Annie Henrietta Yule, Lady Yule (1 August 1874 – 14 July 1950) was a British film financier and a breeder of
Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse ( ar, الحصان العربي , DIN 31635, DMG ''ḥiṣān ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is ...
s. She co-founded the
British National Films Company
The British National Films Company was formed in England in 1934 by J. Arthur Rank, Lady Annie Henrietta Yule of Bricket Wood, and producer John Corfield.
Origin
Joseph Arthur Rank was a devout member of the British Methodist Church and the son ...
and
Hanstead Stud
The Hanstead Stud was a breeding farm in England for Arabian horses. It was active from 1928 to 1957, and its animals had a significant impact in many countries, "second only in importance to" Crabbet Arabian Stud. It was based at Hanstead Park, ...
, and commissioned the
superyacht
A superyacht or megayacht is a large and luxurious pleasure vessel. There are no official or agreed upon definitions for such yachts, but these terms are regularly used to describe professionally crewed motor or sailing yachts, ranging from to ...
s of her day.
Early life and marriage
Yule was the only daughter of entrepreneur
Andrew Yule
Andrew Yule (2 November 1834 – 18 July 1902) was a businessman who founded Andrew Yule and Co.
Early life
Andrew was born in Stonehaven- Fetteresso, Scotland, the third and youngest son of Robert Yule, a clothier, and his wife Elizabeth. He h ...
and his wife, Emma Porter. Annie Yule had a brother. The family's money came largely from the
jute trade
The jute trade is centered mainly around India's West Bengal and Assam, and Bangladesh. The major producing country of jute is India and biggest exporter being Bangladesh, due to their natural fertile soil. Production of jute by India and Bangl ...
.
She was born in Calcutta on 1 August 1874. By the time she was six years old, the family were living in
Dulwich
Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of ...
, then part of
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
.
Her father founded the
conglomerate bearing his name, now owned by the Indian government, and (indirectly) Yule Catto & Co, now known as
Synthomer
Synthomer plc, formerly known as Yule Catto & Co, is a British-based chemicals business. It is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
The company traces its roots back to 1863, when Andrew Yule founded a trading house known as '' Andrew Yul ...
plc. She
married her cousin, Sir
David Yule
Sir David Yule, 1st Baronet (4 August 1858 – 3 July 1928) was a Scottish businessman based in British India. The ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' judged him "arguably the most important businessman in India" and quoted his obituary ...
, on 12 December 1900 at
St George's, Hanover Square
St George's, Hanover Square, is an Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London (the Queen Anne C ...
. He had come out from Britain to join the family business. They had one child, a daughter, Gladys Meryl Yule (1903-1957).
Soon after the wedding, the couple moved to England; she refused to live in India after an attack of malaria, although her husband's business interests remained there, and so he was unable to spend much time in the UK. They purchased
Hanstead, a
country house
An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
estate in
Bricket Wood
Bricket Wood is a village in the county of Hertfordshire, England, south of St Albans and north-northeast of Watford.
History
The area of Bricket Wood was mostly occupied by farmers until Bricket Wood railway station was built in 1861. In 18 ...
,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
, five miles from
St Albans
St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...
and not far from London.
Lady Yule and her daughter lived there for the rest of their lives. In 1925, the Yules commissioned a new house for the site, designed
to appear Georgian.
Widowhood and wealth
Sir David died in 1928, leaving his widow and daughter extremely wealthy women.
Indeed, at one point, Lady Yule was known as the richest woman in the UK, even surpassing
Lucy, Lady Houston
Dame Fanny Lucy Houston, Lady Houston, Baroness Byron ( Radmall; 8 April 1857 – 29 December 1936) was a British philanthropist, political activist and suffragist.
Beginning in 1933, she published the '' Saturday Review'', which was best kno ...
, but, on her death, she left only $1.6 million. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' reported that he left an estate of $100,000,000, equivalent to $1.6 billion in 2022 money.
Yachts and travel
Lady Yule and Gladys were world travellers who reportedly shared an interest in
big game hunting
Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for meat, commercially valuable by-products (such as horns/ antlers, furs, tusks, bones, body fat/oil, or special organs and contents), trophy/taxidermy, or simply just for recreation ( ...
: Hanstead House was said to have been adorned by a large stuffed bear which they had killed in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. In the grounds they kept a seal, penguins, and wallabies.
To facilitate their travels, Lady Yule ordered three private
motor yachts
A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...
in 1929 from
John Brown & Company
John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish Naval architecture, marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including , , , , , and the ''Queen Elizabeth 2 (ship), Queen Elizabeth 2''.
At its ...
of Clydebank, Glasgow. The largest and most luxurious of these was the
''Nahlin'', one of the last of three large
steam yacht
A steam yacht is a class of luxury or commercial yacht with primary or secondary steam propulsion in addition to the sails usually carried by yachts.
Origin of the name
The English steamboat entrepreneur George Dodd (1783–1827) used the term ...
s constructed in the UK.
The name is taken from a
Native American word meaning "fleet of foot" and the yacht has a figurehead depicting a Native American wearing a
feathered headdress beneath the
bowsprit
The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar extending forward from the vessel's prow. The bowsprit is typically held down by a bobstay that counteracts the forces from the forestays. The word ''bowsprit'' is thought to originate from the Middle L ...
.
Mother and daughter enjoyed a world cruise on the ''Nahlin'' from 1931 to 1933. The archives of this voyage, including the guest book, are held by the
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the United ...
at Greenwich.
