Sir John Richard Geers Cotterell, 4th Baronet (13 July 1866 – 13 November 1937) was an English baronet.

Early life

Cotterell was born on 13 July 1866. He was the son of

Sir Geers Cotterell, 3rd Baronet Sir Geers Henry Cotterell, 3rd Baronet (22 August 1834 – 17 March 1900) was a Whig politician. Early life Cotterell was the second son of Sir John Henry Cotterell (who had died before his birth and was heir apparent to Sir John Cotterell, 1s ...

and Hon. Katherine Margaret Airey. His father, an MP for

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

, had succeeded to the baronetcy in 1847, upon the death of his brother (John's uncle) John Henry Cotterell. His paternal grandparents were Sir John Henry Cotterell (heir apparent to Sir John Cotterell, 1st Baronet) and Hon. Pyne Jesse Trevor (daughter of Henry Trevor, 21st Baron Dacre). His grandfather died before his father was born and his grandmother remarried shortly thereafter to Granville Harcourt Vernon, MP. His maternal grandparents were

Richard Airey, 1st Baron Airey General Richard Airey, 1st Baron Airey, (April 180314 September 1881), known as Sir Richard Airey between 1855 and 1876, was a senior British Army officer of the 19th century. Background Born at Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, Airey was ...

, and the former Hon. Harriet Mary Evard Talbot (a daughter of James Talbot, 3rd Baron Talbot of Malahide and sister to James Talbot, 4th Baron Talbot of Malahide).

Career

He gained the rank of Captain in the

1st Life Guards The 1st Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated ...

and President of the Hereford Territorial Army Association from 1904 to 1933. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Herefordshire This is a list of Sheriffs and, since 1998, High Sheriffs of Herefordshire The position of Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in each county, but over the centurie ...

in 1897 and served as

Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire. Before the English Civil War, the lieutenancy of Herefordshire was always held by the Lord Lieutenant of Wales, but after the Restoration, its lieutenants were appoint ...

from 1904 to 1933. Cotterell served as an Alderman of

Herefordshire County Council Herefordshire County Council was the county council of Herefordshire from 1 April 1889 to 31 March 1974. It was based at the Shirehall in Hereford. It was created under the Local Government Act 1888 and took over many of the powers that had pr ...

. In 1930, he was appointed a member of the

Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England The Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME) was a government advisory body responsible for documenting buildings and monuments of archaeological, architectural and historical importance in England. It was established in 19 ...

. He was also a renowned breeder of Hereford cattle. Upon the death of his father on 17 March 1900, he succeeded as the 4th Baronet Cotterell, of Garnons, Herefordshire.

Personal life

On 4 January 1896, Cotterell married Lady Evelyn Amy Gordon-Lennox (1872–1922), the eldest daughter of the former Amy Mary Ricardo and

Charles Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond and Lennox, 2nd Duke of Gordon, (27 December 1845 – 18 January 1928), 7th Duke of Aubigny ( French peerage in the French nobility), styled Lord Settrington until 1860 and Earl of March between ...

. Together, they were the parents of four children: * Sylvia Evelyn Cotterell (1896–1944), who married Capt. Christopher Digby Leyland, son of Christopher John Leyland of Haggerston Castle, in 1916. They divorced in 1929 and she married Roland Norris Fawcett later that same year. * Cicely Violet Cotterell (1898–1974), who married Capt. William Adrian Vincent Bethell, son of William Bethell and Hon. Mairi Willoughby (daughter of

Henry Willoughby, 8th Baron Middleton Henry Willoughby, 8th Baron Middleton (28 August 1817 Nottingham – 20 December 1877 Birdsall House, Birdsall), was an English peer. He was born at Apsley Hall, Nottingham, the eldest son of Henry Willoughby (15 December 1780 – 1849) and Charl ...

), in 1921. He had been married previously to Hon. Clare Tennant. After his death in 1941, she married Roden Powlett Graves Orde, son of Roden Horace Powlett Orde, in 1946. * Mildred Katharine Cotterell (1902–1989), who married Lt.-Col.

Sir Terence Falkiner, 8th Baronet Lt.-Col. Sir Terence Edmond Patrick Falkiner, 8th Baronet Deputy Lieutenant, DL KStJ (17 March 1903 – 19 February 1987) was an English soldier. Early life Lt.-Col. Sir Terence Edmond Patrick Falkiner, 8th Bt. was born on 17 March 1903. He was the ...

, son of

Sir Leslie Falkiner, 7th Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

, in 1925. * Sir Richard Charles Geers Cotterell, 5th Baronet (1907–1978), a Lt.-Col. in the Royal Artillery Shropshire Yeomanry who married

Lady Lettice Lygon Lady Lettice Lygon (16 June 1906 – 18 July 1973) was an English socialite and aristocrat who was one of the Bright Young Things. Early life Lady Lettice Lygon was born on 16 June 1906, the daughter of William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp and Lad ...

, daughter of

William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp, (20 February 1872 – 14 November 1938), styled Viscount Elmley until 1891, was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician. He was Governor of New South Wales between 1899 and 1901, a member of the Libera ...

and Lady Lettice Mary Elizabeth Grosvenor (a daughter of

Victor Alexander Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor Duke of Westminster is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. It is the most recent dukedom conferred on someone not related to the ...

), in 1930. They divorced in 1958 and he married Hon. Molly Patricia Berry, daughter of

William Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose William Ewart Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose DL (23 June 1879 – 15 June 1954) was a British peer and newspaper publisher. Life and career Berry was born in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales, the second of three sons of Mary Ann (Rowe) and John Mathias Ber ...

, later that same year. In 1934, Sir John's portrait was painted by Philip de László. In the portrait, he is seated "wearing the ceremonial uniform of the Life Guards with decorations, a black great coat over his shoulders, holding a sword in his left hand and a glove in his right resting on his knee". László had previously done a number of portraits for the family, including his wife in 1913, daughter Sylvia in 1924, and son Richard and daughter-in-law Lady Lettice. in 1931. He died on 13 November 1937 at his London home, 10

Hertford Street Hertford Street is a street in central London's Mayfair district. It runs between a junction with Park Lane and Old Park Lane at its western end, to Curzon Street at its north-east end. In 1771, Anne, Duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn marrie ...

. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his only son,

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stro ...

.Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

U.S.A. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great ...

(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 916. Garnons, the family seat, was requisitioned during the war years and the family relocated to

Byford Byford is a village and civil parish on the River Wye in Herefordshire, England, about west of Hereford. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 119, increasing to 201 at the 2011 census. Offa's Dyke Offa's Dyke ( cy, Cla ...

Court.

Descendants

Through his son Richard, he was a grandfather of John Henry Geers Cotterell, who became the 6th Baronet in 1978.

References

External links

Portrait of Sir John Cotterell, 4th Baronet
1934, by Philip de László.
Portrait of Lady Evelyn Cotterell
1913, by Philip de László.
Portrait of Mrs Rowland Norris
1924, by Philip de László.
Portrait of Sir Richard Cotterell, 5th Baronet
1931, by Philip de László.
Portrait of Lady Lettice Cotterell
1931, by Philip de László. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cotterell, John 1866 births 1937 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom High Sheriffs of Herefordshire Lord-Lieutenants of Herefordshire