The Hon. David Pax Tennant (22 May 1902 – 8 April 1968) was a British aristocrat and socialite, and the founder of the

Gargoyle Club The Gargoyle was a private members' club on the upper floors of 69 Dean Street, Soho, London, at the corner with Meard Street. It was founded on 16 January 1925 by the aristocratic socialite David Tennant, son of the Scottish 1st Baron Glenco ...

in London's

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

Early life

Tennant was the third son of Edward Tennant, who became Lord Glenconner in 1911, and the writer

Pamela Wyndham Pamela Adelaide Genevieve Grey, Viscountess Grey of Fallodon (born Wyndham; later Pamela Tennant, Baroness Glenconner; 14 January 1871 – 18 November 1928), was an English writer. The wife of Edward Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner, and later of ...

, Lady Glenconner, later wife of

Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, (25 April 1862 – 7 September 1933), better known as Sir Edward Grey, was a British Liberal statesman and the main force behind British foreign policy in the era of the First World War. An adher ...

. He was the younger brother of the war poet Edward Tennant and the older brother of socialite Stephen Tennant.

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 ...

, author and second wife of the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...

, was his paternal aunt.

Career

Tennant founded the

Gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...

as a private members' club on the upper floors of 69

Dean Street Dean Street is a street in Soho, central London, running from Oxford Street south to Shaftesbury Avenue. Historical figures and places In 1764 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then a young boy, gave a recital at 21 Dean Street. Admiral Nelson stayed ...

, London in 1925. He created an arena where Bohemians could mingle comfortably with the upper crust, according to writer Michael Luke. There were lavish interiors, paintings by

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

, and regular patrons included

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born i ...

Duncan Grant Duncan James Corrowr Grant (21 January 1885 – 8 May 1978) was a British painter and designer of textiles, pottery, theatre sets and costumes. He was a member of the Bloomsbury Group. His father was Bartle Grant, a "poverty-stricken" major ...

Nancy Cunard Nancy Clara Cunard (10 March 1896 – 17 March 1965) was a British writer, heiress and political activist. She was born into the British upper class, and devoted much of her life to fighting racism and fascism. She became a muse to some of the ...

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

and later

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

and

Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. He was born in Berlin, the son of Jewis ...

. In 1952 Tennant sold the Gargoyle as a going concern for £5,000 to caterer John Negus and it remained popular for several years. He was one of the original members of the

Bright Young Things __NOTOC__ The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of Bohemianism, Bohemian young Aristocracy (class), aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London. They threw flamboyant costume party, f ...

in London in the 1920s. One of the parties he organized for the group was in the Burlington Galleries and had a Mozart theme and required the guests to dress in eighteenth-century costume. Another was his “pyjamas-and-bottle-party” where the guests came in nightwear and brought their own alcohol. Tennant worked at the

British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

from 1924 to 1929 as an announcer, in 1943 he re-joined the BBC as a home announcer."Obituary." Times ondon, England11 Apr. 1968: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 15 June 2014. From 1939 Tennant served as an officer in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

until he was invalided out in 1941.

Personal life

In 1928, Tennant married the actress

Hermione Baddeley Hermione Youlanda Ruby Clinton-Baddeley (13 November 1906 – 19 August 1986) was an English actress of theatre, film and television. She typically played brash, vulgar characters, often referred to as "brassy" or "blowsy".Folkart, Burt, "Noted ...

. They rented Teffont Evias Manor, which became known for their boisterous parties (including mixed naked bathing in the goldfish pond).Bates, Lesley. Three-year story of village where 'much has happened'. ''Salisbury Journal''. 4 March 2004. page 31. They had two children, a son, David, and a daughter Pauline (1927–2008). Pauline was an actress and a poet, and married three times: the anthropologist

Julian Pitt-Rivers Julian Alfred Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers (16 March 1919 – 12 August 2001) was a British social anthropologist, an ethnographer, and a professor at universities in three countries. Family background Pitt-Rivers was a great-grandson of the archaeologi ...

; Euan Douglas Graham, grandson of the 5th Duke of Montrose; and

Sir Anthony Rumbold, 10th Baronet Sir Anthony Rumbold, 10th Baronet (7 March 1911 – 4 December 1983) was a British diplomat, ambassador to Thailand and Austria. Early life Horace Anthony Claude Rumbold, son of Sir Horace Rumbold, 9th Baronet, was educated at Eton College ...

. Tennant and Baddeley divorced in 1937, but remained good friends. In 1938, Tennant married Virginia Penelope Parsons, the daughter of Alan Parsons and Viola Tree (daughter of the actor-manager

Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and theatre manager. Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End, winning praise for adventurous progr ...

). They had two daughters, Georgia Tennant in 1941 and Sabrina Tennant in 1943. They divorced in 1953, and Virginia after married

Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath Henry Frederick Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath (26 January 1905 – 30 June 1992), styled Lord Henry Thynne until 1916 and Viscount Weymouth between 1916 and 1946, was a British aristocrat, landowner, and Conservative Party politician. Bac ...

, thus becoming the Marchioness of Bath. He later married Shelagh Rainey, sister of the fashion designer

Michael Rainey Michael Sean O'Dare Rainey (21 January 1941 – 29 January 2017) was an Australian-born British fashion designer, best known for his 1960s London boutique, '' Hung On You''. Early life He was the son of Sean Rainey and Joyce Marion Wallace (1923� ...

and daughter of Sean Rainey and Joyce Marion Wallace (1923–2006), better known as Marion Wrottesley, after her later marriage to Lord Wrottesley. Shelagh Tennant died in Spain in 2018, aged 75. Tennant died in Spain on 8 April 1968 aged 65.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennant, David English socialites Younger sons of barons 1902 births 1968 deaths BBC radio presenters Royal Artillery officers Tennant family