Sir Henry Vincent Meredith, 1st Baronet (February 28, 1850 – February 24, 1929), was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

banker and philanthropist. He was president of the Bank of Montreal, the Royal Victoria Hospital and the

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square ...

. He was governor of

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

and on the board of the Canadian Pacific Railway. His home in Montreal's

Golden Square Mile / ''Mille carré doré'' , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Neighbourhood , image_skyline = Ravenscrag.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = '' Ravenscrag'', built for Sir Hugh Allan ...

was made a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...

in 1990 and is today part of

, named Lady Meredith House for his wife.

Family

(Henry) Vincent Meredith was born in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, the fifth son of

John Walsingham Cooke Meredith * * John Walsingham Cooke Meredith (1809–1881) was an Irish–Canadian office holder and businessman, best remembered as the father of the ''Eight London Merediths''. He previously practised as a barrister and was a member of the first Eccentr ...

and Sarah Pegler. One of his great-uncles, Boyle Meredith (1788–1873), married Eliza Gough Vincent (1797–1870), a niece of General John Vincent and a cousin of

Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough Field Marshal Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, (3 November 1779 – 2 March 1869) was an Irish officer of the British Army. After serving as a junior officer at the seizure of the Cape of Good Hope during the French Revolutionary Wars, Gough co ...

. It was after her family that he was given his middle name, which he chose to use as his first. He was one of a group of brothers collectively referred to as 'The Eight London Merediths'. They included Sir

William Ralph Meredith Sir William Ralph Meredith, (March 31, 1840 – August 21, 1923) was a Canadian lawyer, politician and judge. He served as Leader of the Ontario Conservatives from 1878 to 1894, Chancellor of the University of Toronto from 1900 until his de ...

, Chief Justice

Richard Martin Meredith Richard Martin Meredith (27 March 1847 – 20 May 1934) was a co-founder and the first Chancellor of The University of Western Ontario; vice-chancellor of Ontario; President of the High Court of the Supreme Court of Ontario and Chief Justice ...

, Thomas Graves Meredith and Charles Meredith. The Eight London Merediths were close to their cousins Judge Richard Edmund Meredith,

Frederick Edmund Meredith Frederick Edmund Meredith (January 16, 1862 – September 23, 1941) was a Canadian lawyer and businessman. He was the 8th Chancellor of Bishop's University; President of the Mount Royal Club; Bâtonnier of the Bar of Montreal; President of the Mo ...

, William Archer Redmond and Judge

James Creed Meredith James Creed Meredith, KC (28 November 1875 – 14 August 1942) was an Irish judge who served as a Judge of the Supreme Court from 1937 to 1942 and a Judge of the High Court from 1924 to 1937. He was best known as a nationalist of the early ...

Bank of Montreal

After an initial education at "a home rich in cultural elements", he briefly attended the

Hellmuth Hellmuth is both a masculine German given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name: * Hellmuth Heye (1895–1970), German admiral and politician * Hellmuth Hirth (1886–1938), German engineer who founded engine manufac ...

Boys College at

, before joining the Bank of Montreal as a clerk in 1867. He steadily rose through the ranks to become the first Canadian-born president of the bank from 1913 to 1927. From his retirement until his death two years later, he served as chairman of the board. In Meredith's time, before the creation of the Bank of Canada in 1934, the Bank of Montreal acted as Canada's national bank, and Meredith successfully guided the nation's economy through the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. When Meredith was elected president in 1913, the bank had assets worth $244 million, which had tripled to $831 million when he resigned his presidency in 1927. Along with his cousins – the brothers William Henry Meredith (1849–1895) and

– he was one of three Merediths to have attained high position within the bank. As president, Sir Vincent's office was at the bank's headquarters at 119 St. James Street in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. When he retired as president of the bank in 1927, ''The Banker'', published in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, summed up the effect he had had on Canadian financial affairs during his time at the bank, Among many other positions, Vincent Meredith was a member of the Montreal Board of Trade, a member of the board of directors of Canadian Pacific Railway; the Royal Exchange Assurance Co., of

; the Royal Trust Assurance Co., of Montreal (also serving as that company's president for a time); the

Standard Life Standard Life is a life assurance, pensions and long-terms savings company in the UK which is owned by Phoenix Group. History 1825–2010 The Standard Life Assurance Company was established in 1825 and was reincorporated as a mutual assurance ...

