Rupert Alexander Baring, 4th Baron Revelstoke (8 February 1911 – 18 July 1994) was a British landowner and peer.

Early life

Baring was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 8 February 1911. He was the only son of

Cecil Baring, 3rd Baron Revelstoke Cecil Baring, 3rd Baron Revelstoke (12 April 1864 – 26 January 1934) was an English banker and aristocrat. Early life Baring was born on 12 April 1864. He was the third, but second surviving, of seven sons and three daughters born to Edward Ba ...

and Maude Louise (

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 ...

Lorillard Lorillard Tobacco Company was an American tobacco company that marketed cigarettes under the brand names Newport (cigarette), Newport, Maverick (cigarette), Maverick, Old Gold (cigarette), Old Gold, Kent (cigarette), Kent, True (cigarette), True, ...

) Tailer. His parents met in New York, where his father was working for Kidder, Peabody & Co., which led his mother to divorce her first husband, Thomas Suffern Tailer (a son of

Edward Neufville Tailer Edward Neufville Tailer (July 20, 1830 – February 15, 1917) who was a New York merchant and banker, and a prominent member of New York Society during the Gilded Age. Early life Tailer was born on July 20, 1830 in the Greenwich Village sect ...

), who was one of his father's business partners. From his parents marriage, he had two sisters, Hon. Daphne Baring (wife of Arthur Joseph Lawrence Pollen, eldest son of

Arthur Pollen Arthur Joseph Hungerford Pollen (13 September 1866 – 28 January 1937) was an English journalist, businessman, and commentator on naval affairs who devised a new computerised fire-control system for use on battleships prior to the First World War ...

and grandson of Sir Joseph Lawrence) and the Hon. Calypso Baring (wife of Guy Maynard Liddell). From his mother's first marriage, he had an older half-brother, Lorillard Suffern Tailer, a polo player who married Catherine Harding, daughter of

J. Horace Harding James Horace Harding (July 13, 1863 – January 4, 1929) was an American banker, financier and art collector. Early life Harding was born on July 13, 1863, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a son of publisher William White Harding and Catherin ...

and granddaughter of Charles D. Barney, founder of the New York investment firm of Charles D. Barney & Co. (predecessor firm to Smith, Barney & Co.). His paternal grandparents were the former Louisa Emily Charlotte Bulteel (a daughter of

John Crocker Bulteel John Crocker Bulteel (1793–1843) of Fleet, Holbeton, in South Devon, was a Whig MP for South Devon 1832-4 and was Sheriff of Devon in 1841. He was Master of the Dartmoor Foxhounds and bred the finest pack of hounds in England. Origins He was ...

, MP) and

Edward Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke Edward Charles Baring, 1st Baron Revelstoke (13 April 1828 – 17 July 1897), was a British banker. Early life A member of the Baring banking family, "Ned" Baring was born on 13 April 1828. He was the second son of Henry Baring from his second ma ...

, the senior partner in the family banking firm of Baring Brothers and Co. Among his large extended paternal family were uncles

John Baring, 2nd Baron Revelstoke John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, the prominent banker, Brigadier-General

Everard Baring Brigadier-General the Honourable Everard Baring (5 December 1865 — 7 May 1932) was a British Army officer and Chairman of the Southern Railway. Background early life Baring was born in Kingston, Surrey, one of ten children of Edward Charl ...

and novelist and

Russophile Russophilia (literally love of Russia or Russians) is admiration and fondness of Russia (including the era of the Soviet Union and/or the Russian Empire), History of Russia, Russian history and Russian culture. The antonym is Anti-Russian se ...

Maurice Baring Maurice Baring (27 April 1874 – 14 December 1945) was an English man of letters, known as a dramatist, poet, novelist, translator and essayist, and also as a travel writer and war correspondent, with particular knowledge of Russia. During Wo ...

. His aunt, Margaret, was the wife of

Charles Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer Charles Robert Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer, (30 October 1857 – 26 September 1922), styled The Honourable Charles Spencer until 1905 and known as Viscount Althorp between 1905 and 1910, was a British courtier and Liberal politician from the Spen ...

. His maternal grandparents were American tobacco millionaire,

Pierre Lorillard IV Pierre J. Lorillard IV (October 13, 1833 – July 7, 1901) was an American tobacco manufacturer and Thoroughbred race horse owner. Early life Born in Westchester, New York, he was the son of Pierre Lorillard III (1796–1867) and Catherine Gris ...

and Emily (née Taylor) Lorillard. Baring attended

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

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 ...

