Walter Gilbey
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Sir Walter Gilbey, 1st Baronet, (2 May 1831 – 12 November 1914) was an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
wine-merchant, horse-breeder, author, and
philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
.


Early life

Gilbey was born at 11, Windhill,
Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated po ...
,
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
to Henry Gilbey (1789–1842) and Elizabeth (died 1869), a daughter of William Bailey, of
Stansted Mountfichet Stansted Mountfitchet is an English village and civil parish in Uttlesford district, Essex, near the Hertfordshire border, north of London. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 5,533, increasing to 6,011 at the 2011 census. The v ...
,
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
. Henry Gilbey, of Essex farming stock, had gone into innkeeping at Stansted, becoming landlord of the Bell Inn, but after the economic depression resulting from the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
he had to seek other employment. Settling at Bishop's Stortford, he established a successful daily
coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...
service travelling to and from London, often driving himself. The arrival of the railway put an end to this business, and Henry returned to his former occupation as landlord of the Red Lion Inn at Hockerill. He died after only a short time, when Walter was eleven years old, leaving his widow and seven children with limited means. Walter Gilbey was shortly placed in the office of an
estate agent An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting, or management of properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent. Estate agents are mainly engaged i ...
at
Tring Tring is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from Central London. Tring is linked to ...
, later obtaining a clerkship in a firm of
parliamentary agent Parliamentary agents are solicitors who are licensed (together with the firms they belong to) by the Houses of Parliament in the United Kingdom to draft, promote or oppose private bills. Private bills are a specific class of legislation promoted ...
s in London. On the outbreak of the
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...
, Walter and his younger brother Alfred (grandfather of the cleric
Alfred Newman Gilbey Alfred Newman Gilbey (1901–1998) was a British Roman Catholic priest and monsignor. He was the longest-serving chaplain to the University of Cambridge, England. He has been described as the best-known Roman Catholic priest in England during th ...
) volunteered for civilian service at the front, and were employed at a convalescent hospital on the Dardanelles. Returning to London on the declaration of peace, the pair took the advice of their eldest brother Henry, a
wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...
wine-merchant, and started in the retail
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
and spirits trade. This included the local London style gin.


Imported wine business

The heavy
duty A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; fro, deu, did, past participle of ''devoir''; la, debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may ...
then levied by the British government on French, Portuguese and Spanish wines made them too costly for English middle classes, and especially lower middle classes, which could only afford
beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
. Henry Gilbey believed these classes would gladly drink wine if they could get it at a moderate price. On his advice Walter and Alfred determined to push the sales of colonial, and particularly of Cape, wines, on which the duty was comparatively light. Financially backed by Henry, they opened a small retail business in a basement in Oxford Street, London, in 1857.


Growth and distribution

The Cape wines proved popular, and within three years the brothers had 20,000 customers on their books. The creation of the off-licence system by
William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
, then
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
, in 1860, followed by the large reduction in the duty on French wines effected by the commercial treaty between England and France in 1861, revolutionized their trade and laid the foundation of their fortunes. Three provincial
grocer A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food preservation, packaged ...
s, who had been granted the new off-licence, applied to be appointed the Gilbeys' agents in their respective districts, and many similar applications followed. These were granted, and before very long a leading local grocer was acting as the firm's agent in every district in England. The grocer who dealt in the Gilbeys' wines and spirits was not allowed to sell those of any other firm, and the Gilbeys in return handed over to him all their existing customers in his district. This arrangement was of mutual advantage, and the Gilbeys' business increased so rapidly that, in 1864, Henry Gilbey abandoned his own undertaking to join his brothers. In 1867 the three brothers secured the old Pantheon theatre and concert hall in Oxford Street for their headquarters. In 1875, the firm purchased a large claret-producing estate in Medoc, on the banks of the
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, and became also the proprietors of two large
whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden c ...
-distilleries in Scotland. In 1893 the business was converted, for family reasons, into a private
limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...
, of which Walter Gilbey, who in the same year was created a
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 14th ...
, was chairman.


Horse breeding and agriculture

Sir Walter Gilbey also became well known as a breeder of
shire horse The Shire is a British breed of draught horse. It is usually black, bay, or grey. It is a tall breed, and Shires have at various times held world records both for the largest horse and for the tallest horse. The Shire has a great capacity for ...
s, and he did much to improve the breed of English horses (other than race-horses) generally, and wrote extensively on the subject, including the encyclopedic ''Animal Painters of England From the Year 1650: A brief history of their lives and works''. He became president of the
Shire Horse The Shire is a British breed of draught horse. It is usually black, bay, or grey. It is a tall breed, and Shires have at various times held world records both for the largest horse and for the tallest horse. The Shire has a great capacity for ...
Society, of the Hackney Horse Society, and of the Hunters' Improvement Society, and he was the founder and chairman of the London Cart Horse Parade Society. He was also a practical agriculturist, and president of the Royal Agricultural Society. He was appointed a deputy lieutenant of
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
in 1906.


Personal life

On 3 November 1858, Gilbert married Ellen Parish, fourth daughter of John Parish , of Bishop's Stortford. They were the parents of Charles Herbert Gilbey (1858–1876), Henry Walter Gilbey (1860–1945), Arthur Nockolds Gilbey (1861–1939), Tresham Gilbey (1862–1947), Sebastian Gilbey (1863–1880), Maud Ellen Gilbey (1865–1951), Mabel Kate Gilbey (1866–1945), Guy Gilbey (1868–1930), Rose Gilbey (1870, died young), and Emily Lucy Gilbey (1872–1938). Mrs Gilbey died on 16 November 1896. Gilbey was created a
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 14th ...
on 4 September 1898. His son Henry Walter Gilbey succeeded as the second baronet in 1914.


Selected works

*''The Great Horse, or The War Horse: from the time of the Roman Invasion till its development into the Shire Horse.'' (London: Vinton & Co.. 1899)
''Animal Painters of England From the Year 1650: A brief history of their lives and works''
(London: Vinton & Co., 1900)
''Ponies, Past and Present''
(London: Vinton & Co,. 1900)
''Early Carriages and Roads''
(London: Vinton & Co., 1903)
''Modern Carriages''
(London: Vinton & Co., 1905) *''George Morland: His life and works'' (London: Adam and Charles Black, 1907) Sir Walter Gilbey, ''George Morland: His life and works'', London: Adam and Charles Black, 1907. A
Archive.org
Accessed 18 September 2014


See also

* SodaStream: the water-carbonating apparatus devised by a family member in 1903


References


Further reading

*
Alec Waugh Alexander Raban Waugh (8 July 1898 – 3 September 1981) was a British novelist, the elder brother of the better-known Evelyn Waugh, uncle of Auberon Waugh and son of Arthur Waugh, author, literary critic, and publisher. His first wife was Bar ...
, ''Merchants of Wine: Being a Centenary Account of the Fortunes of the House of Gilbey'' (Cassell & Co., 1957)


External links

* *
Bishop's Stortford & Thorley, A history and guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbey, Walter 1831 births 1914 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom English philanthropists Deputy Lieutenants of Essex People from Bishop's Stortford 19th-century British philanthropists 19th-century English businesspeople