In 1936 they chartered the ''Nahlin'' to King
Edward VIII
Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...
for a summer cruise on the Adriatic with
Wallis Simpson
Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...
, then still married to her American husband. He had succeeded to the throne only months before, and chose a private hire, rather than the
royal yacht
A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...
, to "enable the avoidance of formality accorded to Royalty".
[ As Lady Yule was a strict ]teetotaler
Teetotalism is the practice or promotion of total personal abstinence from the psychoactive drug alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler or teetotaller, or i ...
, the king took over the library on the shade deck where he replaced the books with bottles. The presence of Simpson on board the yacht first "alerted the world's media to the impending abdication crisis." Informal photographs of Edward and Simpson on board together during the cruise were not published in Britain but became front-page news in the United States.[ During the cruise, ''Nahlin'' was escorted by , a ]Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
.
The Yules sold the ''Nahlin'' to Carol II of Romania
Carol II (4 April 1953) was King of Romania from 8 June 1930 until his forced abdication on 6 September 1940. The eldest son of Ferdinand I, he became crown prince upon the death of his grand-uncle, King Carol I in 1914. He was the first of th ...
on the eve of World War II. The vessel, of a class now known colloquially as a superyacht
A superyacht or megayacht is a large and luxurious pleasure vessel. There are no official or agreed upon definitions for such yachts, but these terms are regularly used to describe professionally crewed motor or sailing yachts, ranging from to ...
, is as of 2022 owned by Sir James and Lady Dyson.
Film financing
Her biographer in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', historian Richard Davenport-Hines
Richard Peter Treadwell Davenport-Hines (born 21 June 1953 in London) is a British historian and literary biographer, is a Quondam Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford.
Early life
Davenport-Hines was educated at St Paul's School, London, 1967- 71a ...
, describes her as "restless and easily bored" and suggests she joined the film industry "as a diversion" from her widowhood, as her "commitment to filming was spasmodic". According to the 1986 autobiography of the director Michael Powell
Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a serie ...
, ''A Life in Movies'', "she was casual, patriotic, and somewhat eccentric and saw in films a possible way to promote the British way of life." (Davenport-Hines also said she had "strong religious opinions, a sharp tongue, and imperious habits.") She co-founded British National Films Company
The British National Films Company was formed in England in 1934 by J. Arthur Rank, Lady Annie Henrietta Yule of Bricket Wood, and producer John Corfield.
Origin
Joseph Arthur Rank was a devout member of the British Methodist Church and the son ...
with J. Arthur Rank
Joseph Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank (22 December 1888 – 29 March 1972) was a British industrialist who was head and founder of the Rank Organisation.
Family business
Rank was born on 22 or 23 December 1888 at Kingston upon Hull in England into ...
and producer John Corfield
John Corfield (1893–1953) was a British film producer.MacNab, Geoffrey (1993) ''J. Arthur Rank and the British Film Industry''. Routledge. p.15 For more than a decade he oversaw production at British National Films.
Selected filmography
* ''Tu ...
in 1934, and was one of the first investors in Pinewood Film Studios
Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London.
The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...
, although she left the management of these investments to others.
A 1952 biography of Rank devotes a chapter to "Lady Yule and Religion".
Horse breeding
Lady Yule was more hands-on in the breeding farm she set up with her daughter at their home. They bred prize-winning cattle, and in 1925 turned their attention to Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse ( ar, الحصان العربي , DIN 31635, DMG ''ḥiṣān ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is ...
s. The Hanstead Stud
The Hanstead Stud was a breeding farm in England for Arabian horses. It was active from 1928 to 1957, and its animals had a significant impact in many countries, "second only in importance to" Crabbet Arabian Stud. It was based at Hanstead Park, ...
became of national and international significance, "second only in importance to" Crabbet Arabian Stud
The Crabbet Arabian Stud, also known as the Crabbet Park Stud, was an English horse breeding farm that ran from 1878 to 1972. Its founder owners, husband and wife team Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Blunt, decided while travelling in the Mid ...
. She showed more kindness to animals than to people, equipping her stables with mechanical drinking-troughs but expecting her staff to abstain from alcohol, as she did herself (though she was a heavy smoker).
In 1927 she purchased Balaton Lodge, a racing stable in Newmarket, the centre of thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
breeding. In 1947 she handed that property over to the Veterinary Educational Trust (later the Animal Health Trust
The Animal Health Trust (AHT) was a large national independent charity in the United Kingdom, employing over 200 scientists, vets and support workers. Its objectives were to study and to cure diseases in companion animals (horses, dogs and cats ...
), and in 1956 Gladys made it an outright gift. Posthumously named after her, the Gladys Yule Surgical Wing, with cutting-edge facilities to anesthetise horses, was opened by the Queen in 1961. The Trust was based at Balaton until 1999. The lodge and stable courtyard have been renovated, and are now separate dwellings.
Death
Lady Yule died at her home on 14 July 1950, aged 75. She left £523,198 16s. 7d. to her daughter, an amount equivalent to £18,330,000.00 in 2022. Her only child, Gladys, survived her by seven years.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yule, Annie Henrietta
1874 births
1950 deaths
English racehorse owners and breeders
Arabian breeders and trainers
British investors
British film producers
People from St Albans (district)
Wives of baronets
Wives of knights
British India
Annie
Annie may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress
* Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer
The ...