Career

Revelstoke worked for two years with

Baring Brothers Barings Bank was a British merchant bank based in London, and one of England's oldest merchant banks after Berenberg Bank, Barings' close collaborator and German representative. It was founded in 1762 by Francis Baring, a British-born member ...

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 ...

and New York, where he socialized with

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin; yi, ישראל ביילין; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-American composer, songwriter and lyricist. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Born in Imperial Russi ...

and

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popu ...

. He wrote lyrics and verse, including a project of

Aesop's Fables Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to ...

which was admired by his friend, Sir

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

. Another close friend, filmmaker

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 ...

, wrote the screenplay for the film ''

Black Narcissus ''Black Narcissus'' is a 1947 British Psychological fiction, psychological drama film written, produced, and directed by Powell and Pressburger, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, and starring Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron, Sabu Dastagir, S ...

'' while staying with Revelstoke at Lambay. Upon his father's death in 1934, he succeeded as the fourth

Baron Revelstoke Baron Revelstoke, of Membland in the County of Devon, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 30 June 1885 for the businessman Edward Baring, head of the family firm of Barings Bank and a member of the Baring family ...

. In the 1930s. Revelstoke served in the Territorial Army and "masterminded the collection and distribution of Red Cross parcels to be sent to prisoners of war" during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Lambay Island

In 1904, he father acquired

Lambay Island Lambay Island ( ga, Reachrainn), often simply Lambay, is an island in the Irish Sea off the coast of north County Dublin, Ireland. The largest island off the east coast of Ireland, it is offshore from the headland at Portrane, and is the eas ...

, located in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

. Rupert's godfather,

Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memori ...

, was responsible for the restoration of the castle on the Island when his father owned it. After Rupert inherited the barony, and under his sixty year stewardship of the Island, Lord Revelstoke's established "a sanctuary for seabirds, an enclosed ecology, and largely unspoilt even while the capital has grown northwards, with housing and light industry spreading up into the country opposite Lambay."

Personal life

While an undergraduate at Cambridge, he had a relationship with Angela Joyce, an actress and

Miss England Miss England is a national beauty pageant in England. History The contest, title owned by the Miss World organisation is organised each year by Angie Beasley, a winner of 25 beauty contests in the 1980s and has organised beauty pageants ar ...

of 1930. When he broke off the "engagement", she sued him for breach of promise of marriage. Revelstoke "refused to settle and endured having his love letters read out in court and published in the newspapers." Joyce's suit, which generated significant press interest, was unsuccessful, and led to the law being changed whereby a woman could "not be able to claim damages for not obtaining the position she hoped for as the wife of a rich man." Revelstoke was the last man to be sued in this way. On 1 March 1934, Lord Revelstoke married Hon. Florence "Flora" Fermor-Hesketh (1913–1971), second daughter of

Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron Hesketh Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron Hesketh (17 November 1881 – 20 July 1944), known as Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, Bt, from 1924 to 1935, was a British peer, soldier and Conservative Member of Parliament. Early life Hesketh was the son of Sir T ...

and the former Florence Louisa Breckinridge (a daughter of John Witherspoon Breckinridge of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and granddaughter of

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

, former

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

). Before their divorce in 1944, they were the parents of: * John Baring, 5th Baron Revelstoke (1934–2003), who died without issue. * James Cecil Baring, 6th Baron Revelstoke (1938–2012), who married twice and had four children. After their divorce, Flora was remarried to Lt.-Cmdr. Derek Lawson of

Passenham Passenham is a small village in the civil parish of Old Stratford in south-west Northamptonshire, England. It is just north of the River Great Ouse, which forms the boundary with Buckinghamshire, and close to (but separated by the river from) ...

Manor before her death in 1971. Lord Revelstoke died in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

on 18 July 1994 and was succeeded by his eldest son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

In popular culture

The lawsuit against Revelstoke by Angela Joyce was depicted in the drama series ''

The Duchess of Duke Street ''The Duchess of Duke Street'' is a BBC television drama series set in London between the late 1800s and 1925. It was created by John Hawkesworth, previously the producer of the ITV period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. It starred Gemma Jo ...

'' in 1977, where the character based on Revelstoke, Lord Haslemere, was played by the young

Christopher Cazenove Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove (17 December 1943 – 7 April 2010) was an English film, television and stage actor. Early life and career He was born Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove, on 17 December 1943, the son of Arnold Cazenove, Brigadie ...

References

External links

Rupert Baring, 4th Baron Revelstoke (1911-1994), Son of Cecil Baring, 3rd Baron Revelstoke of Membland
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Revelstoke, Rupert Baring, 4th Baron 1911 births 1994 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Rupert Rupert People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge