John Robinson McClean CB FRS

FRSA 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 ...

FRAS (21 March 1813 – 13 July 1873), was a British civil engineer and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician. He carried out many important works, and for a time was the sole owner of a main line railway, the first individual to do so. He carried out philanthropic works including securing a fresh water supply to overcome persistent outbreaks of cholera, taking no salary for his work.

Early life

He was born in the

Bank Buildings, Belfast The Bank Buildings is a Grade B1-listed five-storey building located at the intersection of Castle Street and Royal Avenue in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was designed and built between 1899 and 1900 by W. H. Lynn as a department store and war ...

, and was the youngest of four sons of Francis McClean and Margaret McReyolds. Francis was an ironmonger, his shop being the centre one of three located on the ground floor of the Bank Buildings, One brother (Adam) was a Civil Engineer in Dublin, while another (Francis), became an eminent dentist, practicing at St Stephens Green, Dublin. John was educated at

Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

and

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

Engineering career

Whilst still young, he offered himself as candidate for the Office of Engineer to the Belfast Harbour Commissioners, but was refused. Upon leaving the Board Room, he said to the then 'Secretary of the Belfast Harbour Board' Mr Edmund Getty, (an old family friend) "that he would let the Commissioners yet see what a man they had lost". With his partner, Francis Croughton Stileman, he founded McClean & Stileman, engineering consultants of Great George St, Westminster. Some of his positions were: *Advisor on the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popula ...

for the British Government. *Extensive works for Emperor Napoleon in France. *Chief Engineer of the Plymouth and Dover Harbours. *Chairman of the Anglo-American Telegraph Company. *Chief Engineer overseeing construction of the

South Staffordshire Railway The South Staffordshire Railway (SSR) was authorised in 1847 to build a line from Dudley in the West Midlands of England through Walsall and Lichfield to a junction with the Midland Railway on the way to Burton upon Trent, with authorised share ...

, which opened in 1849. Boynton says "McClean was a talented civil engineer whose contribution to his profession deserves to be more widely recognised."John Boynton, ''Rails Around Walsall, Yesterday and Today'', Mid England Books, Kidderminster, 1996, ISBN 0 95222 48 3 6, pages 18 and 20 When appointed as engineer to the South Staffordshire Railway, under constriction at the time in October 1846, he was already working for four other railway companies. Earlier, when apprenticed to a firm of civil engineers in London, he had prepared surveys and detailed drawings for the

Victoria Embankment Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and river-walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London. It runs from the Palace of Westminster to Blackfriars Bridge in the City of London, and acts as a major thoroughfar ...

and the new

Westminster Bridge Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side. The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the ...

. When new sewers were needed for the capital and the commissioners invited plans, his were the best of 116 submitted and the only ones which gave an estimate of the costs. McClean became aware of the dreadful state of Walsall's water supply;

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium '' Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting an ...

and

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several d ...

outbreaks took place there at regular intervals. McClean observed that Lichfield's water was clean and pure; he secured the agreement of some powerful friends, including the Earl of Dudley, and the South Staffordshire Waterworks Company was formed in 1853. The company supplied Walsall and

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

with Lichfield water, using Stowe and Minster pools as reservoirs. The pipe run was intalled alongside the railway. Parts of Walsall were connected by 1858 but it took fifteen years to complete the scheme. McClean was engineer to the waterworks company, but drew no salary. After an Act of Parliament was passed to allow it, he took a 25-year lease on the railway, thus becoming the first person ever to be the sole owner of a railway. By 1853 he was also busying himself with mining, completing a railway line serving two of the Marquis of Anglesey's pits on

Cannock Chase Cannock Chase (), often referred to locally as The Chase, is a mixed area of countryside in the county of Staffordshire, England. The area has been designated as the Cannock Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is managed by Forestry E ...

, known then as the Hammerwich and Uxbridge pits, known more recently as Cannock Chase Colliery Nos. 1 and 2. Money invested by McClean, the Marquis and others helped to develop the Cannock Chase coalfield. The pits spawned the new communities of Chasetown and Chase Terrace, which were provided with schools, churches, a community centre and library by McClean. The opening of St. Anne's Free Church, Chasetown in 1865, was a high-profile occasion for a modest building in a mining village. He was President of 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 ...

from 1864 to 1865.

Political career

He unsuccessfully stood for

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

as a

candidate for

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

at the 1857 general election, the second time he had been rejected by his native town. He was elected at the 1868 general election as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for

East Staffordshire East Staffordshire is a local government district with borough status in Staffordshire in England. It has two main towns: Burton upon Trent and Uttoxeter. Villages in the area include Abbots Bromley, Stretton, Tutbury, Barton-under-Needwood ...

, and held the seat until his death in 1873. He was also

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

of the

Engineer and Railway Staff Corps The Engineer and Logistic Staff Corps is a part of the Royal Engineers in the British Army Reserve. It is intended to provide advisers on engineering and logistics to the British Army at a senior level. Following its work creating the NHS Nighti ...

, a volunteer corps whose members serve as engineering advisors to the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

Later life

He died in 1873 aged 60, and is buried with his wife Anna, on the edge of the main path at

Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederick ...

, London.

Personal life

He was married to Anna (1813–1877). They had five daughters and one son, Frank McClean. Through Frank, their descendants include

Francis McClean Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Francis Kennedy McClean, (1 February 1876 – 11 August 1955) was a British civil engineer and pioneer aviator. Sir Francis was one of the founding members of the Royal Aero Club and one of the founders of naval aviatio ...

Rupert Carington, 7th Baron Carrington Rupert Francis John Carington, 7th Baron Carrington, (born 2 December 1948), is a British banker and crossbench member of the House of Lords. Lord Carrington serves as Lord Great Chamberlain of England since the accession of Charles III in ...

, and the twelfth and subsequent Eliott baronets.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McClean, John Robinson 1813 births 1873 deaths British civil engineers Fellows of the Royal Society Companions of the Order of the Bath Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Presidents of the Institution of Civil Engineers Alumni of the University of Glasgow Engineer and Railway Staff Corps officers