Nicholas Wood
Nicholas Wood Newcastle and Berwick Railway | |
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Significant advance | Mining safety |
Nicholas Wood
Early life
Nicholas Wood was born at Sourmires, in the parish of
Career
By 1825 he had gained sufficient reputation and expertise in the design and testing of locomotives that in 1825 he was able to publish his influential book A Practical Treatise on Rail-roads and Interior Communication, in which he analysed the various types of 'motive power' then in use:
In 1832 he was involved in the building of the
Wood often gave extensive evidence to government committees, such as the Select Committees on accidents of 1835 and 1853 and was involved in the discussions leading to the Mines Inspection Act of 1851. In 1855 he examined all the candidates for the new mining inspectorate. [1]
North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers
Wood was one of the group of colliery viewers and others who following the Seaham Colliery explosion in 1852 decided to form a society to consider the prevention of accidents in coal mines. This was the North of England Institute of Mining Engineers. Wood was appointed the first President [7] being re-elected to the position every year until his death. He campaigned for a College of Physical Science in Newcastle but without success because of funding difficulties and problems in the planned relationship with Durham University. A revitalised campaign after his death resulted in the creation of the college - a forerunner of Newcastle University - in 1871. [8]
Other organisations
Wood was a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and Institution of Mechanical Engineers and became a Fellow of the Geological Society in 1843 and a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1864.[1] He was a vice president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science at the time of its meeting in Newcastle in 1863. [9] He also served as chairman of the employers organisation the Mining Association of Great Britain from its inception in 1854 until his death in 1865. [10]
He married Maria Lindsay of Alnwick in 1827; they had four sons and three daughters. In declining health for some months, he died while visiting London for medical consultations on 19 December 1865. He was buried at Hetton.[1][2][11] His four sons all made names for themselves in the coal industry; the youngest, Sir Lindsay Wood, becoming chairman of Hetton Collieries after his father's death and a baronet.[2]
Legacy
In 1871, in honour of Nicholas Wood, the Neville Hall within the North of England Institute of Mining Mechanical Engineers was renamed the Wood Memorial Hall. Planned to open on 5 August 1871, on the nineteenth anniversary of its foundation, the opening was delayed, owing to the joiners being on strike for four months. The Hall was successfully reopened on 2 July 1872, and was considered by many of the members to be a worthy testimonial to the memory of Nicholas Wood.[12][13] Within the building, there is a monumental statue of Nicholas Wood presiding over the library, mounted on the top of a throne in the setting of an iconostasis.[14]
Publications
Book
- Wood, Nicholas A Practical Treatise on Rail-roads and Interior Communication in General, 1825. 2nd ed. 1831; 3rd ed. 1838.
Selected articles
- Wood, Nicholas. On the geology of a part of Northumberland and Cumberland. Transactions - Natural History Society of Northumberland, Durham and Newcastle Upon Tyne 1831, 302-334
- Wood, Nicholas. Inaugural address delivered to the members of the North of England Institute of Mining Engineers...... Transactions - North of England Institute of Mining Engineers 1 1852-53, 11-33
- Wood, Nicholas. On safety-lamps for lighting coal mines. Transactions - North of England Institute of Mining Engineers 1 1852-53, 301-322
- Wood, Nicholas. On the conveyance of coals underground in pits. Transactions - North of England Institute of Mining Engineers 5 1856-57, 65–116
- Wood, Nicholas. On the improvements and progress in the working and ventilation of coal mines in the Newcastle-on-Tyne district within the last fifty years. Proceedings - Institution of Mechanical Engineers 1858, 177-236
- Wood, Nicholas. On the deposit of magnetic ironstone in Rosedale. Transactions - North of England Institute of Mining Engineers 7 1858-59, 85-94
- Wood, Nicholas. Address on the two late eminent engineers, the Messrs. Stephenson, father and son. Transactions - North of England Institute of Mining Engineers 8 1859-60, 33-84
- Wood, N., Taylor, J. & Marley, J. Coal mining, &c. Transactions - North of England Institute of Mining Engineers 12 1862-63, 149-218
References
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/38149. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ a b c d e "Death of Nicholas Wood Esq". Newcastle Courant. 22 December 1865.
- ^ a b "Nicholas Wood". Steam Index. 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
- ^ a b Doubleday, Thomas (1866). "Memoir of the late Nicholas Wood, Esq". Transactions, North of England Institute of Mining Engineers. 15: 49–59.
- ^ Mountford, C.E. The history of John Bowes and Partners up to 1914. MA thesis University of Durham, 1967
- ^ Nicholas Wood and Partners. Durham Mining Museum
- ^ Wood, Nicholas (March 1852). "Inaugural address". Transactions, North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers. 1: 11–32.
- ^ Hinsley, F.B.: The North of England Institute of Mining Engineers and the Establishment of the College of Physical Science at Newcastle Upon Tyne, public lecture delivered 9 July 1971 accessible at https://mininginstitute.org.uk/about-us/history-of-the-institute/
- ^ Report of the 33rd meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science ... 1863, xxviii.
- ^ Mining Association of Great Britain. Historical review of coal mining.1924, 358.
- ^ "Death or Mr Nicholas Wood, The Mining Engineer". The Lancaster Gazette. 23 December 1865. p. 6.
- ^ "The Wood Memorial Hall". Newcastle Courant. 5 July 1872.
- ^ Harding, J.T. (1986–1987). "A history of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers". Mining Engineer. 146 (7): 252–256.
- ^ The Mining Institute Renaissance- Anniversary Celebrations 1852– 2002. Authors: R.Blance, H. Burn, J. Ceiriog-Hughes, A.Doyle, N.Jackson, D.J Mallett, J.S. Porthouse, R. Sanderson, and G.W. Taylor
Further reading
- Obituary Notice: Nicholas Wood Proceedings - Royal Society of London 16 1868, lxi-lxiii
- Wood, Nicholas "On safety lamps for lighting coal mines" Transactions, North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, 1 1852-3, 301–322. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
- Nicholas Wood Grace's Guide. Retrieved 28 October 2013.