George Cubitt, 1st Baron Ashcombe, (4 June 1828 – 26 February 1917) of Denbies House,

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England about south-west of London. It is in Mole Valley, Mole Valley District and the non-metropolitan district, council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs ro ...

, Surrey, was a British

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and peer, a son of

Thomas Cubitt Thomas Cubitt (25 February 1788 – 20 December 1855) was a British master builder, notable for his employment in developing many of the historic streets and squares of London, especially in Belgravia, Pimlico and Bloomsbury. Background The s ...

, the leading London builder and property developer of his day.

Education and career

Cubitt was educated at Trinity College,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, where he graduated with first a BA and later took his honorary MA. He won election as a

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

MP for

West Surrey West Surrey (formally the Western division of Surrey) was a parliamentary constituency in the county of Surrey, which returned two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the bl ...

from 1860 to 1885, and then for

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

until 1892, when elevated to the Lords as Baron Ashcombe, ''of Dorking, in the County of Surrey and of Bodiam Castle, in the County of Sussex'', having been invested as a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

in 1880. He also served as Honorary Colonel of the 5th Battalion, Royal West Surrey Regiment, and Deputy Lieutenant of the

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

of both

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. Hansard shows he made 81 speeches or questions in Parliament, from 1863 to 1909, including contributing in four years of the 1890s and two years of the 1900s.

Legacies

Denbies, a large hillside north of

was part of the inheritance from his father; Cubitt lived in the mansion built by his father there until 1905, much of which has been taken up by a viticulture centre, spa hotel, restaurant and vineyard. Upmarket street Ashcombe Road in Dorking is named after his peerage as is its amenity The Ashcombe School, the town's main senior school. Through his funds he founded a landmark, hilltop church of St Barnabas, Ranmore Common, provided for the Denbies Estate's owners and employees.http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/surrey/vol3/pp326-335 'Parishes: Great Bookham', in A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 3, ed. H E Malden (London, 1911), pp. 326-335 Collaborative historians' work the

Victoria County History The Victoria History of the Counties of England, commonly known as the Victoria County History (VCH), is an English history project which began in 1899 with the aim of creating an encyclopaedic history of each of the historic counties of Englan ...

states it is "a handsome stone church, with chancel, nave, and aisles in 13th-century style". Cubitt purchased

Bodiam Castle Bodiam Castle () is a 14th-century moated castle near Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England. It was built in 1385 by Sir Edward Dalyngrigge, a former knight of Edward III of England, Edward III, with the permission of Richard II of England, R ...

and its from Fuller's grandson in 1849, possibly local farmer Thomas

Levett Levett is a surname of Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from eLivet, which is held particularly by families and individuals resident in England and British Commonwealth territories. Origins This surname comes from the village of ...

, descendant of an old Sussex family and owner of Court Lodge Farm a seller in a later smaller sale nearby, for over £5,000 (£ today)..

Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), known as Lord Curzon (), was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician, explorer and writer who served as Viceroy of India ...

decided that "so rare a treasure s Bodiam Castleshould neither be lost to our country nor desecrated by irreverent hands". Curzon made enquiries about buying the castle, but Cubitt did not wish to sell. However, after Cubitt's death, Curzon was able to make a deal with Cubitt's son; he bought the castle and its lands in 1916. Curzon began a programme of investigation at Bodiam in 1919, and with architect William Weir more greatly restored parts of the castle. Its museum, design and authenticity make it a significant English tourist attraction. While an MP for

, Cubitt and his wife Laura, Lady Ashcombe were among the founders and benefactors of St Catherine's School in

Bramley, Surrey Bramley is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish about three miles (5 km) south of Guildford in the Borough of Waverley, Surrey, Waverley in Surrey, south east England. Most of the parish is in the Surrey Hills National Lan ...

in 1885. One of the schoolhouses was named in his honour after his death. His wife's gift to the school was a

Sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

, which cared for sick pupils. A stained glassed window in the school chapel, dedicated to St Cecilia, was created by Cubitt in remembrance of his wife after she died in 1904. The patron of the school is their great-great-granddaughter

Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. Camilla was raised in East ...

. His will passed assets worth its executor being his surviving son.

Death and burial

He died on 26 February 1917 and was buried in the churchyard of St Barnabas's. George Cubitt funerary monument

Family

Cubitt married Laura Joyce, daughter of James Joyce, Vicar of

, on 14 June 1853 and with her had 9 children; 3 sons, though only the third,

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, survived beyond infancy, and 6 daughters, one of whom died in infancy: * Geoffrey George Cubitt (born 31 May 1854, died 6 June 1855) * Thomas Edmund Wilfred Cubitt (born 5 August 1859, died 17 May 1865) * Henry Cubitt (born 14 March 1867, died 27 October 1947) - succeeded his father as the 2nd Baron Ashcombe * Helen Laura Cubitt (died 16 August 1939) * Mary Agnes Cubitt (died 6 February 1944) - married Rev. Edward Arthur Chichester * Adelaide Laura Cubitt (died 3 November 1922) - married Richard Anthony Fuller-Maitland * Mildred Sophia Cubitt (died 9 March 1930) - married George William Tallents * Mabel Georgina Cubitt (died 5 November 1865) * Beatrice Hayward Cubitt (died 12 February 1963) - married William Archibald Calvert He is the maternal great-great grandfather of

, wife of King

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cubitt, George 1st Baron Ashcombe Ashcombe, George Cubitt, 1st Baron Ashcombe, George Cubitt, 1st Baron Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 1 Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs who were granted peerages Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Ashcombe, George Cubity, 1st Baron Ashcombe, George Cubity, 1st Baron People from Bodiam George Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria Church Estates Commissioners