Sir Frank Crisp, 1st Baronet, (25 October 1843 – 29 April 1919) was an English

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

microscopist Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view subjects too small to be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of microscopy: optical, el ...

and officer of the

Royal Microscopical Society The Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) is a learned society for the promotion of microscopy. It was founded in 1839 as the Microscopical Society of London making it the oldest organisation of its kind in the world. In 1866, the Society gained it ...

, to which he donated furniture, books, instruments and work on technical publications.

Life and death

left, Lady Crisp as central figure in James Sant's painting of the ''Linnean Society of London First Formal Admission of Women Fellows'' Frank_Crisp_PLS

Frank Crisp was born on 25 October 1843 in London. His mother died when he was three years old and as a result he was brought up by his grandfather,

John Filby Childs John Filby Childs (1783–1853) was an English printer, known as a political radical, a successful lobbyist against the monopoly on printing the Bible, and a congregationalist active against church rates. Life He was born at Bungay, Suffolk, and ...

. He resolved to take up the

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and at 16 was articled to a firm of

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

s. He also studied at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, obtaining the degrees of BA in 1864 and

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1865. In 1867 he married Catherine Howes.*McConnell, A. (2007)
Crisp, Sir Frank, first baronet (1843–1919)
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'', Oxford University Press, online edn, Jan 2007, accessed 17 September 2007 From 1881 to 1906, he was a treasurer, and later a vice-president, of the

Linnean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collec ...

; Catherine Crisp, along with 14 of 15 other women whose names were presented on 17 November 1904, was elected a fellow of the Society, withdrawing in 1916. Crisp qualified as a solicitor in 1869 and his reputation soon grew, acting in many important commercial contracts. He counted several foreign

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

companies and the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, Potsdam Declaration, when it was dissolved followin ...

among his clients, and drew up the contract for the cutting of the

Cullinan diamond The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found,Scarratt and Shor, p. 120. weighing , discovered at the Premier No.2 mine in Cullinan, South Africa, on 26 January 1905. It was named after Thomas Cullinan, the owner ...

. Having been

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

on 16 December 1907, Crisp was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 5 February 1913 for services as legal advisor to the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. In 1889, Crisp bought

Friar Park Friar Park is a Victorian neo-Gothic mansion in Henley-on-Thames, England, construction began in 1889 and was completed in 1895. It was built for lawyer Sir Frank Crisp, and purchased in January 1970 by English rock musician and former Beatl ...

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...

. He was a keen

horticulturist Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

and developed spectacular public gardens there, including an

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

garden featuring a 20-foot (6-metre) replica of the

Matterhorn The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, ...

. He published an exhaustive survey of medieval gardening titled ''Mediaeval Gardens''. He commissioned Henry Ernest Milner to design the gardens. Crisp died on 29 April 1919 aged 75.

Legacy

Former Beatle

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

purchased Friar Park in January 1970. He wrote a tribute to Crisp called "

Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll) "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 triple album ''All Things Must Pass''. Harrison wrote the song as a tribute to Frank Crisp, a nineteenth-century lawyer and the origina ...

", which appeared on the album ''

All Things Must Pass ''All Things Must Pass'' is the third studio album by George Harrison. Released as a triple album in November 1970, it was Harrison's first solo work after Break-up of the Beatles, the break-up of the Beatles in April that year. It includes th ...

'' and later provided part of the title for his 2009 career-spanning compilation '' Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison''. In addition, Harrison's 1974 hit single "

Ding Dong, Ding Dong "Ding Dong, Ding Dong" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison, written as a New Year's Eve singalong and released in December 1974 on his album ''Dark Horse (George Harrison album), Dark Horse''. It was the album's lead single in Bri ...

" contains the lyrical refrain "''Ring out the old, ring in the new / Ring out the false, ring in the true''", which was taken from one of a number of inscriptions Crisp had engraved in the house and grounds of the property. (It is actually from

Ring Out, Wild Bells "Ring Out, Wild Bells" is a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Published in 1850, the year he was appointed Poet Laureate, it forms part of '' In Memoriam'', Tennyson's elegy to Arthur Henry Hallam, his sister's fiancé who died at the age of 22 ...

, a section of the

Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's ...

poem ''

In Memoriam A. H. H. ''In Memoriam A.H.H.'' (1850) by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, is an elegy for his Cambridge friend Arthur Henry Hallam, who died of cerebral haemorrhage in Vienna, at the age of twenty-two years, in 1833. As a sustained exercise in tetrametric lyr ...

'') The lyrics and title of another Harrison track, " The Answer's at the End", were also inspired by the writings of Frank Crisp: "''Scan not a friend with a microscopic glass / You know his faults, now let his foibles pass / Life is one long enigma, my friend / So read on, read on, the answer's at the end.''"

Life and death

Legacy

References

Further reading