Sir John Blundell Maple, 1st Baronet (1 March 1845 – 24 November 1903) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

business magnate A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

who owned the furniture maker Maple & Co.

Biography

His father, John Maple (28 February 1815 – 4 March 1900), had a small furniture shop in

Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tu ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and his business began to develop about the time that his son entered it. John Jr. was educated at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. He soon took over the practical management of the company, and expanded it considerably. The firm became a

limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of ...

with a capital of two million pounds in 1890, with Maple as chairman. He entered

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

member for

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of H ...

in 1887, serving until his death in 1903, was

knight 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 ...

ed in 1892, and was made 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 1897. He was the developer of the

Great Central Hotel Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...

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, which opened in 1899. In Parliament, he sponsored bills in 1891 and 1893 to encourage cheaper train fares for working men, which would have favoured the many clerks in his constituency who commuted to the

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

. He was the owner of Childwickbury Stud, a large

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

Horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given Horse breed, breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired chara ...

operation built on his estate. Appearing at first under the name of "Mr. Childwick," from 1885 onwards he won many important races including two of the British Classics. His public benefactions included a hospital and a

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to the city of

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, near which his residence,

Childwickbury Manor Childwickbury Manor is a manor house in the hamlet of Childwickbury, Hertfordshire, England, between St Albans and Harpenden. History The Lomax family bought the house in 1666 and lived there until 1854 when Joshua Lomax sold it to Henry Hayma ...

, was situated, and the rebuilding, at a cost of more than £50,000, of

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lo ...

, London. Sir John Maple left a fortune of £2,153,000 at his death in 1903.

Immediate family

Maple married Emily Harriet Merryweather, and the couple had one surviving daughter, Grace Emily (1876–1950). She was married twice and had four children, each by a different father. In 1896, Grace married Baron Hermann von Eckardstein, who was First Secretary of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Embassy in 1898 and later Ambassador to the Court of St James. They had one child together, Kit (b. 1899). In 1906, Grace had a child, Reginald Benwell, by another man, Dr. C. J. Williams; this child was adopted out secretly because Grace was still married to von Eckardstein. The date of their divorce is unknown. On 16 August 1910, in

Metheringham Metheringham is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 3,605. It is about south of Lincoln and north of Sleaford. The centre of the village ...

parish church, Lincolnshire, Grace, still known as "Baroness von Eckardstein", married William Ernest George Archibald Weigall, an MP and later governor of South Australia and a

. Six months into the marriage, Grace gave birth to her third child, Heather Campbell (b. March 1911). She was adopted out secretly because her father was Elidor Campbell, son of the 3rd

Earl Cawdor Earl Cawdor, of Castlemartin in the County of Pembroke, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1827 for the politician John Campbell, 2nd Baron Cawdor. This Welsh branch of Clan Campbell of Cawdor descends from Si ...

, a fact Heather did not discover until very late in her own life. Heather married New Zealand artist

Arthur Gordon Tovey Arthur Gordon Tovey (1901–1974) (known as Gordon Tovey) was a notable New Zealand artist, art teacher and administrator, educationalist, and writer. Biography He was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1901, the son of Arthur Oliver Tovey, a ...

and later published a memoir about trying to discover her parentage, ''Searching for Grace'' (2010). In 1914, Grace bore her husband a daughter, Priscilla Crystal Frances Blundell Weigall.P.A. Howell, online version o
'Weigall, Sir William Ernest George Archibald (1874–1952)'
''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 12, Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 436. Retrieved 1 August 2009. The Weigalls lived in a country house called Petwood at

Woodhall Spa Woodhall Spa is a former spa town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, on the southern edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, south-west of Horncastle, Lincolnshire, Horncastle, west of Skegness, east-south-east o ...

, Lincolnshire. Petwood is so called because Lady Weigall had it constructed of her favourite wood, her "pet wood". Lady Weigall turned her former home into a hotel in 1933 when the Weigalls moved to Ascot. Petwood was requisitioned by the RAF during World War II. Towards the end of the war it was used as the Officers' Mess for the famous Dambusters 617 Squadron, which was then based at nearby

RAF Woodhall Spa Royal Air Force Woodhall Spa, or more simply RAF Woodhall Spa, is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located north of Coningsby, Lincolnshire and southeast of Lincoln, England, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. History Constructed on ...

. Inside the hotel, the Squadron bar is dedicated to the brave men of 617 Squadron and has memorabilia from that period.

Other descendants

Grace's granddaughter, Priscilla Weigall, was first wife (1935–1943) of the 6th Earl Howe (1908–1984) by whom she had two daughters. One of Sir John's great-great-grandsons is actor

Jake Weber Jake T. Weber (born 12 March 1963) is an English actor. He is known in film for his role as Michael in '' Dawn of the Dead'' and for his role as Drew in '' Meet Joe Black''. On television, he is best known for playing Joe DuBois, the sleep-dep ...

Arms

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maple, John Blundell 1845 births 1903 deaths Alumni of King's College London Maple, John Blundell, 1st Baronet British racehorse owners and breeders Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Knights Bachelor Members of London County Council Politics of the London Borough of Southwark UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906