Sir Peter Moores (9 April 1932 – 23 March 2016) was a British businessman, art collector and philanthropist who was chairman of the

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

-based

Littlewoods Littlewoods was a retail and football betting company founded in Liverpool, England, by John Moores in 1923. By the 1980s, it had grown to become the largest private company in Europe, but subsequently declined in the face of increased com ...

football pools In the United Kingdom, the football pools, often referred to as "the pools", is a betting pool based on predicting the outcome of association football matches taking place in the coming week. The pools are typically cheap to enter, and may encou ...

and retailing business in the United Kingdom between 1977 and 1980. His father,

Sir John Moores Sir John Moores (25 January 1896 – 25 September 1993) was an English businessman, telegraphist, football club owner, politician and philanthropist, most famous for the founding of the now defunct Littlewoods retail and football pools compa ...

, was the founder of the Littlewoods company, though the family no longer owns it. In the

Sunday Times Rich List 2006 The ''Sunday Times Rich List'' is a list of the 1,000 wealthiest people or families resident in the United Kingdom ranked by net wealth. The list is updated annually in April and published as a magazine supplement by British national Sunday news ...

the Moores' family wealth was estimated at £1,160m. Peter Moores was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. His elder sister

Lady Grantchester Baron Grantchester, of Knightsbridge in the City of Westminster, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 30 June 1953 for the banker and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician Alfred Suenson-Taylor, 1st Baron Grantcheste ...

(née Betty Moores), who died in 2019, was the widow of Kenneth Bent Suenson-Taylor, 2nd Baron Grantchester (1921–1995).

Peter Moores Foundation

At the age of 32 in 1964, Moores set up the charity Peter Moores Foundation supporting music and the visual arts, but also education, health, social and environmental projects. The Foundation continued in existence until 5 April 2014, when its funds were exhausted. During its fifty years, it donated over £231 million to the causes it supported. The Peter Moores biennial contemporary art exhibitions were held at the

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History of the Gallery The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...

in Liverpool from 1971 to 1986. In 1994 the foundation enabled a permanent Transatlantic

Slave Trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

Gallery at the Liverpool

Merseyside Maritime Museum The Merseyside Maritime Museum is a museum based in the city of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is part of National Museums Liverpool and an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage. It opened for a trial season in 198 ...

."Foundation History"
at foundation website, accessed 16 March 2015. The Foundation began a variety of charitable support initiatives in

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

in 1973 – these activities became a separately constituted organization in 2011. In 1993 the Foundation bought Compton Verney House in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, which was then categorized as a building 'at risk', and transferred the ownership to a Trust supported by the Foundation. In March 2004 the Compton Verney Gallery at the House was opened by

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

. The Gallery has a permanent collection, and varied art collections and temporary exhibitions are also presented. From 1970 to 2010 the Foundation supported the

Opera Rara Opera Rara is a London-based opera company and recording label which specialises in recording and performing forgotten operatic repertoire from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1970 by bel canto enthusiasts Patric Schmid and Don Whi ...

classical music label. It awarded scholarships to young British singers, including Amanda Roocroft and Simon Keenlyside. It has also supported the

Opera in English The history of opera in the English language commences in the 17th century. Earliest examples In England, one of opera's antecedents in the 16th century was an afterpiece which came at the end of a play; often scandalous and consisting in the mai ...

project. The Foundation provided funding for health projects in the UK and overseas, particularly in the field of

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

. It also supported a range of youth and education projects. To mark its final phase the Foundation's '' Swansong Project'' made donations to enable eight new productions in 2014/5 by British opera companies, including the British premiere of George Benjamin's ''

Written on Skin ''Written on Skin'' is an opera by the British composer George Benjamin. Benjamin's first full-length opera, it was premiered at the 2012 Aix-en-Provence Festival by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra as a commission from five opera centres,John All ...

'' at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

, Terry Gilliam's production of Berlioz's ''

Benvenuto Cellini Benvenuto Cellini (, ; 3 November 150013 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the ''Cellini Salt Cellar'', the sculpture of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', and his autobiography ...

'', and three production of operas by

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...

at the

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) ( cy, Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru) is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales; it gave its first performances in 1946. It began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its ...

.''Swansong Project"
on foundation website, accessed 16 March 2015.

References

External links

Peter Moores Foundation website

Compton Verney House

Opera Rara

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moores, Peter 1932 births 2016 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford People educated at Eton College Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Deputy Lieutenants of Lancashire English justices of the peace English philanthropists Knights Bachelor English football chairmen and investors Everton F.C. directors and chairmen Businesspeople from Liverpool 20th-century British philanthropists 20th-century English businesspeople