Philip William Bryce Lever, 3rd Viscount Leverhulme (1 July 1915 – 4 July 2000) was a British
peer and
racehorse
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...
owner.
Early life
He was the only son of
William Lever, 2nd Viscount Leverhulme
William Hulme Lever, 2nd Viscount Leverhulme, DL (25 March 1888 – 27 May 1949), was the son of William Hesketh Lever and Elizabeth Ellen, daughter of Crompton Hulme of Bolton.
He was educated at Eton College and graduated from Cambridge Un ...
and his first wife, Marion Beatrice Smith. He was born on 1 July 1915. He was educated at
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
and
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
.
Career
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, he served in the Middle East with the
Cheshire Yeomanry
The Cheshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment that can trace its history back to 1797 when Sir John Leicester of Tabley raised a county regiment of light cavalry in response to the growing fears of invasion from Napoleonic France. Its lineage i ...
, and late became an honorary colonel. After the war, he managed his father's estates at
Thornton Manor
Thornton Manor is a large manor house in the village of Thornton Hough, Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* Listed building#England and Wales, l ...
.
In 1954, he bought the
Badanloch estate, in Sutherland, Scotland.
In 1949, he inherited his father's titles and was appointed
Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of the County Palatine of Chester. Since 1689, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Cheshire.
Lord Lieutenants of Cheshire
Vice Lieutenants
* Honourable Alan de Tat ...
that year, a post he held until 1990, making him the longest serving
Lord Lieutenant
A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...
in the country.
His lifelong passion was
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
, the subject of his 1976
maiden speech
A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament.
Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...
in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
. A racehorse owner, he served as Chairman of
Chester Racecourse
Chester Racecourse, also known as the Roodee, is a racecourse located in Chester, England. The horse racing venue is officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the "oldest racecourse still in operation". Horse racing in Chester dates ...
and as a senior steward of the
Jockey Club
The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, amo ...
. He was a supporter of the Animal Health Trust, a veterinary research establishment.
He was
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of the
University of Liverpool
, mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning
, established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...
from 1980 to 1993 and appointed a
Knight of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...
in 1988.
Marriage and issue
On 1 July 1937, he married Margaret Ann Moon (died 1973), and they had three daughters:
*The Hon. Susan Elizabeth Moon Lever (born 1938), married (Hercules) Michael Pakenham.
*The Hon. Victoria Marion Ann Lever (1945-2021), married (1)
Sir Richard Pole, 13th Baronet
Sir John Richard Walter Reginald Carew Pole, 13th Baronet, OBE, DL (born 2 December 1938) is the present holder of the Pole baronetcy, granted to his ancestor by King Charles I in 1628. He lives at Antony House in Cornwall. He succeeded his f ...
, (2) Gordon Apsion, (3) Peter Tower.
*The Hon. (Margaret) Jane Lever (born 1947), married
Sir Algernon Heber-Percy.
Succession
He died on 4 July 2000. As Leverhulme was the last male descendant of the
1st Viscount and died without male heirs in 2000, his titles became extinct.
Honours and decorations
See also
*
Burke's Peerage
Burke's Peerage Limited is a British genealogical publisher founded in 1826, when the Irish genealogist John Burke began releasing books devoted to the ancestry and heraldry of the peerage, baronetage, knightage and landed gentry of Great Br ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leverhulme, Philip Lever, 3rd Viscount
1915 births
2000 deaths
Knights of the Garter
Lord-Lieutenants of Cheshire
People associated with the University of Liverpool
People educated at Eton College
Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
Lever family
Leverhulme
The Leverhulme Trust () is a large national grant-making organisation in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1925 under the will of the 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), with the instruction that its resources should be used to suppo ...