Christopher Hinton, Baron Hinton of Bankside

Christopher Hinton, Baron Hinton of Bankside OM KBE FRS FREng[1] (12 May 1901 – 22 June 1983) was a British nuclear engineer, and supervisor of the construction of Calder Hall, the world's first large-scale commercial nuclear power station.

The Right Honourable The Lord Hinton of Bankside OM KBE FRS FREng
Born	12 May 1901 Tisbury, Wiltshire, England, UK
Died	22 June 1983 (aged 82) London, England, UK
Nationality	British
Known for	Calder Hall
Awards	Wilhelm Exner Medal (1956) Castner Medal (1956) Albert Medal (1957) Rumford Medal (1970) James Watt International Medal (1973) Order of Merit (1976)
Scientific career
Fields	Nuclear

Career

Hinton was born on 12 May 1901 at Tisbury, Wiltshire. He attended school in Chippenham where his father was a schoolmaster, and left school at 16 to become an engineering apprentice with the Great Western Railway at Swindon. At 22 he was awarded the William Henry Allen scholarship of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a first class honours degree.[2]

Hinton then worked for Brunner Mond, later part of ICI, where he became Chief Engineer at the age of 29. At Brunner Mond he met Lillian Boyer (d. 1973) whom he married in 1931.[3] They had one daughter, Mary (1932–2014), who married Arthur Mole, son of Sir Charles Mole, director-general of the Ministry of Works.

During World War II, Hinton was seconded to the Ministry of Supply and became Deputy Director General, running ordnance factory construction and in charge of the Royal Filling Factories.[3]

In 1946, Hinton was appointed Deputy Controller of Production, Atomic Energy, and in 1954 when the Atomic Energy Authority was formed, was appointed Member for Engineering and Production as managing director of 'Industrial Group Risley'[3] which comprised the Risley headquarters and laboratories at Culcheth, Capenhurst, Windscale, Springfields and Dounreay plus factories at Springfields, Capenhurst, Windscale, Calder, Dounreay and Chapelcross.

Hinton's department was responsible for the design and construction of most of Britain's major nuclear plants, including Windscale, Capenhurst, Springfields and Dounreay. In 1957, Hinton became the first chairman of the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB). He retired in 1964. In 1965 he worked for six months in the Ministry of Transport and afterwards became a special adviser to the World Bank. He served as Chairman of the International Executive Committee of the World Energy Conference, 1962–68.[3]

He was created Baron Hinton of Bankside, of Dulwich in the County of London, a life peer, on 28 January 1965, and served as Chancellor of the University of Bath 1966 – 1979.[4] He was appointed to the Order of Merit in 1976.[5]

Hinton Heavies

The English architectural critic Reyner Banham dubbed the first 500MW units ordered by the CEGB as the Hinton Heavies. A first for 500MW power station design the stations are listed below in the order that the CEGB released them for construction.[6][7]

The Hinton Heavies

	Power station	County	Output (MW)
01	West Burton	Nottinghamshire	2,000 MW
02	Ferrybridge 'C'	West Yorkshire	2,000 MW
03	Eggborough	North Yorkshire	2,000 MW
04	Kingsnorth	Kent	2,000 MW	Oil fired
05	Fawley	Hampshire	2,000 MW	Oil fired
06	Aberthaw ‘B’	South Wales	1,500 MW
07	Ironbridge 'B'	Shropshire	1,000 MW
08	Fiddlers Ferry	Cheshire	2,000 MW
09	Ratcliffe	Nottinghamshire	2,000 MW
10	Cottam[8]	Nottinghamshire	2,000 MW
11	Pembroke	South West Wales	2,000 MW	Oil fired
12	Rugeley 'B'	Staffordshire	1,000 MW
13	Didcot 'A'	Oxfordshire	2,000 MW

The Hinton Cup and Hinton Trophy

During his time at the Central Electricity Generating Board he commissioned the Hinton Cup, a piece of silverware that would be presented annually to the power station that displayed good housekeeping in the workplace. The citation to go with the cup reads 'This cup is presented to the Power Station judged to have reached the highest attainment in economy and efficiency of operation and maintenance with particular reference to attractiveness and good housekeeping'.

The cup was first won by Meaford A power station in 1959 and was last won by West Burton Power Station prior to the divestment of the Central Electricity Generating Board. The Hinton Trophy was the equivalent award for the best Transmission District. Because of the miners strike there was no competitions in 1984–85. To commemorate the thirty years of awarding the cup and trophy a presentation plate was manufactured by Gladstone Pottery Museum in Stoke-on-Trent.

