Constance Mary Travis (24 April 1911 – 24 December 2015) was a stage actress who married into the family that owned the firm that eventually became

Travis Perkins Travis Perkins plc is a British builders' merchant and home improvement retailer with head offices based in Northampton. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History The company began in 1797, ...

. In later life, she became a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

who controlled the Constance Travis Charitable Trust, one of the leading family grant-making trusts in Britain.

Early life

Constance Travis was born Constance Mary Edwards in

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

in 1911. Her parents were shopkeepers who moved to Sussex for the sake of her father's health when she was 12. They ran a grocery shop in

Shoreham-by-Sea Shoreham-by-Sea (often shortened to Shoreham) is a coastal town and port in West Sussex, England. The town is bordered to its north by the South Downs, to its west by the Adur Valley and to its south by the River Adur and Shoreham Beach on the ...

. At the age of 15 she underwent a full-immersion baptism which she said put her off both the church and swimming.Constance Travis.
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 29 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016. Widow of late Northampton timber merchant dies aged 104.
''

Northampton Chronicle & Echo The ''Northampton Chronicle & Echo'' (known locally as ''"The Chron"'') is a local newspaper serving Northampton, England, and the surrounding towns and villages. It was published daily from Monday-Saturday until 26 May 2012 at a price of £0.4 ...

'', 12 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.

Career

Edwards decided from an early age that she wanted to be an actress. She appeared in a summer review at the Palace Theatre on

Brighton Pier The Brighton Palace Pier, commonly known as Brighton Pier or the Palace Pier, is a Grade II* listed pleasure pier in Brighton, England, located in the city centre opposite the Old Steine. Established in 1899, it was the third pier to be constr ...

and then in ''Topsy and Eva'' at the Gaiety Theatre in

London's West End The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...

, aged just 17. The show was based on ''

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...

'' by

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

. She had a leading role in ''The Dubarry'' (1932) and a long run as Milady de Winter in ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'' at the Theatre Royal. She had small screen parts in ''

Nine Till Six ''Nine till Six'' is a 1932 British drama film directed by Basil Dean and starring Louise Hampton, Elizabeth Allan and Florence Desmond. Produced by Basil Dean's Associated Talking Pictures, it was the first film made at Ealing Studios after th ...

'' (1932), the first film made at

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...

after it converted to sound, and in ''

Yes, Mr Brown ''Yes, Mr Brown'' is a 1933 British musical comedy film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Jack Buchanan, Hartley Power, Elsie Randolph and Margot Grahame. According to the ''Idaho Falls Post Register'', the film was "gay catchyentertainme ...

'' with

Jack Buchanan Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1891 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George G ...

(1933).

Family

In 1936, Edwards married

Ray Travis Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

, son of Ernest Travis, co-founder of Travis Arnold that eventually became the Travis Perkins timber and building materials chain. Constance and Ray met in 1933 on the stairwell of a

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

building where they were both taking singing lessons. On the first morning of their honeymoon, Constance received a shock when the maid at their hotel brought the morning tea in with the words "He's gone, ma'am". It transpired that she was referring to the

abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...

of 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 ...

rather than the desertion of Ray. Constance and Ray lived in

Kingsthorpe Kingsthorpe is a suburb and civil parish of Northampton, England. It is situated to the north of Northampton town centre and is served by the A508 and A5199 roads which join at Kingsthorpe's centre. The 2011 Census recorded the population of ...

and then Dallington, Northamptonshire. They moved to Quinton in 1964. They had children Tony and Hilary. Ray died in 1988.

Later life

At age 78, Travis suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

which meant that she was confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. She found solace in distributing the funds of her charitable trust, the Constance Travis Charitable Trust, which she founded in the early 1980s and has become one of the leading family grant-making trusts in Britain. Its assets include £27 million of Travis Perkins shares. On her 100th birthday Travis ensured that £100,000 was given to each of her favourite charities. She died on 24 December 2015 (aged 104) at her home in Quinton.

Film appearances

*''Nine Till Six''. Ealing Studios, 1932. *''Yes, Mr Brown''. 1933.

Selected theatrical appearances

*''Topsy and Eva''. Gaiety Theatre, London, c. 1928. *''

The Dubarry ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

''. His Majesty's Theatre, Haymarket, London, 1932. *''The Three Musketeers''. Theatre Royal, London. As Milady de Winter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Travis, Constance 1911 births 2015 deaths People from Stockport English philanthropists English actresses English stage actresses People from West Northamptonshire District English centenarians Women centenarians 20th-century British philanthropists 20th-century English women 20th-century English people