Jestyn Reginald Austin Plantagenet Philipps, 2nd Viscount St Davids , (19 February 1917 – 10 June 1991) was a British peer, the only surviving son of

John Philipps, 1st Viscount St Davids John Wynford Philipps, 1st Viscount St Davids (30 May 1860 – 28 March 1938) was a British Liberal politician. Background and education Philipps was the eldest son of Reverend Sir James Erasmus Philipps, 12th Baronet, Vicar of Warminster ...

, and his second wife,

Elizabeth Philipps, Viscountess St Davids Elizabeth Frances Philipps, Viscountess St Davids (née Abney-Hastings) (10 June 1884 – 12 December 1974) was a British peeress. Following the passing of the Peerage Act 1963, she became the first woman to take her seat in the House of Lo ...

(née Abney-Hastings). From his mother, he inherited the

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

ies of

Hungerford Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The population of the parish at the 2021 census was 5,869. The Kennet and Avon Can ...

, de Moleyns and Strange (de Knockyn).

Early life

St Davids was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

.'Obituary: Viscount St Davids', ''The Times,'' 13 June 1991, pg. 20

Professional life

At the age of 37, St Davids was forced to sell

Roch Castle Roch Castle () is a 12th-century castle, located at Roch near Haverfordwest, Wales. Built by Norman knight Adam de Rupe in the second half of the 12th century, probably on the site of an earlier wooden structure. ''Roche'' is the usual French ...

after his company, which provided canal barge pleasure trips on the

Regent's Canal Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in ea ...

, went bankrupt. While sitting the House of Lords, St Davids accepted the Labour Whip, although he later described himself as a convert to

Thatcherism Thatcherism is a form of British conservative ideology named after Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher that relates to not just her political platform and particular policies but also her personal character a ...

. While serving in the Lords, St Davids opposed restriction on immigration. He is also notable for being the first person to raise climate change in the houses of parliament, in 1969, over a decade before it was next mentioned: "My Lords, can my noble friend say whether he and British Railways have taken account of the fact that what were abnormal temperatures last summer may not be abnormal if we continue to discharge carbon dioxide into the air by the burning of various fossil carbons, so increasing the greenhouse effect?" St Davids founded a 'pirate club' on the

Camden Town Camden Town () is an area in the London Borough of Camden, around north-northwest of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is identified in the London Plan as one of 34 major centres in Greater London. Laid out as a residential distri ...

, north London, which was designed to give local children a chance to spend time on boats.

Personal life

Lord St Davids married three times but had children only by his first wife. His first marriage was to Doreen Guinness Jowett on 5 May 1938. The couple divorced in 1954.thePeerage.com - Person Page 3300
/ref> His second marriage was to Elisabeth Joyce Woolf on 15 October 1954, but they divorced in October 1959. By his first wife, St Davids had five children: * Colwyn Jestyn John Philipps, 3rd Viscount St Davids (30 January 1939 – 26 April 2009) * Hon. Rowena Frances Philipps (1940–2005) * Hon. Myfanwy Ann Philipps (b. 1944) * Hon. Rhiannon Elisabeth Philipps (b. 1946) * Hon. Eiddwen Sara Philipps (b. 1948)

Arms

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:St Davids, Jestyn Philipps, 2nd Viscount 1917 births 1991 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 215 Barons Hungerford 2 20th-century English nobility