the death of many people in her family of tuberculosis. Correspondence accumulated by younger daughter Jane Young (nee Hackworth) describes her time at school in Vilvorde, Belgium. Letters describe the family’s opinions regarding the observation of the Sabbath; provide gossip about family and friends and on potential suitors and describe Victorian fashion. There are numerous items in the archive that are evidence of social and religious history for example proposals of marriage, letters turning down marriage, religious confessions and letters of condolence on the death of family members. The archive has another dimension to it: many of Timothy Hackworth’s children, grandchildren ancestors and friends campaigned for their ancestor’s recognition and their records are also contained in the archive (HACK/6). Hackworth’s daughters, their husbands and friend Thomas Greener collected, wrote and distributed literature about him. John Wesley Hackworth’s research papers and his correspondence in papers demonstrate his eagerness that his fathers name must not be forgotten (HACK/3). He publically battled against people who he thought were promoting historically inaccurate notions in relation to who was involved with early railway development. He focused on the argument that his father had invented the ‘blast pipe’ which the Stephenson’s used in order to make their locomotives successful. Later letters between Robert Young and various correspondents provide different points of views on the effectiveness of John Wesley Hackworth’s work to promote his father (HACK/5). Some correspondents such as, Timothy Hackworth’s nephew ardently defend John Wesley’s work and views, whereas others such as Robert Young Pickering, cousin of Robert Young are very critical of the way that John Wesley ‘damaged’ any chance that of making Timothy Hackworth’s name prominent. Research for Robert Young’s book Timothy Hackworth and the Locomotive (London: Locomotive Publishing Company, 1923), gathered by Robert Young provides an in depth into the history surrounding the dawn of the locomotive in Britain (HACK/5/2). Both his and John Wesley Hackworth’s research (HACK/3/3), which he also used, provide a great deal of first and second hand information and evidence regarding the history of railways. Young researches through published sources, correspondence with people who were alive at the time of Timothy Hackworth including members of the family, photographs, magazines. Robert Young and his cousin Samuel Holmes, who lived in the United States, corresponded in depth about what should go into Robert Young’s book. Samuel Holmes tended to follow John Wesley Hackworth’s style of debate whilst Robert Young wanted to avoid the book offending the public and to create a more impartial account of events. Samuel Holmes wrote a forward to the Robert Young’s book however he died before the book was completed and it was never included in the final publication. There are various heated letters between Samuel Holmes and Robert Young that debate Timothy Hackworth’s involvement in railway history. Later letters in the series document arrangements for parts of this archive and other Hackworth artefacts to be exhibited by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company in the World Columbian Exposition, or ‘World Fair’ held in 1893 (HACK/6/2-3). Letters sent between members of the family describe current events at the time of writing such as the Boer War and the World War I. Letters from family members now and again describe the family’s bad luck and often describe sorrow due to death and illness in the family. Later letters deal with what should happen with the family archive after members of the family have died and demonstrate further attempts to publicise Timothy Hackworth.
Extent
27 boxes
Physical description
Archive is made up of paper, some large patent documents and drawings and some photographs. Where there are specific technical requirements these are listed alongside the item or series description.
Language
English, French, Russian, German
Archival history
Before the archive reached the NRM it had come from various members of the family; usually kept with the oldest male relative. Around the 1880 a large proportion of the archive appears to have been taken to the United States by Samuel Holmes; Timothy Hackworth’s nephew. Parts of the archive appear to have been passed to Robert Young when he was writing his book Timothy Hackworth and the Locomotive. Robert Young and his descendents passed pieces of the archive, mainly letters to and from Timothy Hackworth to the Science Museum, London. These letters were subsequently transferred to the National Railway Museum in 2005. Other records remained with various descedents and were transferred to the NRM in three separate donations in 2005, two donations in 2010 and further donations in 2011. Further acquisitions donated by a descendent of Timothy Hackworth were added to the collection in December 2012, these had previously been represented in the collection as copies. This deposit consists of letters and documents removed from the main bulk of the archive by Robert Young when he was writing his book, they cover dominant themes in the archive such as early locomotive development, Ann Ambler’s mental illness, the death of Timothy Hackworth’s wife Jane Young and John Wesley Hackworth’s failed marriage proposal. The TH numbers refer to the accessions to the Timothy Hackworth Museum and a cataloguing system used by one of the donors. Some letters referenced in Robert Young’s Timothy Hackworth and the Locomotive (London: Locomotive Publishing Company, 1923) do not survive in the archive and their location and provenance is unknown.
