Sir Ernest Ridley Debenham, 1st Baronet (26 May 1865 – 25 December 1952), was an English businessman. He was responsible for the considerable expansion of the family's retail and wholesale drapery firm between 1892 and 1927.

Biography

Born at 42

Wigmore Street Wigmore Street is a street in the City of Westminster, in the West End of London. The street runs for about 600 yards parallel and to the north of Oxford Street between Portman Square to the west and Cavendish Square to the east. It is named afte ...

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

, he was the son of Frank Debenham and his wife Emma Folkard ''née'' Ridley. Educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, At the age of 27 he joined the successful business of Debenham & Co., which had been run by his grandfather and father. His restructuring activities led to the splitting of the manufacturing from the retail side of the business, under the name Debenham & Freebody (Freebody was the maiden name of his grandmother). He effected a merger with Marshall & Snelgrove as well as a takeover of

Harvey Nichols Harvey Nichols is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831, at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections for men and women, fashion accessories, beauty products, fine wines and luxury f ...

. He was noted for his paternalistic attitude towards his staff, providing medical and educational support. He was also a pioneer in the dairy industry. On 8 November 1892 he married Cicely Kenrick (1869–1950), daughter of

William Kenrick William Kenrick may refer to: *William Kenrick (Member of Barebone's Parliament), MP for Kent (UK Parliament constituency) *William Kenrick (writer) (1725–1779), English novelist, playwright and satirist *William Kenrick (nurseryman) (1795&nda ...

. The couple had eight children, including the artist

Alison Debenham Alison Edith Debenham (later Le Plat; 1903-1967) was a British painter and artist. Biography Debenham was born in 1903 to Sir Ernest Ridley Debenham, 1st Baronet, and his wife, Lady Cicely, of the Debenhams department store family business. A ...

. Debenham had an interest in politics, and was a supporter of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. Although he considered entering parliament, his business interests prevented this. He did enter local politics, however. He was a member of St Marylebone Borough Council, serving as mayor of the borough in 1910–12. He was also a member of the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

. He was elected unopposed at a by-election on 28 February 1912 for the Conservative-backed

Municipal Reform The Municipal Reform Party was a local party allied to the parliamentary Conservative Party in the County of London. The party contested elections to both the London County Council and metropolitan borough councils of the county from 1906 to 1945 ...

party to represent the Marylebone East division, remaining a councillor until 1919. On his retirement in 1927 he sold most of his shares in the firm for £1.8M, so severing his family's connections with the retail chain that still bears his name. He devoted the rest of his life to dairy farming on his estates in Dorset. He was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Bladen in the

County of Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , Do ...

, in 1931. He died on Christmas Day 1952 at Moor Lane House,

Briantspuddle Briantspuddle is a small village in the Piddle Valley in Dorset, England, near the villages of Affpuddle and Tolpuddle and about 8 miles (13 km) east of the county town of Dorchester. It forms part of the civil parish of Affpuddle and Tur ...

, Dorset, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son, Piers Kenrick Debenham, born in 1904.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Debenham, Ernest 1865 births 1952 deaths People educated at Marlborough College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English businesspeople in retailing Debenhams Members of London County Council Municipal Reform Party politicians Mayors of places in Greater London Members of St Marylebone Metropolitan Borough Council Conservative Party (UK) councillors