The Baroness Petre 1941-2024

 The Baroness Petre, who died 8 April, 2024, was wife of the Baron Petre, KCVO, DL, sometime Lord Lieutenant of Essex, landowner, and 18th holder of the barony.

The Petres are seated at Ingatestone Hall, a Grade I listed 16th-century manor house in Essex. It is located outside the village of Ingatestone, and was built by Sir William Petre, and his descendants have lived there for over 500 years.

She was born circa July, 1941, daughter of Alfred George Plumpton (1911-1981), and his wife the former Emily Nora Young (1908-1957); and married 16 September, 1965, the Hon John Patrick Lionel Petre (born 4 August, 1942), scion of a recusant family, son and heir of the 17th Baron Petre (1914-1989), and his wife the former Marguerite Eileen Hamilton (who died 15 June, 2003). Her husband succeeded his father, 1 January, 1989, in the peerage (created 1603).

Lady Petre (pronoubced 'Peter') is survived by her husband, and a son, Dominic, and a daughter Clare, and is predeceased by a son Mark.

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The Baron Rosser 1944-2024

 Lord Rosser, life baron, who died 10 April, 2024, aged 79, was a trade union leader and Labour politician who was a member of the House of Lords. He latterly served as Shadow Spokesperson for Transport and Home Affairs in the House of Lords.

Richard Andrew Rosser was born 5 October, 1944, was employed by London Transport he joined the staff of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) early in his working career, representing London Transport's white-collar staff in negotiations with the management. He rose through the ranks of the TSSA to be an Assistant General Secretary (one of two, at the time), and in 1989 he was elected General Secretary of the union (i.e. in day-to-day control, but answerable to an elected Executive Committee of lay members, and to the Annual Conference). Rosser was re-elected twice, serving a total of fifteen years in office before his retirement in 2004 – a record second only to the thirty years (1906-1936) served by Alexander Walkden.

During his time at the TSSA, Rosser was also a magistrate and was Chairman of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party in 1997–98.

Rosser was the Labour candidate for Croydon Central at the general election of February 1974, but was not elected.

Following his retirement from TSSA Rosser was created a life peer on 14 June 2004 as Baron Rosser, of Ickenham in the London Borough of Hillingdon, taking his seat in the House of Lords on the Labour Party benches in the summer of 2004. In addition to transport matters, he took an interest in penal policy, being chair of the Prison Service Audit Committee and a non-executive member of the Prison Service change programme board.

Lord Rosser served as an Opposition Whip and Spokesperson for the Labour Party on defence, home affairs and transport at various times from 2010. He stood down from the Labour front bench in 2022 due to ill health. 

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Christine, Baroness Cobbold 1940-2024

 Christine, Baroness Cobbold, who died from pancreatic cancer, 7 April, 2024, aged 83, was a Bohemian aristocrat, chatelaine of magnificent Knebworth, who helped her husband to preserve his family seat with a string of celebrated rock festivals.

Christine Elizabeth Stucley, known universally as Chryssie, was born 25 April, 1940, a scion of the baronets of that name, third daughter of Maor Sir Dennis Stucley, 5th Baronet (1907-1983), who owned both the fortified gatehouse Affeton Castle near Bideford and the imposing Hartland Abbey, hunted four days a week and founded the Taw and Torridge pack, by his wife the former Hon Sheila Margaret Warwick Bampfylde (1912-1996), scion of the Barons Politimore.

She married 7 January, 1961, the then Hon David Antony Fromanteel Cobbold (born 14 July, 1937), son of the 1st Baron Cobbold, KG, GCVO, PC, DL (1904-1987), sometime Governor of the Bank of England, and Lord Chamberlain to Queen Elizabeth II, and his wife the former Lady Margaret Hermione Millicent Bulwer-Lytton (1905-2004), scion of the Earls of Lytton. Her husband succeeded his father, 1 November, 1987, as 2nd Baron Cobbold (cr UK, 1960).

Lady Cobbold was widowed 9 May, 2022. She leaves issue, three sons, Henry, Peter and Richard, and a daughter, Rosina. Her eldest son is the 3rd Baron Cobbold (born 12 May 1962).

