Sir Jeremiah Colman, 1st Baronet, DL (24 April 1859 – 16 January 1942) was a British industrialist who developed Colman's Mustard into an international concern.

Career

Colman was the son of Jeremiah Colman (1807–1885) and Isabella Button.Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003 Educated at

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The s ...

and St. John's College, Cambridge, Colman joined the J & J Colman

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, small, round seeds of ...

business and then served as its

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

from 1896.Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge
/ref> He was also Chairman of

Commercial Union Commercial Union plc was a large insurance business based in London. It merged with General Accident in 1998 to form CGU plc. History Commercial Union was established following a conflagration near London Bridge in 1861, known as the Great T ...

. He served as

High Sheriff of Surrey The list of known High Sheriffs of Surrey extends back to 1066. At various times the High Sheriff of Surrey was also High Sheriff of Sussex (1229–1231, 1232–1240, 1242–1567, 1571–1635). 1066–1228 (High Sheriffs of Surrey only) 1229– ...

from 1893 to 1894 and also became Lieutenant of the City of London. He 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 ...

in 1907.

Personal life

In 1885, he married Mary McMaster of

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...

, Surrey. They had one son, also Jeremiah, who succeeded his father in 1942. In 1888 he purchased

Gatton Park Gatton Park is a country estate set in parkland landscaped by Capability Brown and gardens by Henry Ernest Milner and Edward White (landscape architect), Edward White at Gatton, Surrey, Gatton, near Reigate in Surrey, England. Gatton Park is n ...

, a country estate in

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 ...

. At Gatton Park he amassed one of the largest collections of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

s in the country. He commissioned Henry Ernest Milner to design the

parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, plats, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the ...

. He was also keen on

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

and from 1916 to 1923 he was President of

Surrey County Cricket Club Surrey County Cricket Club (Surrey CCC) is a first-class club in county cricket, one of eighteen in the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Surrey, including areas that now form South Londo ...

. He also funded the ''Colman Library'' at the Department of Biochemistry at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. In 1936 he was the recipient of the Silver Fish Award, presented by the founder of Scouting, Lord Baden-Powell, for "making possible" the extension to London's East End Scouting home, Roland House. Colman's brother in law was the lawyer Charles Tyrrell Giles.Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 1, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 859

References

1859 births 1942 deaths People educated at King's College School, London Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge British food industry businesspeople 101

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

Deputy lieutenants of Surrey High sheriffs of Surrey {{UK-business-bio-1850s-stub