Sir John ''Henry'' Geers Cotterell, 6th Baronet (8 May 1935 – 4 December 2017) was a Hereford businessman and politician.

Early life

Cotterell, usually went by his middle name of Henry, was born on 8 May 1935 in

Belgrave Square Belgrave Square is a large 19th-century garden square in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and its architecture resembles the original scheme of property contractor Thomas Cubitt who engaged George Basevi for all of the terraces for ...

, London. He was the son of Lt.-Col.

Sir Richard Cotterell, 5th Baronet Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom), Lt-Col Sir Richard Charles Geers Cotterell, 5th Baronet Justice of the Peace, JP Territorial Decoration, TD KStJ CBE (1 June 1907 – 5 December 1978), a British soldier. Early life Cotterell was born on 1 Jun ...

and Lady Lettice Lygon. His parents divorced in 1958 and his father married Hon. Molly Patricia Berry (daughter of

William Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose William Ewart Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose, DL (23 June 1879 – 15 June 1954) was a British peer and newspaper publisher. Life and career Berry was born in Merthyr Tydfil in Wales, the second of three sons of Mary Ann (Rowe) and John Mathias Be ...

) while his mother never remarried. Among his siblings was Rose Evelyn Cotterell, the wife of

Charles Hambro, Baron Hambro Charles Hambro, Baron Hambro (24 July 1930 – 7 November 2002) was a British merchant banker and political fundraiser. He was the Chairman of Hambros Bank from 1972 until its merger with Société Générale in 1998. He was the senior honor ...

, heir to the

Hambros Bank Hambros Bank was a British bank based in London. The Hambros bank was a specialist in Anglo-Scandinavian business with expertise in trade finance and investment banking, and was the sole banker to the Scandinavian kingdoms for many years. The bank ...

fortune. His paternal grandparents were Sir John Cotterell, 4th Baronet and Lady Evelyn Amy Gordon-Lennox (the eldest daughter of the former Amy Mary Ricardo and

Charles Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 7th Duke of Richmond, 2nd Duke of Gordon (27 December 1845 – 18 January 1928), styled Lord Settrington until 1860 and Earl of March between 1860 and 1903, was a British politician and peer. Early life Styled Lord ...

). His maternal grandparents were

William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp (20 February 1872 – 14 November 1938), styled Viscount Elmley until 1891, was a British Liberal politician. He was Governor of New South Wales between 1899 and 1901, a member of the Liberal administrations of ...

and Lady Lettice Mary Elizabeth Grosvenor (a daughter of Victor Alexander Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor).Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

, U.S.A.:

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 ...

(Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 916. He was raised at Garnons, the family seat in Herefordshire, but later moved to Byford Court when Garnons was requisitioned during the War. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

before he was commissioned in the service of the

Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards, also known as the Blues, or abbreviated as RHG, was one of the cavalry regiments of the British Army and part of the Household Cavalry. In 1969, it was amalgamated with the 1st The Royal Dragoons to form the ...

at Windsor in 1955. He later served in

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

as part of the Household Cavalry's mounted regiment and attended

Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town o ...

Career

Mappa Mundi and Chained Library are housed here - geograph

After studying at the Royal Agricultural College Cirencester in 1961, Cotterell returned to Garnons and retired from the military before serving as a county councillor for 25 years, first with the Herefordshire County Council and, after reorganisation, for the

Hereford and Worcester County Council Hereford and Worcester County Council was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Hereford and Worcester in west England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1974 and was abolished on 31 March 1998. The county council was based at Co ...

between 1977 and 1981. He served as Vice-

Lord Lieutenant of Herefordshire Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

in 1998. In 1988, when the

Mappa Mundi A ''mappa mundi'' (Latin ; plural = ''mappae mundi''; ; ) is any medieval European map of the world. Such maps range in size and complexity from simple schematic maps or less across to elaborate wall maps, the largest of which to survive to ...

was under threat, he was appointed chairman of the trustees of the

Hereford Cathedral Hereford Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in Hereford, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Hereford and the principal church of the diocese of Hereford. The cathedral is a grade I listed building. A place of wors ...

treasure to raise money to construct a new library, negotiating church and heritage politics in order to keep the Mappa Mundi in

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

. Upon the death of his father on 5 December 1978, he succeeded as the 6th Baronet Cotterell, of Garnons, Herefordshire.

Business career

In the late 1970s he founded

Radio Wyvern Radio Wyvern, formerly 106.7 Youthcomm Radio, is a community radio station, licensed by Ofcom, broadcasting to Worcester, England, on 106.7FM, DAB Digital Radio in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and online. Youthcomm Radio was establish ...

(the name was derived from the

River Wye The River Wye (; ) is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, fourth-longest river in the UK, stretching some from its source on Plynlimon in mid Wales to the Severn Estuary. The lower reaches of the river forms part of Wales-England bor ...

and

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

, the rivers running through Hereford and Worcester), today known as

Hits Radio Herefordshire & Worcestershire Hits Radio Herefordshire & Worcestershire, formerly Free Radio Herefordshire & Worcestershire, is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Herefordshire and Worcestershi ...

. He served as the first chairman until the company was sold to Murfin Music International in the mid 1990s. He also served on the board of

Welsh Water Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

Personal life

On 7 October 1959, he married Vanda ''Alexandra'' Clare Bridgewater, daughter of Maj. Philip Alexander Clement Bridgewater and Hon. Ursula Vanda Maud Vivian (a daughter of George Vivian, 4th Baron Vivian). Her parents were divorced in 1946 and her mother married, Sir William Wrixon-Becher, 5th Baronet in 1946. They also divorced she married, thirdly,

David Boyle, 9th Earl of Glasgow Rear Admiral David William Maurice Boyle, 9th Earl of Glasgow, (24 July 1910 – 8 June 1984), was a British nobleman and a Royal Navy officer. He was Chief of the Name and Arms of Boyle. Naval career Educated at Eton College, Boyle entered ...

, in 1962. Together, Henry and Alexandra were the parents of four children: * Sir Henry Richard Geers Cotterell, 7th Baronet (b. 1961), who married Carolyn Suzanne Beckwith-Smith, daughter of John Moore Beckwith-Smith, in 1986. After her death in 1999, he married Katherine Mary Bromley, daughter of Alec Gerald Bromley, in 2002. * Camilla Jane Cotterell (b. 1963), who married Mark James Kenneth Houldsworth in 1993. * James Alexander Geers Cotterell (b. 1964), who married Maria C. B. McManus, daughter of W. F. McManus, in 1991. They divorced and he married Jacqueline Hicks, daughter of C. Hicks, in 2009. * David George Geers Cotterell (b. 1968) Lady Cotterell died in 2005. Sir Henry died on 4 December 2017 at age 82. After a funeral service at Byford, a memorial was held for him at

Sporting

Sir Henry was a fan of cricket and a proponent of

National Hunt racing National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, horse racing in Great Britain, Great Britain and horse racing in Ireland, Ireland. Jump Racin ...

, having ridden in point to points in his youth. He served as a steward at Hereford, Cheltenham, Ascot, Ludlow and Wolverhampton and was on the disciplinary committee 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 Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...

References

External links

Portrait of Sir Richard Cotterell, 5th Baronet
1931, by Philip de László.
Portrait of Lady Lettice Cotterell
1931, by Philip de László. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cotterell, John 1935 births 2017 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College Alumni of the Royal Agricultural University