Robert and his journey south
Reporter TWO centuries on, the railway and engineering achievements of George and Robert Stephenson are such that they are still part of life in 21st-century Tyneside.
The Stephenson Quarter behind Newcastle Station bears the family name and a competition is asking photographers to create images from a list of 16 locations in the city which are associated with the father and son.
Robert, bridge and locomotive builder and eminent engineer, reached such heights that he is buried in Westminster Abbey.
But what has received little attention is Robert’s decision in 1824, aged 20, to head off to South America for three years.
He left the newly established Stephenson locomotive factory in Forth Street in Newcastle, of which he was manager, at an exciting time when railway technology was about to take off. The question is why? He endured a 35-day sea crossing to Colombia to reopen silver mines from the Spanish occupation era.
That was what intrigued Bob Longridge, and for two good reasons.
Firstly, he is chairman of the Newcastle-based Robert Stephenson Trust and secondly, he is the three times great grandson of Michael Longridge, manager of the Bedlington Iron Company in Northumberland and a founding partner of the Stephenson locomotive works in 1823. Michael was one of the key figures to whom Robert entrusted the running of the works while in Colombia.
Bob has visited Colombia, following in Robert’s footsteps, and has written a book which reveals for the first time in nearly 200 years the details of Stephenson’s South American venture.
They include the challenges Robert faced, his concerns about what was happening in England, the problems of managing the Cornish miners hired for the project, the lack of materials, and regular bouts of illness.
The information is contained in the 67,000 words Robert wrote in his letters, mainly to his boss Richard Illingworth based in Bogota.
The Illingworth archive is held by the University of Indiana in the US, and the trust has bought a full set of copies of the letters.
Bob delved into the correspondence for his book Rocket Man and Cousin Jacks, published by Rocket Press at £11.99.
Bob says: “This is the story of a man of great promise, aged just 20, during the most testing period of his life.”
Of the archive he says: “It had just been sitting there. It is a rich source of information about one of the most crucial formative experiences of the man who was destined to become an English railway and civil engineer of international stature.”
The trip which Bob and his wife made to Colombia provided a further insight into Robert’s time there.
“It is hot and humid on the plains, and Robert made some very long journeys and experienced all manner of conditions. He probably caught malaria and any number of things going around.” So why did Robert quit Newcastle when his star was on the rise?
“I think it was a young man’s decision to try and prove himself in a totally different environment away from his father,” says Bob. “Robert may have felt that he couldn’t be his own man. I think it was a young man’s wish to move to a totally different setting, but I don’t believe he had a clue what it was going to be like.
“However, I think it was the making of him. I think surmounting all those difficulties gave him confidence and the feeling that perhaps he was destined for something.”
Robert had become involved in the enthusiasm in the 1820s for investment in South American ventures, of which the Colombian Mining Association was one, in the expectation of high returns.
He made the journey with companion and interpreter Charles Empson, who painted watercolours of their time in South America.
Their base was Mariquita, which had once been home to 20,000 but whose population has fallen to 450, with two thirds of its buildings in ruins.
Robert wrote that in his house “our furniture consists chiefly of rough wooden packing cases we brought from England.
“There are thousands of beautiful parrots, some as large as chickens. We eat parrots, they are fine when well roasted. We have an excellent cook (she) cooks the parrots in many different ways that we never weary of them.
“Monkeys are plentiful. I have only made two meals of them.”
When he left Colombia in 1827, Robert sailed to New York, and made it to shore when the ship grounded and was wrecked.
The Stephenson photography competition has been organised by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) North East ahead of its 200th anniversary in 2018.
Penny Marshall, ICE regional director, said: “George and Robert Stephenson were two of the greatest civil engineers the world has seen, so it is important to recognise their achievements.
“Our competition is a fitting initiative to celebrate civil engineering ahead of our bicentenary, and offers the perfect platform for photographers of all skills and ages to showcase their talents.”
The Newcastle locations list is: Central Railway Station train shed; George Stephenson Monument; Mining Institute and the Lit and Phil, Neville Street; Assembly Rooms, Westgate Road; No. 5 Greensfield Place – Robert’s home – off Westgate Road; Bruce Building, Haymarket; South Street workshop; Stephenson’s Boiler Shop and Hawthorn works, Sussex Street; Hawthorn works, Sussex Street; High Level Bridge at Bridge Hotel; Dean Street Railway Arch; High Level Bridge from Quayside; James Hill memorial, Bottle Bank, Gateshead; Alderman Fenwick’s House, Pilgrim Street.
Competition closing date is next Tuesday. Details on https://www.ice.org.uk/aboutice/near-you/uk/north-east
It was the making of him. I think surmounting all those difficulties gave him confidence Bob Longridge