THE descendant of a Barnsley legend who pioneered British railway development returned to the home of his famed ancestor as he hopes to make sure no-one forgets his contributions.
Everyone will have heard of Joseph Locke, the namesake of Locke Park and the nearby Joseph Locke Primary School.
Born in 1805 in Sheffield, the civil engineer was raised in Barnsley and went on to be one of the masterminds of locomotive travel, helping establish railway lines between Liverpool and Manchester, Lancaster and Carlisle and Manchester and Sheffield.
Now at the annual Joseph Bramah lecture, hosted by Barnsley Civic Trust in partnership with the South Yorkshire Industrial History Society, Joseph’s great-great-grandson Roddy Lane made the trip from Kent to honour his ancestor’s legacy.
He was greeted at the town hall by Mayor and Mayoress John and Doreen Clarke, before heading into the council chamber for the illustrated lecture by Peter Roberts.
It’s the first time the 85-year-old has visited Barnsley and he had no idea how significant Joseph still is in town.
“Seeing all of this has raised it into something that I never thought about,” he said.
“I knew about him from being a small child because every time you went up my grandfather’s stairs there was this print of Joseph Locke, but he was never talked about.
“He was an engineer and when my grandfather passed this portrait went to my elder brother who was also an engineer – it’s with my nephew now over in the states.
“But Joseph isn’t really talked about anywhere – I had his evening dress medals and delivered those to the Institute of Civil Engineers in London.
“They told me he’s known as the ‘forgotten engineer’. I think we need to move on from that idea and put him out there a bit more.”