Assurance Company of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and

Dominion Textile The Dominion Textile Inc. or Domtex was a Canadian textile manufacturer that was founded in 1905 and closed in 1998 when its remains were purchased by the American Polymer Group, at the time headed by Jerry Zucker. History Following the instit ...

. He served as governor of

, president of the

, and president of the Royal Victoria Hospital. He was created a hereditary

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

for his wartime services to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

in 1916.

Lady Meredith

In 1888, Vincent Meredith married (Isabella) Brenda Allan (1867–1959), the youngest daughter of Andrew Allan, who had then succeeded his elder brother,

Sir Hugh Allan Sir Hugh Allan (September 29, 1810 – December 9, 1882) was a Scottish-Canadian shipping magnate, financier and capitalist. By the time of his death, the Allan Shipping Line had become the largest privately owned shipping empire in the wor ...

, as president of the

Allan Line The Allan Shipping Line was started in 1819, by Captain Alexander Allan of Saltcoats, Ayrshire, trading and transporting between Scotland and Montreal, a route which quickly became synonymous with the Allan Line. By the 1830s the company had off ...

and the Merchant's Bank etc. This marriage brought Meredith additional wealth and powerful connections. As a wedding gift, his father-in-law gave him and his wife a parcel of land on the corner of

Pine Avenue Pine Avenue (french: avenue des Pins) is an east–west street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This street serves as the dividing line between the downtown Ville-Marie borough and borough of Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, and also serves as the northern ...

and Peel Street in the

, just across from Ravenscrag, where Lady Meredith's cousin,

Sir Montagu Allan Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Hugh Andrew Montagu Allan, (October 13, 1860 – September 26, 1951) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He was the principal heir of his father, Sir Hugh Allan, and became deputy chairman of the family-owned A ...

, lived. In 1894, they employed the architect

Edward Maxwell Edward Maxwell (31 December 1867 – 14 November 1923) was a prominent Canadian architect. Life and career The son of Edward John Maxwell, a lumber dealer in Montreal, by his marriage to Johanna MacBean, Maxwell graduated from the High School of ...

to build them a house there, "''Ardvarna''", a turreted, red brick mansion, now known as '' Lady Meredith House''. Maxwell had also previously designed their summer house at

Mont Saint-Bruno Mont Saint-Bruno is part of the Monteregian Hills in southern Quebec, Canada. Its summit stands high and lies east of downtown Montreal. This mountain has a ski resort, a natural area, and an apple orchard. Forests of beech, maple, oak, hicko ...

, Quebec. Lady Meredith House was designated a

in 1990. Following the

, when wounded Canadian soldiers started to return from the Front in 1918, Lady Meredith set up a rehabilitation centre for officers at her and Vincent's Montreal home. During their

1939 Royal Tour of Canada The 1939 royal tour of Canada by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth was undertaken in the build-up to World War II as a way to emphasise the links between Britain and Canada. The royal tour lasted from 17 May to 15 June, covering every Canadia ...

, Lady Meredith was the hostess to King

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of I ...

and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother during their stay in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

. In 1942, Lady Meredith donated the house to the

Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal The Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) (french: Hôpital Royal Victoria), colloquially known as the "Royal Vic" or "The Vic", is a hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It forms the biggest base hospital of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), ...

, as a residence for the nurses. Brenda Meredith donated the ''Lady Meredith Cup'' for the Quebec Ladies' Hockey Association in 1920, the first

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

trophy in

to be competed for between women in ankle-length skirts.On the Edge: Women Making Hockey History (1996) Elizabeth Etue & Megan Williams
/ref> On the 100th anniversary of the Montreal Thistle Curling Club in 1943, the

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

of the day reported that on Christmas Eve, 1870, she was "probably the first lady in Canada to put up an iron". She served as president of the Purple Cross (a service for the care of wounded and disabled horses on the battlefield during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

); president of the Canadian Women's Army Auxiliary Corps; governor of the Royal Victoria's Maternity Hospital; director of the

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a common name for non-profit animal welfare organizations around the world. The oldest SPCA organization is the RSPCA, which was founded in England in 1824. SPCA organizations operate i ...

