Shield of Arms of William Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough, KG, GCVO

William Henry Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough, (30 October 1855 – 9 January 1945) was a British athlete, sportsman, public servant and politician. He sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

first for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and then for the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

between 1880 and 1905 when he was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

. He also was President of the

Thames Conservancy The Thames Conservancy (formally the Conservators of the River Thames) was a body responsible for the management of the that river in England. It was founded in 1857 to replace the jurisdiction of the City of London up to Staines. Nine years la ...

Board for thirty-two years.

Background and education

Grenfell was the son of

Charles William Grenfell Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, former MP for

Sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

, and Georgiana Lascelles, daughter of William Saunders Lascelles, MP. He was the nephew of

Henry Riversdale Grenfell Henry Riversdale Grenfell (5 April 1824 – 11 September 1902) was a British banker and Liberal Party politician. Biography His Cornish grandfather Pascoe Grenfell was a tin and copper manager and Member of Parliament (MP), while his father, Ch ...

, the banker and politician, and the first cousin of

Edward Grenfell, 1st Baron St Just Edward Charles Grenfell, 1st Baron St Just (29 May 1870 – 26 November 1941), was a British banker and politician. His father, Henry Riversdale Grenfell, was Governor of the Bank of England between 1881 and 1883. William Grenfell, 1st Baron ...

. Grenfell was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

Athletic career

Grenfell rowed for

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in the

Boat Race Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

, in the only dead heat race, in 1877, and Oxford's win of 1878. He was President of the

Oxford University Boat Club Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) is the rowing club for male, heavyweight oarsman of the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in the early 19th century. The Boat Race The club races agai ...

in 1879. He won the silver medal for

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

in the event of team épée at the

1906 Intercalated Games The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Games i ...

,William, Lord Desborough
sports-reference.com having been the first person to carry the flag for Great Britain in the parade of nations. In 1908, he was president of the

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

games held in London. He also served as the president of the Athletic Club and of the Bartitsu Club. He was also the first ever captain of

Maidenhead Rowing Club Maidenhead Rowing Club is a rowing club, on the River Thames in England at Maidenhead, Berkshire. The clubhouse is on the reach above Bray Lock on the Maidenhead bank of the Thames between Maidenhead Railway Bridge and Maidenhead Bridge. The c ...

. He enjoyed

mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and

big-game hunting Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for meat, commercially valuable by-products (such as horns/antlers, furs, tusks, bones, body fat/oil, or special organs and contents), trophy/taxidermy, or simply just for recreation ("s ...

. He swam the Niagara rapids twice, climbed the

Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...

three times, rowed across the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

and was amateur punting champion of the Upper Thames. He was President of the Amateur Fencing Association,

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

based at Lords, and the

Lawn Tennis Association The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Founded in 1888, the LTA promotes all levels of lawn tennis. It believes that tennis can provide "physical ...

based at Wimbledon. A registered tennis players golf tournament survives in his name since 1912 with its top prize being The Desborough Cup. He was also a founder member of Maidenhead Golf Club in Berkshire, formed in 1896. It was the friendship of one local founder member, Dr G E Moore, with Grenfell which really got the project off the ground. Grenfell was the Mayor of Maidenhead in 1895 and 1896 and an extremely wealthy and competent businessman who owned more than 10,000 acres of land around the town. Grenfell offered to lease some of his acreage near to Maidenhead Railway Station, which was to become Maidenhead Golf Club and remains so well into a second century. Grenfell became one of the earliest 63 members of the club, and its first president and agreed to present “a challenge cup for competition”. This was the Grenfell Cup which is still in yearly competition.

Political career

In the 1880 general election, Grenfell was elected the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

; he lost the seat in a

ministerial by-election A ministerial by-election is a by-election to fill a vacancy triggered by the appointment of the sitting member of parliament (MP) as a minister in the cabinet. The requirement for new ministers to stand for re-election was introduced in the Ho ...

in 1882 but returned in 1885–1886. He was elected MP for

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 ...

in 1892. Politically he was a Gladstonian (loyal)

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

who resigned in 1893 rather than support Gladstone's

Second Irish Home Rule Bill The Government of Ireland Bill 1893 (known generally as the Second Home Rule Bill) was the second attempt made by Liberal Party leader William Ewart Gladstone, as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, to enact a system of home rule for Ireland. ...