Level of description
TOP
Repository name
National Railway Museum, York

Associated people and organisations

Stockton & Darlington Railway Co Biography Biography
The Stockton & Darlington Railway (S&DR) was the first steam operated public railway in the world when it opened in 27 September 1825. The object of the railway was to reduce the cost of carriage of coal sent from the small coal mine in the Shildon area to Darlington & Stockton and at first it was not thought that there would be any need to provide facilities for passengers. For the first eight years the few passengers were carried in horse-drawn coaches operated by the contractors, it was not until 1833 that the company started to operate passenger trains hauled by locomotives. Synonymous with the S&DR are the names Pease and Stephenson. The Pease family, led by Edward Pease strongly supported the railway and Edward's son, Joseph, prepared the original prospectus and became the company's first treasurer. George Stephenson was appointed engineer in January 1822 to see to the survey and the building of the line, he also supplied the first locomotives which were built be his son, Robert Stephenson. In May 1825 Timothy Hackworth was appointed locomotive foreman and worked with the company for eight years and designed a type of locomotive more suitable for coal traffic, with six-coupled wheels. Most of the branches and extensions to the Stockton and Darlington Railway were built by separate companies, although worked by the S&DR, however most of these companies were taken over by S&DR in 1858. In 1863 the Stockton & Darlington Railway ceased to exist as a separate concern, but until 1876 it was run as the Darlington section of the North Eastern Railway.
Stephenson, George Biography Biography
George Stephenson (1781–1848), colliery and railway engineer, was born at Wylam, Northumberland, on 9 June 1781. He is often credited as being the ‘Father of Railways.’ He was the second son of Robert Stephenson, foreman at the Wylam colliery pumping engine. At fourteen he was appointed an assistant fireman to his father and when he was seventeen Robert Hawthorne employed him in the position of ‘plugman’, or engineman. Robert worked on engines at Willington Quay, Killingworth and Montrose, Scotland, before returning to Killingworth, where in 1812 he was appointed engineman and given responsibility for all the machinery at a number of collieries in the Newcastle area. Stephenson built his first locomotive, Blucher, in 1814 for Killingworth colliery, and in 1816, he patented the ‘steam spring’ with William Losh, of Walker Ironworks, Newcastle. Losh had previously supported Stephenson’s claim that he invented the first safety lamp for underground mineworkers in 1815. In early 1822, George was appointed engineer to the Stockton and Darlington Railway, after submitting survey plans and cost estimates for the proposed line and in May 1823, the company was given permission to use steam locomotives on the line. On 23 June 1823, George Stephenson established the engine manufacturing company Robert Stephenson & Co. with Edward Pease, Thomas Richardson and Michael Longridge, which was to be managed by George’s son, Robert. Work commenced in August 1823 and by the time the Stockton and Darlington line opened for traffic on 27 September 1825, four winding engines had been delivered together with a operational steam locomotive: Locomotion No.1. In 1824, George was employed to undertake surveys and prepare plans for the proposed Liverpool and Manchester Railway, but the bill was rejected in parliament. A new bill was passed in 1826, and Stephenson was appointed engineer. Stephenson fought strenuously for using locomotive power on the line, and his locomotive Rocket, built under the direction of his son Robert, won the Rainhill locomotive trials, held in October 1829, to determine the best means of propulsion on the Liverpool and Manchester line. Stephenson was chief engineer to the Grand Junction line connecting Birmingham with Liverpool and Manchester, begun in 1833 and he was also chief engineer to the following railways: Manchester to Leeds, Birmingham to Derby, Normanton to York, and Sheffield to Rotherham, and others, all begun in 1836. The Derby to Leeds Railway (afterwards called the North Midland line) was commenced under his supervision in 1837. In 1838 Stephenson was elected vice-president of the mechanical science section of the British Association at its Newcastle meeting. In 1845, Stephenson’s party won a parliamentary battle as supporters of the locomotive against the upholders of the atmospheric railway system, led by I.K. Brunel. In 1847 Stephenson became president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, which was founded by him that year in Birmingham. He received in 1835 the honour of knighthood from Leopold I of Belgium and in 1845 he also visited northern Spain in connection with a proposed railway. Stephenson consistently refused all proffered honours in England, however, declining a knighthood on two occasions. He died of pleurisy at Tapton House, Tapton, near Chesterfield, on 12 August 1848. He was buried on 17 August at Holy Trinity Church, Chesterfield.