In 1969, she and her husband David, had begged to open his mother’s dilapidated family seat Knebworth House and its 250-acre park to the public to help with the running costs. His parents — had no time to keep the house going and it needed substantial restoration work, with a 14-acre “wilderness garden, extensive dry rot, fungus and every sort of beetle”.

The young Cobbolds were then in the vanguard of historic house owners sharing their heritage, but with far less money than rivals such as Longleat and Woburn Abbey. The struggle to keep the estate afloat amid wildly fluctuating fortunes dominated the next 35 years of the Cobbolds’ lives, but they approached each setback and windfall with humorous stoicism.

When in 2000 the couple handed on the estate, by now protected by a charitable conservation trust, to their eldest son Henry and his American wife Martha (née Boone), it was a thriving business that had welcomed millions of visitors to events ranging from medieval banquets and Wild West reenactments to wedding receptions and athletics meets.

From the Daily Telegraph obituary: The Cobbolds’ four children survive her: Henry, the 3rd Lord Cobbold, a former Hollywood screenwriter and keen naturist, is Knebworth’s current custodian; Peter manages a property rental business in Spain; Richard is the director of an international tech company; and Rosina is an artist and alternative education pioneer. Lady Cobbold is also survived by the Ugandan brothers Danny and Harry Matovu, whom she and her husband informally adopted. They were two of Henry’s closest friends at Eton whose parents had suffered persecution under Idi Amin, and who went on to become successful barristers. After handing over Knebworth to the next generation, the Cobbolds moved to a house nearby where Chryssie cared for her husband as he faced Parkinson’s disease. When he died [in 2022] she ordered a coffin decorated with the artwork from his favourite Pink Floyd album and erected a memorial bench beside his grave in Knebworth garden inscribed: “See you on the Dark Side of the Moon”.

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The 4th Baron Holmpatrick 1955-2024

 The 4th Baron Holmpatrick died 21 March, 2024. He was 69.

The peer was a descendant of the Iron Duke, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington.

Hans James David Hamilton was born 15 March, 1955, son of the 3rd Baron Holmpatrick (1928-1991), and his wife the former Anne Loys Roche Brass (who died 1998); and succeeded to the peerage (created in 1897), on his father's death, 15 February, 1991.

Lord Holmpatrick married 19 July, 1984, Mrs Gill Francesca Anne du Feu, 1st daughter of Squadron Leader Kenneth James Toby Harding, DFC, RAF, of Binisafua, Minorca, Spain, by whom he had issue an only son, the Hon James Hans Stephen Hamilton (born 6 October, 1982).

The peerage now passes to his brother the Hon Ion Henry James Hamilton (born 12 June, 1956).

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Lord Hoyle, JP 1930-2024

 The Lord Hoyle, JP, life peer and former Labour MP, died 6 April, 2024, aged 94.

Eric Douglas Harvey Hoyle, Baron Hoyle was born 17 February, 1930. He was chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party from 1992 to 1997 and a lord-in-waiting from 1997 to 1999. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Nelson and Colne from 1974 to 1979 and Warrington North from 1981 to 1997.

Doug Hoyle first stood for Parliament at Clitheroe in 1964, but came second. In 1970, he first fought Nelson and Colne, and was defeated by the Conservative incumbent David Waddington by 1,410 votes. He fought the seat again in February 1974, and reduced Waddington's margin to 177. He was finally elected at the general election of October 1974 for Nelson and Colne by 669 votes; this was the first Labour gain to be announced on election night. Hoyle narrowly lost his seat at the general election of 1979, but returned to Parliament in 1981 when he saw off a strong challenge from Roy Jenkins in a traditionally safe Labour seat. This was a notable by election in Warrington when enthusiasm for the newly created Social Democratic Party was at its peak. Constituency boundaries were redrawn for the general election of 1983, when he became MP for Warrington North.

Hoyle retired from the House of Commons at the general election of 1997, and on 14 May 1997, he was created a life peer as Baron Hoyle, of Warrington in the County of Cheshire. He retired from the Lords on 25 June 2023.

Lord Hoyle was a son of William Hoyle and his wife Leah Ellen. He married in 1953, Pauline Spencer (who died in 1991). His only son is Sir Lindsay Hoyle, MP (born 10 June, 1957), who has been Member of Parliament for Chorley since 1997 and Speaker of the House of Commons since 2019.