Hinton Cup

30 year commemorative plate

30 year commemorative plate

The Hinton Cup & Trophy For Good Housekeeping

	Power Station	Year	Transmission District
01	Meaford	1959–1960
02	Stella North	1960–1961	Luton
03	South Denes	1961–1962	Bristol
04	Darlington[9]	1962–1963	Durham
05	Marchwood	1963–1964	Nottingham[10]
06	Rheidol	1964–1965	Bushbury[11]
07	Huddersfield	1965–1966	Swansea
08	Poole	1966–1967	Taunton
09	Elland	1967–1968	East Riding
10	West Burton	1968–1969	Northumberland
11	South Denes	1969–1970	Leeds
12	Staythorpe	1970–1971	Poole
13	Thornhill	1971–1972	Stourport
14	Sizewell A[12]	1972–1973	Cumbria
15	Willington B[13]	1973–1974	Rayleigh
16	Trawsfynydd[14]	1974–1975	Bushbury[15]
17	Ratcliffe-on-Soar	1975–1976	King's Lynn
18	Oldbury on Severn	1976–1977	East Cheshire
19	Keadby	1977–1978	Staythorpe
20	Fawley	1978–1979	Solent
21	Sizewell	1979–1980	Taunton
22	Eggborough	1980–1981	Southern
23	Cottam	1981–1982	Northwest (Midlands Region)[16]
24	Pembroke	1982–1983	Northwest (Midlands Region)
25	Drax	1983–1984	Northwest (Northwest Region)
26	Thorpe Marsh[17]	1985–1986	Northwest (Midlands Region)
27	Ratcliffe-on-Soar	1986–1987	Wealdon
28	Rugeley A & B	1987–1988	Chase
29	West Burton	1988–1989	Westward

Awards and achievements

• Knighted 1951[18]
• Fellow of the Royal Society 1954[1]
• Wilhelm Exner Medal, 1956
• Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, 1957[19]
• Fellow of Trinity College, 1957
• Honorary Degree (DSc), University of Oxford 1957
• Honorary Degree (ScD), University of Cambridge 1960
• On 28 January 1965 he was made a life peer as Baron Hinton of Bankside, of Dulwich in the County of London.[20]
• President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 1966
• Foreign Associate, National Academy of Engineering, 1976
• Order of Merit, 1976[5]
• Honorary Degree (Doctor of Science), University of Bath, 1966[21]
• Chancellor of the University of Bath 1966–80
• James Watt International Medal 1973
• First President of the Royal Academy of Engineering
• DRS Class 37 diesel locomotive 37409 named Lord Hinton at Crewe Gresty Bridge Depot Open Day, 10 July 2010
• Lord Hinton bulk carrier ship (completed 1986, broken up 2015) [22]

Coat of arms of Christopher Hinton, Baron Hinton of Bankside

Crest A demi-talbot Argent gorged with an ancient crown Or in the mouth a batton Or tipped Sable. Escutcheon Azure on a pile Or between seven roses Argent barbed and seeded Proper three barrulets dancetty Gules. Supporters Dexter a pantheon Gules semy of mullets Or, sinister a male griffin Gules armed langued and rayed Or each gorged with an ancient crown affixed thereto a chain reflexed over the back Or. Motto Firm And Faithful [23]

References

1. Gowing, M. (1990). "Lord Hinton of Bankside, O. M., F. Eng. 12 May 1901 – 22 June 1983". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 36: 218. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1990.0031.
2. "Papers and correspondence of Christopher Hinton, Baron Hinton of Bankside". Retrieved 5 May 2017.
3. "Hinton of Bankside, Baron, (Christopher Hinton) (12 May 1901–22 June 1983)". Hinton of Bankside. 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U165328.(subscription may be required or content may be available in libraries)
4. "Previous Chancellors". University of Bath. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
5. "No. 46872". The London Gazette. 9 April 1976. p. 5299.
6. Banham, Reyner (28 May 1970). New Society 15 (398 ed.). University of California Press. p. 154. ISBN 9780520219441. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
7. Clarke, Jonathan (2013). "'High Merit': existing English post-war coal and oil-fired power stations in context". Historic England. p. 8. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
8. Banham, Reyner (27 January 1997). A Critic Writes: Selected Essays by Reyner Banham. University of California Press. p. 155. ISBN 9780520219441. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
9. "Presentation of good housekeeping trophies at Darlington power station and Durham transmission section". The National Archives. Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
10. "Midlands Power". Midlands Power: 3. October 1965. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
11. "Midlands Power". Midlands Power: 1. October 1965. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
12. New Scientist. Reed Business Information Ltd. 31 January 1974. p. 273.
13. Midlands Power (April 1974 ed.). Central Electricity Generating Board. April 1974. p. 10. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
14. Contact (PDF). MANWEB Merseyside and North Wales Electricity Board. September 1975. p. 219.
15. Midlands Power (October 1965 ed.). Central Electricity Generation Board Midlands Region. October 1965. p. 1. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
16. Parliamentary Debates. House of Commons. Official Report of the Standing Committees. 5. Great Britain: H.M. Stationery Office. 1982. p. 146. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
17. The Life of a South Yorkshire Power Station. CEGB. 1991. p. 12. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
18. "No. 39150". The London Gazette. 16 February 1951. p. 856.
19. "No. 40960". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1957. p. 11.
20. "No. 43566". The London Gazette. 2 February 1965. p. 1162.
21. "Corporate Information". University of Bath. 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
22. "Ship Information". http://www.clydeships.co.uk. 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2020. External link in |publisher= (help)
23. Debrett's Peerage. 1973.

External links

• Memorial Tributes, nap.edu; accessed 5 May 2017.
• Baron Christopher Hinton papers, aip.org; accessed 5 May 2017.
• Profile, raeng.org.uk; accessed 5 May 2017.
• Oxford DNB extract, oxforddnb.com; accessed 5 May 2017.(subscription required)