__NOTOC__ Sir (Hugh) Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake (22 May 1881 – 24 October 1964) was a businessman, zoo owner and author. Between 1915 and 1950, he was twelve times the Mayor of Maidstone,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and was

High Sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instrum ...

in 1956–57.

Life

Tyrwhitt-Drake was born in Maidstone on 22 May 1881, the only child of Hugh William Tyrwhitt-Drake, a brewery manager, and his wife Anne (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

) Hopper. He was educated at Charterhouse School. In 1925, he married Edna Mary Vine. Tyrwhitt-Drake was a director of several companies, including the Medway Lower Navigation Company, and was heavily involved in local politics, serving on the council of the Borough of Maidstone for 48 years and as its mayor twelve times. From 1930 he was an honorary

Freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

of the borough and in 1936 was knighted for political and public services to the County of Kent. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Kent in 1945, and

for 1956–57. He lived at Cobtree Manor, Sandling, where he used part of his estate to house his private

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoo ...

– the largest in Great Britain – in which he kept lions, tigers, bears and elephants. Tyrwhitt-Drake wrote two books: ''Beasts and Circuses; My Life with Animals'' (1939) and ''The English Circus and Fairground'' (1946). As mayor, he was a major benefactor to the town of Maidstone, establishing the carriage museum that bears his name in 1946 and donating the buildings of the College of All Saints in 1950. In 1951, he established the Cobtree Charity Trust to ensure that the grounds of Cobtree Manor would be used for the benefit of the inhabitants of Maidstone and the surrounding area. Following his death in 1964, parts of the estate are now open to the public as Cobtree Manor Park, Cobtree Manor Golf Course and

Kent Life Kent Life (formerly the Museum of Kent Life) is an English open-air museum located at Sandling, next to Allington Locks, on the east bank of the River Medway. History Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake bequeathed the Cobtree Manor Estate to Maidsto ...

open-air museum An open-air museum (or open air museum) is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts out-of-doors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is “the unconfined atmosphere� ...

. Tyrwhitt-Drake's portrait as Mayor of Maidstone is contained in the collection of

Maidstone Museum & Art Gallery Maidstone Museum is a local authority-run museum located in Maidstone, Kent, England, featuring internationally important collections including fine art, natural history, and human history. The museum is one of three operated by Maidstone Bor ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyrwhitt-Drake, Garrard 1881 births 1964 deaths Councillors in Kent Knights Bachelor Mayors of places in Kent People educated at Charterhouse School People from Maidstone Deputy Lieutenants of Kent High Sheriffs of Kent English justices of the peace