Clement E. Stretton Explained

Clement E. Stretton
Honorific Suffix:C.E.
Birth Date:3 October 1850
Birth Place:Leicester, England[1] [2]
Death Place:Leicester, England
Occupation:Consulting engineer, author
Genres:-->
Spouse:Alice Hannah Thompson (m. 14 February 1878, d. 28 November 1885) [3] [4]
Partners:-->
Children:
  • Clement (b. 12 May 1879) [5] [6]
  • Alice (b. 28 June 1880) [7]
Relatives:Clement (father)

Clement Edwin Stretton (3 October 1850 — 20 February 1915)[1] [2] was a consulting engineer and author. He wrote several books, as well as numerous papers on the subjects of railways and freemasonry, being active during the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries. His two major works, Safe Railway Working: A Treatise on Railway Accidents (1887)[8] and The Locomotive Engine and its Development (1892),[9] ran to 3 and 6 editions respectively. He also produced a lengthy history of the Midland Railway (1901).[10]

During his lifetime Stretton was (and still remains) a somewhat controversial figure as his writing on railways contains many inaccuracies and fabrications. He became involved in long-running and bitter dispute with G. A. Sekon, editor of The Railway Magazine.[11]

Life

Stretton was born in Leicester in 1850, the son of Julia Stanbury (née Osborn) and Clement Stretton,[2] [12] a solicitor and later mayor of Leicester.[13] It is uncertain where he was educated, as whilst several source states that he attended Rugby School,[1] [14] his name is not listed in the printed register of alumni.[15] However, it seems that in 1866 he was articled to a Civil Engineering firm for £300.

Stretton claims he was assigned to work at a quarry in Cromford, Derbyshire. He claims the Guild Masons at the quarry refused to work with him, but when he joined the Operative Society after a few days he received total support from them. Stretton thereafter worked his way through the degrees of the Operative Masonry.

In 1871 also became initiated into Speculative Freemasonry at the Leicester Lodge.

Stretton was a prolific railway writer but there are wide and strong concerns about his fabrication of stories, inaccurate drawings, and long detailed lists of fictitious locomotives which he claimed had been constructed by several British firms such as Vulcan Foundry. He published this erroneous material very widely in books, magazines and local newspapers all over Britain, and donated faulty drawings to the Science Museum in London, so his efforts soon found their way into books written by otherwise reliable authors. His invented 'works lists' of the products of locomotive building firms continue to appear in print.

In 1908 Stretton re-visited the Derby Lodge and noted a substantial decline in membership. This initiated Stretton into an attempt to make efforts to revive Guild Masonry and ensure the traditions were not lost. He has received credit for his work in passing down the information from the Operative Guild which might otherwise have been lost. John Yarker of Manchester was also active in these efforts.[16] [17]

Stretton died in 1915.

Legacy

Railway track items in the Stretton Collection are held at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery.

Bibliography

Stretton was a prolific writer on railway and masonic matters, his larger works online include:

References

Sources

Notes and References

  1. News: . 27 February 1915 . Death of Mr. Clement Stretton: Interesting Leicester Personality . subscription . Leicester Chronicle and the Leicestershire Mercury . 15 . 5437 . 2 . British Newspaper Archive.
  2. News: . 22 February 1915 . The Late Mr. C. E. Clement Stretton: A Notable Career . subscription . Leicester Mail . 1631 . 5 . British Newspaper Archive.
  3. News: . 22 February 1878 . Marriages . subscription . Leicester Journal . 124 . 7190 . 8 . British Newspaper Archive.
  4. News: . 30 November 1885 . Death . subscription . The Leicester Daily Mercury . 12 . 3528 . 2 . British Newspaper Archive.
  5. Web site: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881 . subscription . Class: RG11; Piece: 3160; Folio: 57; Page: 16; GSU roll: 1341754. Kew, Surrey, England . The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1881. . Ancestry.co.uk.
  6. News: . 16 May 1879 . Births . subscription . Leicester Journal . 125 . 7245. 8 . British Newspaper Archive.
  7. News: . 2 July 1880 . Births . subscription . Leicester Journal . 127 . 6635 . 8 . British Newspaper Archive.
  8. Book: Stretton, Clement E. . 1887 . Safe Railway Working: A Treatise on Railway Accidents, Their Cause and Prevention With a Description of Modern Appliances and Systems . London . Crosby Lockwood and Co. . 12165963 . 1 January 2023 . Internet Archive.
  9. Book: Stretton, Clement E. . 1892 . The Locomotive Engine and Its Development: A Popular Treatise on the Gradual Improvements Made in Railway Engines from 1803 to 1892 . London . Crosby Lockwood and Son . 7010080 . 1 January 2023 . Internet Archive.
  10. Book: Stretton, Clement E. . 1901 . The History of the Midland Railway . London . Methuen & Co . OL6922282M . 1 January 2023 . Internet Archive.
  11. Book: Jack, Harry . 2001 . Locomotives of the LNWR Southern Division : London & Birmingham Railway, London & North Western Railway and Wolverton Locomotive Works . . . 0901115894 . 50330788 . 5.
  12. Web site: . 1877, 1878 Clement Stretton . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111002031523/http://www.leicester.gov.uk/about-leicester/lordmayorcivic/roll-of-mayors/1800-1899-roll-of-mayors/1870-1879-mayors/1877-1878-clement-stretton/ . 2 October 2011 . . 2 January 2023.
  13. News: 23 May 1891 . Death of Mr Clement Stretton . subscription . Leicester Chronicle and the Leicestershire Mercury . 81 . 4189 . 6 . British Newspaper Archive.
  14. Book: Simmons, Jack . Jack Simmons (historian) . Simmons . Jack . Riddle . Gordon . 1997 . Stretton, Clement Edwin . https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000unse_z2r0/page/482/mode/1up . The Oxford Companion to British Railway History from 1603 to the 1990s . registration . Oxford . Oxford University Press . 0192116975 . 1280731305 . 482 . Internet Archive.
  15. Book: Michell . 1902 . Rugby School Register . 2 . 4679525 . Revised . Rugby . A.J. Lawrence . 384 . 2 January 2023 . Internet Archive.
  16. Web site: Belanger . John L.. 29 August 2016 . Whence Came You? . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20210919163127/https://www.crypticmasons.org/new-news/9-news/28-whence-came-you . 19 September 2021 . . 12 September 2020.
  17. Web site: Ancient Trade Guilds: The Earliest Known Form of Trade Union (1908) (Illustrated), by John Yarker . 2024-04-12 . All About John Yarker . en-GB.

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