Sir John Richard Walter Reginald Carew Pole, 13th Baronet,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, DL (2 December 1938 – 1 December 2024) was a British aristocrat who was a holder of the Pole baronetcy, granted to his ancestor by King Charles I in 1628. He lived at

Antony House Antony House is an early 18th-century property in the care of the National Trust. It is located between the town of Torpoint and the village of Antony in the county of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is a Grade I listed building. The hou ...

in Cornwall, and succeeded his father, Sir John Gawen Carew Pole, 12th Baronet, in 1993.

Biography

Carew Pole was born in his family's home estate of Antony in Cornwall (which he gave to the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

in 1961. He attended

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

followed by the

Royal Agricultural College The Royal Agricultural University (RAU), formerly the Royal Agricultural College, is a public university in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England. Established in 1845, it was the first agricultural college in the English-speaking world. ...

. He then trained as a chartered surveyor and worked for Cornwall County Council for 20 years. Carew Pole was a Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Cornwall, an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, a Trustee of the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

after being very important in the founding of

Tate St Ives Tate St Ives is an art gallery in St Ives, Cornwall, St Ives, Cornwall, England, exhibiting work by modern British artists with links to the St Ives area. The Tate also took over management of another museum in the town, the Barbara Hepworth Mu ...

, the

Pilgrim Trust The Pilgrim Trust is an independent charitable grant-making trust in the United Kingdom. The Trust's aims are to improve the life chances of the most vulnerable and preserve the best of the past for the public to enjoy. The Trust awards approxima ...

, and the

Eden Project The Eden Project () is a visitor attraction in Cornwall, England. The project is located in a reclaimed china clay clay pit, pit.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS Explorer Map 107 – Fowey, Looe & Lostwithiel''. . The complex is dominated by two h ...

during its foundation, a Governor of Gresham's School, Holt, and President of the Cornwall Gardens Trust. He was

High Sheriff of Cornwall Sheriffs and high sheriffs of Cornwall: a chronological list: The right to choose high sheriffs each year is vested in the Duchy of Cornwall. The Privy Council of the United Kingdom, Privy Council, chaired by the sovereign, chooses the sheriff ...

for 1978 and was a past Prime Warden of the

Worshipful Company of Fishmongers The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers (or Fishmongers' Company) is one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London, being an incorporated guild of sellers of fish and seafood in the City. The Company ranks fourth in the order of precede ...

. He was a keen gardener and member of several

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

committees until he became the president of the RHS from 2001 until 2006. He aimed to spread the RHS over more of the UK, initially by merging with the Northern Horticultural Society and then developing

RHS Garden Harlow Carr RHS Garden Harlow Carr is one of five public gardens run by the Royal Horticultural Society. It is located on the western edge of Harrogate in the English county of North Yorkshire. The RHS acquired Harlow Carr through its merger with the Nor ...

. He was very active in raising money to support the RHS. He also started more awards for community gardening and more art exhibitions in the gardens. He received the society's

Victoria Medal of Honour The Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) is awarded to British horticulturists resident in the United Kingdom whom the Royal Horticultural Society Council considers deserving of special honour by the Society. The award was established in 1897 "in per ...

in 2007. In 1974 he married Mary Dawnay, a Lady-in-Waiting to

Anne, Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950) is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King ...

, who served as President of the Royal Cornwall Show. They had two sons: * Sir Tremayne John Carew Pole, 14th Baronet (b. 1974), who married Charlotte Louise Campbell Watkins and had children. * John Alexander George Carew Pole (b. 1975), who married Rebecca Wood in 2003 and had children. Sir Richard Carew Pole died at home in Cornwall, on 1 December 2024, one day shy of his 86th birthday.

References

External links

*
Sir Richard Carew Pole at the Royal Horticultural Society

Antony House at the National Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carew Pole, Sir Richard, 13th Baronet 1938 births 2024 deaths People from Antony, Cornwall People educated at Eton College 13 Officers of the Order of the British Empire Deputy lieutenants of Cornwall Victoria Medal of Honour recipients High sheriffs of Cornwall