. He returned to the

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

. On 30 December 1905, Grenfell was raised to the peerage as Baron Desborough, ''of

Taplow Taplow is a village and civil parish in the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England. It sits on the left bank of the River Thames, facing Maidenhead in the neighbouring county of Berkshire, with Cippenham and Burnham to the east. It is th ...

in the County of Buckingham'', a title that combined the defunct

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

Desborough Desborough is a town in Northamptonshire, England, lying in the Ise Valley between Market Harborough and Kettering. It was an industrial centre for weaving and shoe-making in the 19th century and had a long association with the Co-operative ...

and the riverside village in which he lived in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

Other public appointments

During a long career dedicated to public service, he was President of the

Board from 1904 to 1937, the

London Chamber of Commerce London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is London’s key hub for the business community, we support members’ businesses through a range of services, advocate on behalf of London’s business community in the most important forums of pol ...

, and the Royal Agricultural Society, amongst many others. He was High Steward of

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

, the nearest town to his home at

Taplow Court Taplow Court is a Victorian house in the village of Taplow in Buckinghamshire, England. Its origins are an Elizabethan manor house, remodelled in the early 17th century. In the 18th century the court was owned by the Earls of Orkney. In the 185 ...

. His good deeds for Maidenhead included the donation of an old chalk pit, converted for use as a

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

, to celebrate the

diamond jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

: this park, Grenfell Park, contains many unusual

trees In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are u ...

, the seeds of which were collected by Lord Desborough as he travelled the world. He was also an active Freemason. He became a steward of

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

. He was a J.P. for

and a Deputy Lieutenant for

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originally ...

. He was appointed

High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire The High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. High Sheriff, Sheriff is the olde ...

in 1889. On 3 Jun 1915, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Buckinghamshire. In 1919, he presided over the Desborough Committee which investigated the conditions that led to the crippling London Police Strike of August 1918. Its recommendations resulted in the enactment of the influential Police Act of 1919 which changed the working conditions of the police in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and elsewhere. Desborough was appointed CVO in 1907 and advanced to KCVO in 1908 and GCVO (Knight Grand Cross) in 1925; and in 1928 he was admitted as a Knight of the Order of the Garter. He was a

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

of the 1st Battalion, Buckinghamshire Rifle Volunteers from February 1900. In November 1914, he was appointed President of the Central Association of

Volunteer Training Corps The Volunteer Training Corps was a voluntary home defence reserve force in the United Kingdom during World War I. Early development After war had been declared in August 1914, there was a popular demand for a means of service for those men who we ...

, a voluntary home defence

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, until it was disbanded in 1920. From 1924 to 1929 he was

Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard The Captain of the King's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard is a UK Government post usually held by the Government Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords. The present Captain is The 9th Earl of Courtown, who was appointed to the position in ...

. Between 1919 and 1929 he was chairman of the Pilgrims of Great Britain. He planned and oversaw the construction of the

Desborough Cut The Desborough Cut is an artificial channel in the River Thames above Sunbury Lock near Walton on Thames in England. It was completed in 1935, to improve flow and ease navigation on the river. The cut was dug between 1930 and 1935, taking the r ...

, a navigation channel between nearby stretches of the Thames at

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

and

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...

, which was opened in 1935. The large island created thereby was named

Desborough Island Desborough Island is a manmade island in the River Thames on the reach above Sunbury Lock in Surrey, England. It was formed in the 1930s by the digging of a channel – the Desborough Cut – by the Thames Conservancy as a meander cutoff of ...

. In 1933 he was one of eleven people involved in the appeal that led to the foundation of the

British Trust for Ornithology The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles. The Prince of Wales has been patron since October 2020. History Beginnings In 1931 Max Nicholson wrote: In the United State ...

