Charles Hawksley
Charles Hawksley (1839-1917) of T. and C. Hawksley, consulting engineers
son of Thomas Hawksley
1917 Obituary [1]
CHARLES HAWKSLEY was born in Nottingham on 17th June 1839, being son of the late Mr. Thomas Hawksley, F.R.S., Past-President.
His early education was received privately and at University College School, London.
On leaving the latter in 1854 he entered as a pupil the office of his father, in Great George Street, Westminster, and in 1866 was taken into partnership.
Among the many water undertakings for which he acted in the capacity of consulting engineer subsequent to becoming the head of the firm on his father's death in 1893, may be mentioned those of Bristol, Barnsley, Cambridge, Coventry, Consett, Derby, Darlington, Devonport, Folkestone, Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Newcastle and Gateshead, Norwich, Rochdale, Sunderland, Southend, Weardale, Weymouth, Yeovil, and York.
The principal gasworks he was connected with were those put down at Derby, Darlington, Gosport, Oxford, and Sunderland. He had also a considerable practice in connexion with sewerage works. In respect of all of these various undertakings he was responsible for the designing and carrying out of the work.
He took a prominent part in the inquiry of the Royal Commission on London Water Supply in 1898, and was a witness on behalf of the companies during the proceedings which led to the transfer of their undertakings to the Metropolitan Water Board. He also assisted in the passing of the Derwent Valley Board's Bill through Parliament, and was largely interested in the formation and engineering of the South Yorkshire Navigation Co.
For at least fifty years he was a prominent figure in the Committee Rooms of Parliament, where he frequently gave evidence as a technical expert, and his services were often sought as arbitrator in civil engineering matters.
He was elected a Member of this Institution in 1870, and was a Member of Council from 1913. In conjunction with the late Mr. E. B. Marten, he read a Paper on "Special Mechanical Appliances for meeting the requirements of certain classes of Mine Accidents." To commemorate the centenary in 1907 of the birth of his father, he provided a fund to cover the expenses of an annual lecture — The Thomas Hawksley Lecture — and for the award each year of a medal and premium for the best Paper presented to the Institution.
He was one of the founders of the Benevolent Fund of this Institution, to the Museum of which he presented a working model of the 1,000 i.h.p. oscillating jet-condensing engines and paddles of H.M.S. "Sphinx," constructed by Messrs. John Penn and Son in 1846. He belonged to many learned societies.
He became a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1867, and its President in 1901. He was also a Manager of the Royal Institution of Great Britain; President of the Polytechnic School of Engineering from 1900; Member of the Institution of Gas Engineers, and other societies.
His death took place suddenly at his residence in Bayswater on 27th November 1917, at the age of seventy-eight.
1921 Obituary [2]
CHARLES HAWKSLEY, President of The Institution in 1901-02, died in London on the 27th November, 1917.
Born in Nottingham on the 17th June, 1839, he was educated at University College, London, after which he became a pupil under his father, the late Thomas Hawksley, F.R.S., also a Past-President of The Institution.
In 1866 he was taken into partnership with his father, who died in 1893, and in 1900 he took his son Kenneth Phipson Hawksley into partnership.
Mr. Charles Hawksley’s professional work was principally in connection with waterworks and gasworks, and during his career he was associated with the construction and development of many important public undertakings.
He was elected a Member of The Institution of Civil Engineers on the 21st May, 1867, and became President in 1901.
His warm attachment to the interests of his profession was shown in many ways, and he was a generous benefactor of every good cause which came under his notice. By his will Mr. Hawksley left The Institution the sum of £3,000, with a direction that the income should be applied in such ways as may be determined by the Council towards the provision of scholarships or prizes for proficiency in the design of engineering structures combining artistic merit with excellence of constructional design, the scholarships or prizes to be awarded by the Council on the joint recommendation of the Presidents for the time being of The Institution and of the Royal Institute of British Architects. It is hoped that a first award under this bequest may be made in 1922.