; vice president of the Women's National Immigration Society, and honorary patroness of the

Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire The Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE) is a women's charitable organization based in Canada. It provides scholarships, bursaries, book prizes, and awards, and pursues other philanthropic and educational projects in various communities ac ...

with Lady

Eugène Fiset Major-General Sir Marie-Joseph-Eugène Fiset, (March 15, 1874 – June 8, 1951) was a Canadian physician, military officer, Deputy Minister of Militia and Defence, Member of Parliament, the 18th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, and the 3rd ...

and Lady

H. Montagu Allan Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Hugh Andrew Montagu Allan, (October 13, 1860 – September 26, 1951) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He was the principal heir of his father, Sir Hugh Allan, and became deputy chairman of the family-owned ...

. She was a member and benefactor of the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, Montreal, and was one of the founders of the Montreal Ladies Golf Club. They left no children, but along with Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and

George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), styled Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and then Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman ...

, Vincent Meredith was the godfather to Robert Henry Arthur Rivers-Bulkeley (1914–2007), son of Colonel Charles Rivers-Bulkeley and Annie Evelyn Pelly. Lady Meredith was the godmother of

's only grandson, and the only son of her first cousin,

Philanthropy

Sir Vincent Meredith was a generous philanthropist. A founding member of the

Canadian Mental Health Association The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is a Canadian non-profit mental health organization that focusing on resources, programs and advocacy. It was founded on April 22, 1918, by Dr. Clarence M. Hincks and Clifford W. Beers. Originally nam ...

he served on its board of directors and was one of its chief benefactors. In 1909 he gave the

(where he solely sponsored an annual ball for the nurses) an automobile, Canada's first motor ambulance, but as with all his gifts and donations, refused to allow anything of it to be mentioned in the papers. It was also his idea to bring the famous neuro-surgeon

Wilder Penfield Wilder Graves Penfield (January 26, 1891April 5, 1976) was an American-Canadian neurosurgeon. He expanded brain surgery's methods and techniques, including mapping the functions of various regions of the brain such as the cortical homunculus. ...

to the Royal Victoria Hospital. At the Bank of Montreal he introduced the 'Sir Vincent Meredith Fund', which was set up for the female employees of the bank to relieve them in a financial crisis, which is still in operation today. In his will he left just under six hundred thousand dollars to be shared between the Royal Victoria Hospital,

and

Bishop's University Bishop's University (french: Université Bishop's) is a small English-language liberal arts university in Lennoxville, a borough of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. The founder of the institution was the Anglican Bishop of Quebec, George Mountain, w ...

, Lennoxville. It was said that Sir Vincent took every opportunity to relieve suffering in Montreal and advance that city. As well as giving financial backing and donations from his own art collection to the

, he also donated a set of four

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art NouveauL ...

windows to the museum's new building. In sports, he donated the 'Sir Vincent Meredith Trophy' awarded to the best all-round athlete of the

Montreal Amateur Athletic Association Montreal Amateur Athletic Association is Canada's oldest athletic association, located in Montreal, Quebec. It was renamed as the ''Club Sportif MAA'' or just ''MAA'' (Montreal MAA) in 1999 after a brush with bankruptcy, but is still widely known ...

, as well as giving the Meredith Cup for the Waltzing Competition held at the Winter Club, and the Meredith Trophy awarded at the Dominion Drama Festival.

Private life

The Merediths shared a passion for horses, and were said to have had a fine eye for them. Vincent rode with the Montreal Hunt, played polo in

Senneville, Quebec Senneville () is an affluent on-island suburban village on the western tip of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the wealthiest town in the West Island. Situated close to the city of Montreal, it was historically a popular location fo ...

, and they both imported many fine horses from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and

. His youngest brother, Llewellyn Meredith (1860–1933) J.P., was a highly respected judge at the

Olympia, London Olympia London, sometimes referred to as the Olympia Exhibition Centre, is an exhibition centre, event space and conference centre in West Kensington, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, London, England. A range of internati ...

