Sir Tatton Sykes, 4th Baronet (1772–1863) was an English landowner and stock breeder, known as a patron of

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

Life

A younger brother of Sir Mark Masterman Sykes, he was educated from 1784 at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

. Matriculating at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

, on 10 May 1788, he spent several terms there. For some years he was an articled clerk to Atkinson & Farrar, attorneys in

Lincoln's Inn Fields Lincoln's Inn Fields is located in Holborn and is the List of city squares by size, largest public square in London. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a ...

; and then was employed for a period in a banking-house in

Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull, usually shortened to Hull, is a historic maritime city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Est ...

Sheep farmer

In 1803 Sykes began sheep farming and breeding by purchasing ten pure Bakewells from Mr. William Sanday's flock at Holme Pierrepoint. These sheep he kept at Barton, near Malton, where he soon became a ram-letter. At one of Robert Colling's sales he gave 156 guineas for the shearling Ajax. Until nearly eighty he took an annual June ride into the midlands to attend Burgess's, Buckley's, and Stone's sales of stock. In September 1861 he held his own fifty-eighth and last annual sale of sheep.

Blood-stock

While in London Sykes walked from London to

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

to see

Eager Eager may refer to: * Eager (band) * Eager (horse), (1788 – after 1795), a British Thoroughbred racehorse * ''Eager'' (novel), a children's science-fiction novel written by Helen Fox * Eager (surname) *, an Admirable-class minesweeper built for ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

win in 1791; and next year he rode down to see

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of England, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter-of-fact man. He originated in satirical works of ...

win. His name first appears in the ''Racing Calendar'' as an owner of racehorses in 1803, when his Telemachus ran at

Middleham Middleham ( ; meaning "middle ''ham''", i.e. "middle village") is a market town and civil parish in the district and county of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, on the south side of the valley, upstream fr ...

, Yorkshire. In 1805 he rode his own horse Hudibras at Malton, Yorkshire, in a sweepstakes, and won the race. In 1808 he matched his mare Theresa over a four-mile course at

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

for five hundred guineas, owners riding, and won. For twenty years after this he from time to time kept a few horses in training at Malton, mainly for the purpose of mounting them himself in races for gentlemen riders. His colours were orange and purple, and the last time he wore them on a winning horse of his own was in 1829, when on All Heart and No Peel he won the Welham Cup at Malton. Sykes was one of the largest breeders of blood-stock in the kingdom. For some of his stock he gave large prices; for Colsterdale he paid thirteen hundred guineas, and for Fandango at Doncaster in 1860 £3,000. His stud numbered two hundred horses and mares: he bred

Grey Momus Grey Momus (1835 – 1856) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from August 1837 to 1839 he competed twenty-one times and won fourteen races. Grey Momus first attracted attention as a two-year-old when he re ...

, The Lawyer, St. Giles, Gaspard, Elcho, Dalby, and Lecturer. His annual sales were well attended, and his stock fetched high prices.

Baronet

On the death of his elder brother on 16 February 1823, Sykes succeeded him as the fourth baronet, and took up his residence at

Sledmere House Sledmere House is a Grade I listed Georgian country house, containing Chippendale, Sheraton and French furnishings and many fine pictures, set within a park designed by Capability Brown. It is the ancestral home of the Sykes family and is ...

, near Malton. He devoted his time to agriculture, stock-breeding, and fox-hunting. By applying bones as manure he improved the value of the Wold estates belonging to his family, feeding sheep and growing corn where it had been impossible before.

Other interests

For 40 years Sykes was a master of foxhounds, hunting the country from

Spurn Point Spurn is a narrow sand tidal island located off the tip of the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England that reaches into the North Sea and forms the north bank of the mouth of the Humber Estuary. It was a spit with a semi-permanent co ...

Coxwold Coxwold is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England, in the North York Moors National Park. It is 18 miles north of York and is where the Rev. Laurence Sterne wrote '' A Sentimental Journey''. History The villag ...

, and paying all the kennel expenses. He was also an expert boxer, coached by Gentleman Jackson and

Jem Belcher James Belcher, also known as Jem Belcher (15 April 1781 – 30 July 1811), was an English Bare-knuckle boxing, bare-knuckle prize-fighter and Champion of All England 1800–1805. Early life Belcher was born at his father's house in St. Ja ...

. Between 1856 and 1913, 18 rural churches were built, rebuilt or restored in East and North Yorkshire, chiefly in the Wolds, by Sykes, and later his son, the fifth baronet.

Last years

Sykes was 74 in 1846 when he led in William Scott's horse—called after him, Sir Tatton Sykes—a winner of the

St. Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over ...

. His last visit to Doncaster was in 1862, to see his seventy-fourth St. Leger. He died at Sledmere on 21 March 1863, and was buried on 27 March in the presence of three thousand persons. A portrait of him was painted by

Sir Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English people, English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was a ...

in 1805, and another by Sir Francis Grant in 1848.

Family

Sykes married, on 19 June 1822, Mary Anne, second daughter of Sir William Foulis, bart. She died on 1 February 1861, leaving

Sir Tatton Sykes, 5th Baronet Sir Tatton Sykes, 5th Baronet (13 March 1826 – 4 May 1913) was an English landowner, racehorse breeder, church-builder and eccentric. ''Includes substantial section on 5th baronet'' He was the elder son of Sir Tatton Sykes, 4th Baronet and M ...

, Christopher Sykes of Brantingham Thorpe, M.P. for the East Riding of Yorkshire, and six daughters. His daughter, Katherine Lucy Sykes, married Hon. Thomas Grenville Cholmondeley (b. 4 Aug 1818, d. 9 Feb 1883).Townend, Peter. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 105th edition. London, U.K.: Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1970.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Sykes, Tatton 1772 births 1863 deaths 19th-century English farmers English landowners Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Masters of foxhounds in England Sykes family