(BTO), an organisation for the study of

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the British Isles. Desborough had the unfortunate distinction of having an obituary prematurely published on 2 December 1920 by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', which confused his name with that of Lord Bessborough, who really had died – Desborough died 25 years later at the age of 89.

Family

Lord Desborough married

Ethel Fane Ethel Anne Priscilla Grenfell, Baroness Desborough (née Fane; 27 June 1867 – 28 May 1952) was a British society hostess. Life Ethel (Ettie) Fane was born into an aristocratic family. However, at the age of three she was orphaned when her fat ...

(27 June 1867 – 28 May 1952), daughter of the Hon. Julian Fane and granddaughter of

John Fane, 11th Earl of Westmorland John Fane, 11th Earl of Westmorland (3 February 178416 October 1859), styled Lord Burghersh until 1841, was a British soldier, politician, diplomat, composer and musician. Background Styled Lord Burghersh from birth, he was born at Sackville St ...

, in 1887. They had three sons and two daughters. His eldest son was the poet

Julian Grenfell Julian Henry Francis Grenfell (30 March 1888 – 26 May 1915) was a British soldier and a war poet of World War I. Early life Julian Grenfell was born at 4 St James's Square, London, the eldest son of William Grenfell, later Baron Desborough ...

, who was killed in action in 1915. His second son, Gerald William Grenfell, was also killed about two months after his elder brother. His third son, Ivo George Grenfell, died in 1926 as the result of a car accident. His daughters were Alexandra Imogen Clair Grenfell (Imogen) (1905–1969) and Monica Margaret Grenfell (1893–1973). As all his sons predeceased him, the barony became extinct. The family lived at

, where he and his wife hosted gatherings of the elite and aristocratic group, the '

Souls In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

', adjacent on the riverside to

Cliveden Cliveden (pronounced ) is an English country house and estate in the care of the National Trust in Buckinghamshire, on the border with Berkshire. The Italianate mansion, also known as Cliveden House, crowns an outlying ridge of the Chiltern H ...

, which is a slightly grander country estate, but which saw its social heyday immediately after, from 1920 to 1965. Lady Desborough was a well-known celebrity in her day.

Margot Asquith Emma Margaret Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith (' Tennant; 2 February 1864 – 28 July 1945), known as Margot Asquith, was a British socialite, author. She was married to H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1894 ...

, whose husband would later be politically aligned against Desborough, said of her, ''She tells enough white lies to ice a wedding cake''. In 1892, he built a stické tennis court at the house. He was the owner of ''Whiteslea Lodge'' on the Hickling Estate in Norfolk, close to the

Hickling Broad Hickling Broad is a nature reserve 4 km south-east of Stalham, north-east of Norwich in Norfolk. It is managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust. It is a National Nature Reserve and part of the Upper Thurne Broads and Marshes Site of Speci ...

. This was the former shooting lodge of Whiteslea Estate and was extensively improved and added to by Lord Desborough in the 1930s. Its interior featured enormous friezes by bird artist Roland Green.

Desborough College Desborough College is a secondary school with academy status located on Shoppenhangers Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. Until 2009 it was an all-boys school, however, the sixth form has since become co-educational. It was founded as Maid ...

is named after Lord Desborough.

Notes

References

External links

*
William Henry Grenfell
at Grenfell family history site
''The Forgotten Olympics''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Desborough, William Grenfell, 1st Baron 1855 births 1945 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Knights of the Garter Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford People from Taplow People from Maidenhead Olympic fencers of Great Britain Fencers at the 1906 Intercalated Games UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs who were granted peerages Grenfell, William High Sheriffs of Buckinghamshire British people of Cornish descent

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Deputy Lieutenants of Buckinghamshire Medalists at the 1906 Intercalated Games Presidents of the Marylebone Cricket Club British sportsperson-politicians International Olympic Committee members People from Hickling, Norfolk British male fencers Peers created by Edward VII