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| Information for individual 10739 |
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| 'Edward FLETCHER (M) | Parents/Siblings
| | Others called Fletcher |
Go to home page |
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8/5/1807 |
Birdhope Craig Presbyterian |
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21/12/1889 |
Newcastle upon Tyne |
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| Quite a famous locomotive engineer who worked with George Stephenson
It is noticeable that he named his eldest son after his father Allen.
Perhaps he named his second son after Lord Nelson
He was widowed by the time of the 1881 census, by which time he had 2 of his grand daughters living with him at Greenesfield House, namely Frances Fletcher (13) the daughter of Edward (Edwin in the IGI) and Edith Fletcher (5), the daughter of Horatio
Edward was apprenticed to George Stephenson and helped with the construction of Stephenson's Rocket and the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway . He helped with the construction of the York and North Midland Railway and then became locomotive superintendent of the Newcastle and Darlington Junction Railway in 1845. When the N&DJR became part of the North Eastern Railway in 1854, Fletcher became its locomotive superintendent until his retirement in 1882. He was succeeded by Alexander McDonnell .
From Wikipedia . . .
During his long life Edward Fletcher was closely concerned with the evolution and design of steam locomotives from the very earliest prototypes through to the sophisticated examples of Victorian engineering practice produced in the early 1880's.
From Stainmore 150 . . . .
Fletcher was born in 1809 near Otterburn in Northumberland, and as a young man was apprenticed to George Stephenson at about the time that 'Rocket' was under construction in 1830. Later in that year he drove the locomotive 'Invicta' supplied by Stephenson's company for the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway, and his career during the decade that followed was spent involved as an engineer working on many of the new railway projects being promoted across England. Sadly for us no-one during his lifetime ever wrote a biography of Fletcher during this important and interesting period of railway history.
In 1845 Fletcher became locomotive superintendent of the Darlington and Newcastle Junction Railway, and then two years later of the larger successor company the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway. In this role he was responsible for developing the Greenefield Locomotive Works on the banks of the Tyne at Gateshead, a place that became his home (his official residence being literally next to the works site!) and his operational base for the rest of his working life.
With the formation through further amalgamation of the North Eastern Railway in 1854 he became the Company's first locomotive superintendent, a position which he held for 28 years until his retirement in 1882. Fletcher's priorities throughout his career were quite different from those of later and better known locomotive engineers. He inherited an extraordinarily varied stock of older locomotives from smaller constituent companies and a crucial part of his job was to get the best value out of the enormous previous investment in engines that was available to the North Eastern. Standardisation of designs was not a priority for much of his time in office, and it was mainly towards the end of his career that he began to produce the robust designs like the '901' Class for which he is remembered today. |
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| Information for individual 10740 |
Spouse/Children
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| 'John FLETCHER (M) | Parents/Siblings
| | Others called Fletcher |
Go to home page |
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13/3/1809 |
Birdhope Craig Presbyterian |
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| Unmarried and reportedly aged 37 (rather than 42) at the time of the 1851 census of Gateshead, where he was a Railway Agent. He was still unmarried and a railway agent in 1871, now living with his widowed sister Sarah Wright and a servant Isabella Bell (aged 16)
But by the time of the 1881 census he had a 37 year old wife called Jane. By this time he was working as a Railway cashier. They had a 19 year old general servant called Elizabeth M Gray, from Gateshead |
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| Information for individual 10742 |
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| 'Sarah FLETCHER (F) | Parents/Siblings
| | Others called Fletcher |
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8/8/1816 |
Birdhope Craig Presbyterian |
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after 1871 |
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| | At the time of the 1871 census, Sarah Wright was described as John Fletcher's widowed sister living at 2 Ravensworth terrace in Gateshead (the IGI does not offer a marriage, except one in Suffolk in 1835, which seems unlikely) |
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| Information for individual 10743 |
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| 'Ann FLETCHER (F) | Parents/Siblings
| | Others called Fletcher |
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17/6/1818 |
Birdhope Craig Presbyterian |
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| Information for individual 10744 |
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| 'Barbara FLETCHER (F) | Parents/Siblings
| | Others called Fletcher |
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14/3/1824 |
Birdhope Craig Presbyterian |
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| | At the time of the 1851 census, Barbara was living with her widowed mother Ann and brother John in Gateshead, working as a Railway Agent and reportedly aged 25 (rather than 37) |
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