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Lord Clinton, 22nd Baron 1934-2024

 Lord Clinton, the 22nd Baron, JP, DL, holder of one of England's oldest peerages, died 2 April, 2024, aged 89. He was the largest landowner in Devon.

Gordonstoun educated Lord Clinton, who took his seat in the House of Lords in 1965, was a member of the Prince of Wales's Council 1968-79, a JP for Bideford 1963-83, and a deputy Lieutenant of Devon from 1977.

Lord Clinton was seated at Heanton Satchville a historic manor near Okehampton, North Devon. With origins in the Domesday manor of Hantone, it was first recorded as belonging to the Yeo family in the mid-14th century and was then owned successively by the Rolle, Walpole and Trefusis families. The mansion house was destroyed by fire in 1795. In 1812 Lord Clinton purchased the manor and mansion of nearby Huish, renamed it Heanton Satchville, and made it his seat. The nearly-forgotten house was featured in the 2005 edition of Rosemary Lauder's "Vanished Houses of North Devon".

Lord Clinton was born Gerard Nevile Mark Fane, 7 October, 1934, the only son of Capt Charles Nevile Fane (1911-1940), and his wife the former Gladys Mabel Lowther; and was a grandson of the Hon Hon Harriet Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis (1887-1958), the elder daughter and co-heir of the 21st Baron Clinton, GCVO, PC, JP, DL (1863-1957); and he succeeded to the barony (created in 1298/99) on the termination of the abeyance of the peerage, 18 March, 1965.

Lord Clinton assumed the additional surname of Trefusis in addition to his patronymic, in 1958.

He married 18 July, 1959, Nicola Harriette Purdon Coote (born 6 January, 1937), eldest of the five daughters of Major Charles Robert Purdon Coote (1875-1954), of Ballyclough Castle and Bearforst, County Cork, by his wife the former Noel Margaret Jephson Stracey (1908-2009), scion of the Stracey baronets, by whom he had issue, a son, Charles, and two daughters, Caroline (born 23 May, 1960), and Henrietta (born 31 Jan, 1964.)

The son, the Hon Charles Patrick Rolle Fane Trefusis (born 21 March, 1962), now succeeds as 23rd Baron Clinton.

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Sir William Mark Charles Garthwaite, 3rd Baronet

  Sir Mark Garthwaite, 3rd Baronet, died 23 March, 2024. He was 77.

Sir Mark was educated at Gordonstoun and the University of Pennsylvania (BSc)

William Mark Charles Garthwaite was born 4 November, 1946, son of Sir William Francis Cuthbert Garthwaite, 2nd Baronet, DSC (1906-1993), and his 2nd wife the former Patricia Beatrice Eden Neate (1916-2002); and succeeded to the baronetcy (cr UK, 1919), on his father's death, 15 December, 1993.

He married in 1979, Victoria Lisette (Vicki) Tuzo (born 1952), the only child of General Sir Harry Crauford Tuzo, GCB, OBE, MC (1917-1998), by whom he had issue, a son, William (born 14 May, 1982), and two daughters, Rosie Francesca (born 1980), a journalist, and Jemima Victoria (born 1984).

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Charles Alexander Nicholas Clifford (born 2024)

The Hon Mrs Alexander Clifford, wife of Lord Clifford of Chudleigh's heir, the Hon Alexander Clifford, gave birth to a son, Charles Alexander Nicholas, 12 January, 2024.

Mrs Clifford is the former Lucy Jane Lenygon (born 1986), daughter of Mr Nicholas J. Lenygon (born 1954) and Mrs Sarah J. Lenygon (nee Murray).

Alexander Clifford (born 24 September, 1985), is the elder son and heir of the 14th Baron Clifford of Chuldeigh (b 17 Mar, 1948) (Peerage of England, cr 1672), of Ugbrooke Park, Chudleigh, Devon, by his former wife (Muriel) Suzanne Austin. 

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Hon Rosemary Ethel Coupar Maitland 1931-2024

 The Hon Rosemary 'Romaire' Maitland, who died 27 March, 2024, aged 93, was the last surviving daughter of the 1st (and last) Baron Abertay, KBE, JP, DL (1875-1940).

She was born Rosemary Ethel Coupar Barrie in 1931, middle daughter of the 1st Baron Abertay and his wife the former Ethel Broom, and married 1952, John Stuart Maitland (who died 2008), by whom she had issue, three sons and one daughter.

