Sir John ''Henry'' Geers Cotterell, 6th Baronet (8 May 1935 – 4 December 2017) was a Hereford businessman and politician.

Early life

Cotterell, usually went by his middle name of Henry, was born on 8 May 1935 in

Belgrave Square Belgrave Square is a large 19th-century garden square in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and its architecture resembles the original scheme of property contractor Thomas Cubitt who engaged George Basevi for all of the terraces for t ...

, London. He was the son of Lt.-Col.

Sir Richard Cotterell, 5th Baronet Lt-Col Sir Richard Charles Geers Cotterell, 5th Baronet JP TD KStJ CBE (1 June 1907 – 5 December 1978), a British soldier. Early life Cotterell was born on 1 June 1907. He was the only son of Sir John Cotterell, 4th Baronet and Lady Evelyn A ...

and

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 ...

. His parents divorced in 1958 and his father 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 ...

) while his mother never remarried. Among his siblings was Rose Evelyn Cotterell, the wife of

Charles Hambro, Baron Hambro Charles Hambro, Baron Hambro (24 July 1930 – 7 November 2002) was a British merchant banker and political fundraiser. He was the Chairman of Hambros Bank from 1972 until its merger with Société Générale in 1998. He was the senior honora ...

, heir to the

Hambros Bank Hambros Bank was a British bank based in London. The Hambros bank was a specialist in Anglo-Scandinavian business with expertise in trade finance and investment banking, and was the sole banker to the Scandinavian kingdoms for many years. The Bank ...

fortune. His paternal grandparents were

Sir John Cotterell, 4th Baronet 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 and Hon. Katherine Margaret Airey. His fat ...

and Lady Evelyn Amy Gordon-Lennox (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 ...

). His maternal grandparents were

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 ...

).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 territorie ...

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 Br ...

(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 916. He was raised at Garnons, the family seat in Herefordshire, but later moved to Byford Court when Garnons was requisitioned during the War. He was educated at

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 ...

before he was commissioned in the service of the

Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (The Blues) (RHG) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. Raised in August 1650 at Newcastle upon Tyne and County Durham by Sir Arthur Haselrigge on the orders of Oliver Cr ...

at Windsor in 1955. He later served in

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

as part of the

Household Cavalry The Household Cavalry (HCav) is made up of the two most senior regiments of the British Army, the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons). These regiments are divided between the Household Cavalry Regiment st ...

's mounted regiment and attended

Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

Career

Mappa Mundi and Chained Library are housed here - geograph

After studying at the

Royal Agricultural College Cirencester ;(from Virgil's Georgics)"Caring for the Fieldsand the Beasts" , established = 2013 - University status – College , type = Public , president = King Charles , vice_chancellor = Peter McCaffery , students ...

in 1961, Cotterell returned to Garnons and retired from the military before serving as a county councillor for 25 years, first with the

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 ...

and, after reorganisation, for the

Hereford and Worcester County Council Hereford and Worcester County Council was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Hereford and Worcester in west England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1974 and was abolished on 31 March 1998. The county council was based at Co ...

between 1977 and 1981. He served as Vice-

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 appointed ...

in 1998. In 1988, when the

Mappa Mundi A ''mappa mundi'' (Latin ; plural = ''mappae mundi''; french: mappemonde; enm, mappemond) is any medieval European map of the world. Such maps range in size and complexity from simple schematic maps or less across to elaborate wall maps, the ...

was under threat, he was appointed chairman of the trustees of the

Hereford Cathedral Hereford Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of Hereford in Hereford, England. A place of worship has existed on the site of the present building since the 8th century or earlier. The present building was begun in 1079. S ...

treasure to raise money to construct a new library, negotiating church and heritage politics in order to keep the Mappa Mundi in

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

. Upon the death of his father on 5 December 1978, he succeeded as the 6th Baronet Cotterell, of Garnons, Herefordshire.

Business career

In the late 1970s he founded

Radio Wyvern Radio Wyvern, formerly 106.7 Youthcomm Radio, is a community radio station, licensed by Ofcom, broadcasting to Worcester, England, on 106.7FM, DAB Digital Radio in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and online. Youthcomm Radio was establish ...

(the name was derived from the

River Wye The River Wye (; cy, Afon Gwy ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn estuary. For much of its length the river forms part of Wal ...

and

River Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

, the rivers running through Hereford and Worcester), today known as Free Radio. He served as the first chairman until the company was sold to Murfin Music International in the mid 1990s. He also served on the board of

Welsh Water Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

Personal life

On 7 October 1959, he married Vanda ''Alexandra'' Clare Bridgewater, daughter of Maj. Philip Alexander Clement Bridgewater and Hon. Ursula Vanda Maud Vivian (a daughter of

George Vivian, 4th Baron Vivian George Crespigny Brabazon Vivian, 4th Baron Vivian (21 January 1878 – 28 December 1940) was a British soldier from the Vivian family who served with distinction in both the Second Anglo-Boer War and World War I. Early life He was born at Con ...

). Her parents were divorced in 1946 and her mother married,

Sir William Wrixon-Becher, 5th 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 1946. They also divorced she married, thirdly,

David Boyle, 9th Earl of Glasgow Rear Admiral David William Maurice Boyle, 9th Earl of Glasgow, (24 July 1910 – 8 June 1984), was a British nobleman and a Royal Navy officer. He was Chief of the Name and Arms of Boyle. Naval career Educated at Eton College, Boyle entered ...

, in 1962. Together, Henry and Alexandra were the parents of four children: * Sir Henry Richard Geers Cotterell, 7th Baronet (b. 1961), who married Carolyn Suzanne Beckwith-Smith, daughter of John Moore Beckwith-Smith, in 1986. After her death in 1999, he married Katherine Mary Bromley, daughter of Alec Gerald Bromley, in 2002. * Camilla Jane Cotterell (b. 1963), who married Mark James Kenneth Houldsworth in 1993. * James Alexander Geers Cotterell (b. 1964), who married Maria C. B. McManus, daughter of W. F. McManus, in 1991. They divorced and he married Jacqueline Hicks, daughter of C. Hicks, in 2009. * David George Geers Cotterell (b. 1968) Lady Cotterell died in 2005. Sir John died on 4 December 2017 at age 82. After a funeral service at Byford, a memorial was held for him at

Sporting

Sir John was a fan of cricket and a proponent of

National Hunt racing In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

, having ridden in point to points in his youth. He served as a steward at Hereford, Cheltenham, Ascot, Ludlow and Wolverhampton and was on the disciplinary committee of the

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, amo ...

References

External links

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 1935 births 2017 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College Alumni of the Royal Agricultural University