Sydney Hownam Hownam-Meek
Sydney Hownam Hownam-Meek (1854-1898)[1]
1854 Born in Cheetham, son of Sturges Meek
Educated at Cheltenham College, in the Engineering Department
1871-4 Pupil under his father on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway
1880 Associate Member of the Inst Civil Engineers
Died 1898 aged 48.[2]
1898 Obituary [3]
SYDNEY HOWNAM HOWNAM-MEEK, born on the 23rd May, 1854, was the third son of the late Mr. Sturges Meek, at one time Chief Engineer of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. After being educated at Cheltenham College he spent a. few months in some mechanical engineering works at Rouen, and then served his time under his father. On the expiration of his pupilage he obtained some experience of contractors' work, first at Clayton West, and subsequently on the construction of the Ascot and Aldershot Railway. In 1877 Mr. Hownam-Meek entered the service of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, and was Chief Assistant in the Permanent Way Department until 1881, when he was appointed Resident Engineer on the widening of the London and North-Western main line between Heaton Norris and Longsight. He also acted in a similar capacity on the Stockport Junction line, the goods yard at Edgeley, the Denton and Dukinfield branch, and the Heaton Norris and Reddish widening.
In November, 1887, Mr. Hownam-Meek entered the service of the Manchester Ship-Canal Company, in which he remained until May, 1891, when, owing to the approaching completion of the works, a large reduction in the staff was made. He acted as Resident Engineer for the Company on the extensive works carried out for the diversion of the following lines of railway: the old Grand Junction Railway, which now forms part of the London and North-Western main line ; the Birkenhead, Lancashire and Cheshire Junction Railway, belonging to the North-Western and Great Western Companies jointly and forming part of the Manchester and Chester Railway; and the Warrington and Stockport line on the North-Western system. Besides other extensive works these deviations included the construction of three large viaducts, two over the Ship-Canal and one over the River Mersey. The total length of the deviation railways under Mr. Hownam-Meek‘s charge was between 6 miles and 7 miles, and the embankments upon which they were raised, so as to provide a headway sufficient for the passage of large vessels at each crossing of the canal, were of exceptional magnitude.
Mr. Hownam-Meek was next engaged for some years for the Great Northern Railway in testing iron bridges on that Company’s system. His career, however, was prematurely cut short. After 48 hours’ illness he died at his residence in Heaton Chapel, near Stockport, on the 30th January, 1898. He was elected an Associate Member on the 25th May, 1880, and was transferred to the class of Members on the 8th May, 1888