Charles Scott Meik (1853 – 5 July 1923) was an English

civil Civil may refer to: *Civility, orderly behavior and politeness *Civic virtue, the cultivation of habits important for the success of a society *Civil (journalism) ''The Colorado Sun'' is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It lau ...

and

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

, and part of a minor engineering dynasty. His father

Thomas Meik Thomas Meik ( – )Thomas Meik
''Grace's Guide''. Retrieved: 8 October 2015. was a 19th-century Scottish en ...

was also a civil engineer, as was Charles' brother Patrick Meik; collectively, they established a company which became one of the UK's major engineering consultancies.

Early career

Both brothers were born in Crow Tree Road,

Bishopwearmouth Bishopwearmouth () is a former village and parish which now constitutes the west side of Sunderland City Centre, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England, merging with the settlement as it expanded outwards in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is ...

. For three years from 1870, Charles Meik was an apprentice at

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

-based Hawthorne & Co, after which he spent two years in William Armstrong's Elswick engine works. After three years (1875–1878) working for the borough engineer of

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

on riverside improvements, he became assistant to Sir

Thomas Bouch Sir Thomas Bouch (; 22 February 1822 – 30 October 1880) was a British railway engineer. He was born in Thursby, near Carlisle, Cumbria, Carlisle, Cumberland, and lived in Edinburgh. As manager of the Edinburgh and Northern Railway he introduc ...

. However, Bouch's career was finished by the Tay Bridge disaster on 28 December 1879 in east Scotland when the 13 high girders forming the central part of the bridge crashed into the river carrying a train and 75 men, women and children with it. In 1881, Charles Meik entered the office of Thomas Meik and Sons, as chief assistant, and was taken into partnership in 1882, working on the design and construction of dock and harbour works until 1887. He then went to Japan and worked as Chief Engineer of Harbours and Rivers for the Japanese government, returning to work in London with his brother Patrick in 1894.

PW & CS Meik

After Thomas Meik retired in 1888, his firm (renamed Thomas Meik & sons) had passed into the hands of his sons, and in 1896, it was renamed PW Meik and CS Meik. Charles then assisted Patrick on the firm's first venture into Wales, a massive commission to construct docks and a railway at

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which d ...

for the Port Talbot Railway and Docks Company, followed by an equally ambitious scheme to expand the port of

Seaham Seaham ( ) is a seaside town in County Durham (district), County Durham, England. Located on the Durham Coast, Seaham is situated south of Sunderland and east of Durham, England, Durham. The town grew from the late 19th century onwards as ...

, officially opened in 1905. The Meiks' expertise saw port and railway designs developed in many parts of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

, including

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...

, India,

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. The firm was then commissioned to design the Kinlochleven hydroelectric scheme in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

. This was a huge undertaking at the time and it was to lead to an even greater hydroelectric project, the

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; ) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig. Lochaber once extended from the Northern shore of Loch Leven, a distric ...

Water Power Scheme. Meik died before construction started, leaving the project's completion in the hands of William Halcrow (the firm name later changed to CS Meik and Halcrow, and later traded as the

Halcrow Group Halcrow Group Limited was a British engineering consultancy company. It was one of the UK's largest consultancies, specialised in the provision of planning, design and management services for infrastructure development worldwide. With interests ...

). Meik is remembered on the family memorial in

Duddingston Duddingston is an affluent, historic village in the east of Edinburgh, Scotland, next to Holyrood Park.It is a conservation area, not to be confused with the rest of Duddingston, which stretches down towards Portobello. Duddingston Village bo ...

Kirkyard.Charles Scott Meik: 1853 – 1923
Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved: 8 October 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meik, Charles 1923 deaths English civil engineers People from Sunderland Engineers from Tyne and Wear 1853 births