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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
Born12 May 1901
Tisbury, Wiltshire, England, UK
Died22 June 1983 (aged 82)
London, England, UK
NationalityBritish
Known forCalder Hall
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsNuclear

Career

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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.[citation needed] 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 but right up until the time of his death the CEGB kept an office for him at their headquarters in Paternoster Square.[citation needed] For his 80th birthday the Research Division gave a party at which a birthday cake was equipped with 80 candles. These were so closely spaced that when he lit the central candle, the flame spread rapidly to all of the others – Sir Christopher had initiated his last chain reaction!

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

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The English architectural critic Reyner Banham dubbed the first 500MW units ordered by the CEGB 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
14 Ince B Cheshire 1,000 MW Oil Fired

The 500 MW standard unit design was subsequently slightly scaled up to 660 MW, using the same main and reheat steam conditions. These larger units were constructed from 1967 onwards at Drax, Grain and Littlebrook power stations. Similar 660 MW turbogenerators were also installed at all of Britain's AGR nuclear power stations, albeit with radically different steam-raising plant.

The 660 MW units were the largest generating plant, and the last pure steam-cycle plant, ever constructed by the CEGB before its break-up and privatisation in the 1990s.

The Hinton Cup and Hinton Trophy

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During his time at the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) 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 CEGB. The Hinton Trophy was the equivalent award for the best Transmission District. Because of the miners' strike there was no competition 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[16] 1978–1979 Solent
21 Sizewell 1979–1980 Taunton
22 Eggborough 1980–1981 Southern
23 Cottam 1981–1982 Northwest (Midlands Region)[17]
24 Pembroke 1982–1983 Northwest (Midlands Region)
25 Drax 1983–1984 Northwest (Northwest Region)
26 Thorpe Marsh[18] 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

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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 [24]
Academic offices
New institution Chancellor of the University of Bath
1966–1980 		Succeeded by
Professional and academic associations
Preceded by President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
1966 		Succeeded by
Business positions
New title Chairman of the Central Electricity Generating Board
1957–1964 		Succeeded by

References

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  1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d "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. ^ a b "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. ^ "Hinton Awards Made at Fawley". Power News (232). November 1979.
  17. ^ Parliamentary Debates. House of Commons. Official Report of the Standing Committees. Vol. 5. Great Britain: H.M. Stationery Office. 1982. p. 146. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  18. ^ The Life of a South Yorkshire Power Station. CEGB. 1991. p. 12. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  19. ^ "No. 39150". The London Gazette. 16 February 1951. p. 856.
  20. ^ "No. 40960". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1957. p. 11.
  21. ^ "No. 43566". The London Gazette. 2 February 1965. p. 1162.
  22. ^ "Corporate Information". University of Bath. 2017. Archived from the original on 25 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  23. ^ "Ship Information". www.clydeships.co.uk. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  24. ^ Debrett's Peerage. 1973.
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