The barony of Abertay became extinct with her father's death, 6 Dec, 1940.

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Harry Alexander Lowe (born 2024)

  Clementine Mary R. Lowe (born 1991, née Francklin), wife of Frederick James Lowe (born 1991), gave birth to a son, Harry Alexander, 12 March, 2024.

Clementine Lowe is a daughter of William Alexander Mavourn Francklin (born 1958), scion of that landed gentry family, and his wife the former Celina Lucinda Palmer (born 15 May, 1961), scion of the Palmer baronets, daughter of Sir Geoffrey Christopher John Palmer, 12th Baronet (born 30 June, 1936).

Fred Lowe is descended from the Baker baronets:-

Sir George Edward Dunstan Sherston Baker, 4th Baronet > Henrietta Baker > Michael Chapman > Nicola Chapman > Fred Lowe

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Clover Coco Bewley Macpherson (born 2024)

 Rosie Jean B. Macpherson [née Atkinson, born 1989], wife of Charles Edward Ian Macpherson [born 1989], gave birth to a daughter, Clover Coco Bewley, 25 March, 2024, a sister for Milo (born 2020), and Albie (born 2022).

Rosie is a daughter of Nigel Atkinson. Charles Macpherson is a son of Nigel Charles Blake Macpherson, and his wife the former Georgina Lily Fleur Mountain [born 1 Aug, 1959], scion of the Mountain baronets, daughter of Sir Denis Mountain, 3rd Baronet [1929-2005].

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Major Michael Thomas Noel Hamilton Wills, LVO 1940-2024

Major Tom Wills, Coldstream Guards, scion of the Wills baronets, died 20 March, 2024. He was 83.

He was owner of Miserden Park, a grand Jacobean manor with expansive, intricately laid out grounds near Stroud in Gloucestershire. He was High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1985, and appointed Exon HM Body Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard in 1993

He was born 31 May, 1940, (twin with a brother Frederick), a son of Major Michael Desmond Hamilton Wills, MC (1915-1943), Coldstream Guards, and his wife Mary Margaret Mitford (1916-2006), scion of that landed gentry family. His mother married 2ndly, 1947, Colonel Sir Martin St John Valentine Gibbs, KCVO, CB, DSO (1917-1992, of The Manor House, Ewen, near Cirencester.

Wills married in 1982 (div 1992), Penelope Howard-Baker (born 1953), daughter of Benjamin Howard-Baker, of Glascoed Hall, Llansilin, Shropshire, by his wife the former Ann Layfield, by whom he had issue, a son, Nicholas James Noel Hamilton Wills (born 1983), now of Miderden, and a daughter, Camilla Jane Hamilton Wills (born 1985).

Miserden was built in the early 17th century by the Sandys family. The natural scenery of Miserden, where it’s situated, is spectacular: its gardens overlook the River Frome and a deer park, while its grounds incorporate woodland and farmland. This magical, multifaceted estate in a Cotswolds hamlet, also called Miserden, has evolved gradually as successive owners have left their mark on it.

In the 1920s, Edwin Lutyens made a significant contribution to Miserden, which scooped the Historic Houses Garden of the Year Award in 2018; this has been presented annually since 1984 and is sponsored by Christie’s. In 1919, (Frederick) Noel Hamilton Wills (1887-1927), (grandfather of Maj Tom), bought the property in 1913 — and commissioned Lutyens to design a new east wing with an arched loggia after the house was badly damaged by a fire. He also created a loggia and a striking topiary yew walk featuring crenellations echoing those of the loggia.

It seems to run in the Wills family to be green-fingered. Tom Wills, a grandson of Noel and his wife the former Margery Fraser moved into the estate after his grandmother died in 1980 and devoted himself for 40 years to maintaining her legacy, while making his own additions, largely inspired by his passion for trees and forestry. In 2013, he planted a circle of lime trees opposite the house to mark the centenary of the Wills family owning Miserden. He also established its arboretum, planting about 75 per cent of its trees.

Maj Tom Wills was appointed LVO by Queen Elizabeth II.

 A private funeral for family and those of Miserden village, by invitation, will be held on Wednesday 10 April, 2024. There will be a Memorial Service at the Parish Church of St John Baptist, Cirencester on Wednesday 15 May, 2024.

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