Horse Show in

, and also bred his own horses at his farm outside

. Sir Vincent was also a keen fisherman. Both he and Lady Meredith had a great interest in music and art and were one of the most enthusiastic supporters of

Grand Opera Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and orchestras, and (in their original productions) lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on o ...

. He belonged to many clubs in Montreal and England, and he was amongst the founding members of the Mount Royal Club in Montreal, the

Ritz-Carlton Montreal The Ritz-Carlton Montreal is a luxury hotel located at 1228 Sherbrooke Street West, on the corner of Drummond Street, in Montreal, Quebec. Opened in 1912, it was the first Ritz-Carlton hotel in North America. Its name was originally licensed by ...

Hotel and the Montreal Winter Club. The

said of him : Sir Vincent Meredith died in 1929 without children, and thus his short-lived

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

became extinct. His wife continued to live in their Montreal home until 1941, when she gave it to the Royal Victoria Hospital to use as a nurses residence.

acquired the use of the property in 1975, and today it is known as Lady Meredith House, home to the McGill Centre for Medicine, Ethics, and Law. Meredith and his wife are buried in a plot reserved for the Meredith family at Mount Royal Cemetery. Buried there also is one of his younger brothers, Charles Meredith, with his wife, a daughter of

Richard B. Angus Richard Bladworth Angus (28 May 1831 – 17 September 1922) was a Scottish-Canadian banker, financier, and philanthropist. He was a co-founder and vice-president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, president of the Bank of Montreal, president of th ...

, and his cousin, a close friend of both of the brothers,

. This generation of his family in Canada, and Ireland, was a remarkably distinguished group.

References

External links

The Sir Vincent Meredith Fund
*

Old Montreal, Government website - Vincent Meredith

Premier Taschereau Pays Meredith Tribute
Montreal Gazette, February 26, 1929
Obituary of Sir Vincent Meredith
Montreal Gazette, February 25, 1929
Bank of Montreal Official Changes - Mr H.V. Meredith the New President and His Record
Montreal Gazette, November 3, 1913
Sir V. Meredith, Bt. Makes 7 Bequests Totalling $575,000
Montreal Gazette, March 19, 1929
Popular Doorman Died of Pneumonia
Montreal Gazette, October 26, 1928
Seeing God The Banker Worth 35 Bucks to Him
Ottawa Citizen, November 25, 1953
Fashionable Wedding at St. Pauls
Montreal Herald, November 16, 1888
New Annex Opened For R.V.H. Nurses - Former Meredith Residence Remodelled to Serve as Graduates Home
Montreal Gazette, February 2, 1942

Photographs

Vincent's mother and a brother outside their home on Talbot Street, London

A portrait of Meredith's grandmother, Magdalene (Redmond) Meredith (1785-1851)

Mrs Meredith's childhood home, 'Ioneteh' on Peel Street, Montreal

A young Mrs Meredith next to her father at home in 1871

The Merediths with their tandem outside the McGill gates, 1889

Vincent and Brenda Meredith with Annie and Osla Clouston, Senneville, 1901

Osla Clouston and Brenda Meredith, Senneville, 1901

Sir Vincent and Lady Meredith with Sir Edward Clouston, General Manager of the Bank of Montreal

Commemorative Plaque celebrating 100 years of the Bank of Montreal

Canadian bank note depicting Vincent Meredith

Sir Vincent (far left), Sir Thomas White, J. W. McConnell, Mayor Martin & C.C. Ballantyne. Victory Loan Parade, Montreal, 1918

Sir Vincent and Lady Meredith aboard the Mauretania, c.1920

Portrait of Sir Vincent Meredith by Alphonse Jongers, 1924

The Merediths home on Pine Avenue before its extension, 1906

Mrs Meredith in her drive with a pair-in-hand, 1911

Lady Meredith and friends on a sleigh, c.1920

Mrs Meredith's Rolls-Royce, 1912
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meredith, Vincent 1850 births 1929 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Businesspeople from London, Ontario Businesspeople from Montreal Canadian baronets Canadian philanthropists Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople Bank of Montreal presidents Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery