Sir (Joseph) John Jarvis, 1st Baronet (25 March 1876 – 3 October 1950) was a British industrialist and philanthropist who became a Conservative Party politician. He sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1935 to 1950 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

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 ...

, but is best known for his philanthropic and industrial efforts to assist the town of

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Historically in County Durham, it is on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. The 2011 census area classed Hebburn and the Boldons as ...

in the economic depression of the 1930s.

Early life and family

Jarvis was the eldest son of Joseph Charles Jarvis, of

Harpenden Harpenden () is a town and civil parish in the City and District of St Albans in the county of Hertfordshire, England. The population of the built-up area was 30,674 in the 2021 census, while the population of the civil parish was 31,128. Harpe ...

. In 1901 he married Bessie Woodfield, the third daughter of Edwin Woodfield from Enfield. They had two sons and two daughters. John Jarvis received his secondary education at The Grocers' Company's School in Hackney.

Residence

From 1921 until his death, Jarvis lived at Hascombe Court in Surrey, 500m west of the village of

Hascombe Hascombe is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England. It is around southeast of Godalming in the Borough of Waverley. The settlement contains a large cluster of cottages and country estates, St Peter's Church, the village green, a fountai ...

, 5 km south of

Godalming Godalming ( ) is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settl ...

. The garden was designed under Jarvis's ownership by

Gertrude Jekyll Gertrude Jekyll ( ; 29 November 1843 – 8 December 1932) was a British Horticulture, horticulturist, garden designer, craftswoman, photographer, writer and artist. She created over 400 gardens in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United Sta ...

in 1922, and extended by Percy Cane in 1928.

Career

During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Jarvis was an advisor to government on

labour relations Labour relations in practice is a subarea within human resource management, and the main components of it include collective bargaining, application and oversight of collective agreement obligations, and dispute resolution. Academically, employe ...

, and after the war the government continued to seek his advice on financial matters. In recognition of these services, 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 1922, of Hascombe Court in the County of Surrey, in 1922.

Jarrow

In early 1934 he was elected 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– ...

, and shortly afterwards visited

, a shipbuilding town on

Tyneside Tyneside is a List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne, England, River Tyne in Northern England. The population of Tyneside as published in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 774,891 ...

which had been particularly badly hit by the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. The Depression caused a collapse in demand for ships, and the closure of Palmers shipyard in Jarrow, leading to 80% unemployment in the town. Jarvis launched an appeal named the "Surrey Fund" which eventually raised £40,000; the funds were used to buy materials to enable men in Jarrow to continue working, on tasks such as the constructing playgrounds and sports facilities and the redecoration of houses. Using his own wealth, Jarvis also bought the decommissioned liner (a sistership of the ) for a reported £100,000 and had the ship brought to Tyneside to be broken up, followed in 1938 by the liner . The breaking of ''Berengaria'' was promised to directly employ 200 men in skilled and semi-skilled tasks in the new Jarrow Shipbreaking Company (based on the former Palmers shipyard), while the metal was to be used in Jarvis's new metal industries in the area, which employed several hundred people. Through Jarvis's efforts, several other new businesses were established in the Jarrow area. Jarvis also brought unemployed miners from Jarrow to Hascombe Court, his country estate in Surrey, where they built a Japanese style water and rock garden. Set against the scale of the economic problems in Jarrow, the impact of Jarvis's efforts is contested. In a letter published in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' on 2 October 1936, Jarvis listed some of the achievements of the fund as a "step in the right direction". However, on the following day Jarrow MP

Ellen Wilkinson Ellen Cicely Wilkinson (8 October 1891 – 6 February 1947) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Secretary of State for Education, Minister of Education from July 1945 until her death. Earlier in her care ...

praised Jarvis's support for the town but criticised "his over-sanguine optimism", noting that the employment generated had been small-scale and temporary. Wilkinson complained that charitable works were inadequate, and that a solution to the problem required addressing the underlying cause, which was the forced closure of the shipyard. For his efforts, Jarvis was made a

freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

of Jarrow in 1935, but the ceremony on 4 June was boycotted by Labour Party councillors because Jarvis had been selected as a Conservative candidate for the coming general election.

Parliament

Guildford's Conservative MP Charles Rhys announced in January 1934 that he would not contest the next election. At a meeting of the Central Council of the Guildford Division Conservative and Unionist Association on 25 February, Jarvis was invited to be the National Conservative candidate at the next election, and it was reported on 9 March that he had accepted. However, the parties in the National Government had agreed not to oppose each other at elections, so a question arose as to whether the National Government-supporting candidate for the forthcoming vacancy in Guildford should be a Conservative or a Liberal. S. Stopford Brooke, who had contested Guildford for 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 ...

at the 1929 general election, had stood aside in favour of the Conservatives at the by-election in August 1931 and at the general election later that year. Brooke announced in February that he had resigned from the Liberal Party, and intended this time to stand as National candidate "without prefix or suffix". He was supported by local representatives the Liberal, Conservative and National Labour parties. However, in August 1935, Brooke's candidacy was halted by the local National association, which announced that since the collaboration of parties in the constituencies had not developed across the country at large, "no useful purpose would be served by running a purely National candidate in this division in support of this principle". At the general election in November 1935, Brooke signed Jarvis's nomination papers. The only other candidate was Andrew Campbell of the Labour Party, who was a stranger to the constituency and had a weak local organisation. Jarvis was elected with nearly 75% of the votes, and was made a Deputy Lieutenant of

in 1936. He was re-elected in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

, and held the seat until he stood down from the

at the 1950 general election. In November 1943 he wrote to ''

'' newspaper to summarise his experiences in Jarrow, asserting that it was better to bring work to people in depressed areas than to encourage them to move in search of work.

Death and legacy

Jarvis died on 2 October 1950, aged 74. In September 1951 a plaque was placed in Jarrow Town Hall commemorating Sir John and the Surrey Fund in connection with the installation of a chiming clock. It reads:

This plaque was provided by the citizens of Jarrow to commemorate the kindness of the people of Surrey, who subscribed to the "SURREY FUND" raised at the request of Sir JOHN JARVIS, Baronet, to assist Jarrow during the period of abnormal unemployment. The fund was used to brighten the homes of the people of Jarrow, to construct the Monkton Dene Park and in the year of the FESTIVAL of BRITAIN, 1951, to provide a chiming clock for the town hall and a Shelter near the "Festival Flats" in Monkton Road.

In 2018 a plaque was unveiled in his memory at Monkton Stadium as part of Jarrow and Hebburn Athletics Club's 80th anniversary celebrations; Sir John had been involved in setting up the club in 1938. In 2023 a plaque was placed on York Avenue, Jarrow, in honour of his support for the town during the Great Depression. The Blue Plaque was funded by the Jarvis family and the Jarrow and Hebburn Athletic Club

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jarvis, John 1876 births 1950 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 Politics of Guildford Deputy lieutenants of Surrey High sheriffs of Surrey English philanthropists English businesspeople People from the Borough of Waverley Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Guildford