A cane presented to Sir Edward William Watkin, 1st Baronet MP at Grimsby 1879.

The silver collar on the cane reads:

“Sir E. W. Watkin Bart MP Part of an Oak found 20ft below the surface in excavating for the Alexandra Docks Grimsby in 1879”

Sir Edward Watkin MP (1819–1901) was a Railway King. Born on 26th September 1819, he lived and died in Manchester. His achievements were many. These include being instrumental in developing Grimsby into the largest fishing port in the world and also making Cleethorpes a major seaside destination.

Some of Edward Watkin’s major achievements were:

He became the general manager, then a director and then chairman of the Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR).

He was knighted in 1868 and made a baronet in 1880.

He was involved with railways in Canada, Greece, India and the Belgian Congo.

In 1866 he became a director of the Great Western Railway and in January 1868 the Great Eastern Railway. By 1881 he was a director of nine railways and trustee of a tenth.

In 1880, as chairman of the South Eastern Railway, he began building a tunnel under the English Channel. But 1882 saw the government call a halt, worried about the military implications of a land-link to Europe.

Another project was the construction of a large iron tower, called Watkin’s Tower, in Wembley Park, north-west London. The aim was to rival the Eiffel Tower. Construction began in 1892 but enthusiasm waned and the tower began sinking. The partial structure was completely demolished by 1907.

Also:

In 1879, Sir Edward William Watkin, MP, Chairman of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company erected a statue of Prince Albert in Grimsby. The bronze figure on a polished granite plinth stands in front of the Dock Offices (not its original location).

Sir Edward William Watkin’s son, Sir Alfred Mellor Watkin, 2nd Baronet (1846-1914), was elected Liberal MP for Great Grimsby at a by-election in 1877. He became the 2nd Baronet of Rose Hill upon his father’s death in 1901.

Can anybody say anything about the origins of the oak tree from which the cane was made? Could it be an ancient oak which was preserved underneath the Grimsby marshes?

With thanks to R.W.