Harry John Neville Vane, 11th Baron Barnard (21 September 1923 – 3 April 2016), was an English peer and landowner in

Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...

and

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

Life

Born at

Raby Castle Raby Castle () is a medieval castle located near Staindrop in County Durham, England, among of deer park. It was built by John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby, between approximately 1367 and 1390. Cecily Neville, the mother of the Kings Ed ...

in County Durham, the son of Christopher Vane, 10th Baron Barnard, the young Vane was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

. On leaving school in 1942 he joined the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...

, training in South Africa, although he would never see combat. In the aftermath of the war he was commissioned into the Northumberland Hussars. From 1952 to 1961, as John Vane, he was a county councillor for

and also, from 1956 to 1970, a Deputy Lieutenant of Durham. In 1960, Vane was awarded the

Territorial Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer O ...

, and in 1961 he became a Justice of the Peace for County Durham. In 1964, on his father's death, he succeeded him as Baron Barnard, with a seat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, and inherited an estate of some 60,000 acres.Cahal Milmo
"Britain's 600 aristocratic families have doubled their wealth in the last decade and are as 'wealthy as at the height of Empire'"
'' The i Paper'', 19 July 2019, accessed 19 February 2023. He was Lieutenant Colonel of the Northumberland Hussars between 1964 and 1966,

Lord Lieutenant of Durham This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Durham. Lord lieutenants *Henry Neville, 5th Earl of Westmorland 1552–? * Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon 2 August 1586 – 1595 *''vacant'' * Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Som ...

between 1970 and 1988, and Honorary Colonel of the 7th (Durham) Battalion, Light Infantry, between 1979 and 1989. At the age of 63, Lord Barnard, who had missed his university years in his youth because of the war, surprised friends by enrolling at Durham University Business School and taking an MSc in Management Studies. He was initiated into freemasonry in Agricola Lodge No. 7741 in 1961. He served as Provincial Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Durham from December 1969 until January 1998, and served as Senior Grand Warden of the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

in 1970–1971. On his death in 2016, he left an estate valued at £94 million (equivalent to £ in ).

Family

He married Lady Davina Mary Cecil (1931–2018), daughter of

David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter David George Brownlow Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter, KCMG, KStJ (9 February 1905 – 21 October 1981), styled Lord Burghley from birth until 1956 and also known as David Burghley, was an English athlete, sports official, peer, and Conservativ ...

, on 8 October 1952 at

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret the Virgin, Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Pal ...

. They were divorced in 1992. They had five children;

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 ...

, who succeeded as the 12th Baron, and four daughters. Lady Barnard retired to Barningham, where she died in 2018.

Notes

References

Burke's Peerage Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher, considered an authority on the order of precedence of noble families and information on the lesser nobility of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1826, when the Anglo-Irish genea ...

* Who's Who 2009 1923 births 2016 deaths Military personnel from County Durham Alumni of Durham University Deputy lieutenants of Durham English justices of the peace Lord-lieutenants of Durham Northumberland Hussars officers People educated at Eton College Royal Air Force officers

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Barons Barnard Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II {{England-baron-stub

Barnard Barnard is a surname of Old English origin, derived from the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon given name "Beornheard". It is composed of two elements: "Beorn," meaning "young warrior" or "bear," and "heard," meaning "hardy," "brave," or "strong." In some ...

20th-century British Army personnel