Stephenson, Robert Biography Biography
Robert Stephenson (1803–1859) was a railway and civil engineer born on 16 October 1803 at Willington Quay, near Newcastle upon Tyne, the only son of George Stephenson (1781–1848), colliery and railway engineer. He was educated at Bruce's academy at Newcastle upon Tyne. On leaving school in 1819 Stephenson was apprenticed to Nicholas Wood, viewer of Killingworth colliery. In 1821 he assisted his father in the survey of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and then in 1822 spent six months studying natural philosophy, chemistry, and natural history at Edinburgh University. On leaving Edinburgh, Stephenson settled in Newcastle upon Tyne to manage Robert Stephenson & Co at Forth Banks Works, the locomotive building establishment which his father had founded there in 1823 to build stationary and locomotive engines. The locomotive ‘Rocket’ was built under his direction and went on to win the Rainhill locomotive trials, held in October 1829, to determine the best means of propulsion on the Liverpool and Manchester line. He was responsible for surveying the line of the proposed London and Birmingham Railway and was appointed Chief Engineer. The railway was the world's first intercity passenger railway in which all the trains were timetabled and were hauled for most of the distance solely by steam locomotives From 1838 until the end of his life he was engaged on railway work, not only in Great Britain, but all over the world; railways were constructed either under his own direct supervision or under his advice which later became the trunk lines of the countries in which they were laid down. Stephenson’s designs became the dominant type of locomotive in Great Britain. Notable among Stephenson locomotives was the long-boilered engine in which all wheels were placed ahead of the firebox so that there was no restriction on its size. Unsuitable for main line express service, the type was remarkably successful in the carriage of heavy freight where a reservoir ofsteaming capacity could be used with advantage. Stephenson was also successful at bridge building, he built the high-level bridge over the Tyne at Newcastle, the Royal Border Bridge at Berwick and the Britannia Bridge over the Conwy and the Menai Strait. Stephenson also proposed the great Victoria Bridge over the St Lawrence River at Montreal, which was begun in 1854 and completed in 1859 after his death. On 30 July 1847 Stephenson was elected MP for Whitby. He represented the town until his death. He died at his home at 34 Gloucester Square, London, on 12 October 1859 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Subject
Railways
Conditions governing access
Access is given in accordance with the NRM access policy. Material from this archive is available to researchers through Search Engine.
Conditions governing Reproduction
Copies may be supplied of items in the archive, provided that the copying process used does not damage the item or is not detrimental to its preservation. Copies will be supplied in accordance with the NRM’s terms and conditions for the supply and reproduction of copies, and the provisions of any relevant copyright legislation.
Appraisal
Printing blocks, photocopied duplicates and publications duplicated in the NRM library have been returned to the donor. Some publications have been classified as library material and therefore moved to the NRM library collection.
System of arrangement
The archive has been arranged into sub fonds that represent how individuals gathered material; e.g. all letters they received, letters they wrote and never sent, papers written by them, publications gathered by them etc. It has not been possible to ascertain the owner or gatherer of some printed material and images, therefore these have been classed under separate sub fonds. Where appropriate married couples have been described together, this is where material has been gathered by both individuals, letters have been addressed to both parties and so on. Some couples have been split into two series when their activities are deemed separate.