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Upton House in Warwickshire was acquired in 1927 by Lord and Lady Bearsted, a Jewish couple who often used their fortune for philanthropic ventures. They also set to improve the estate itself, including hiring the garden designer Kitty Lloyd-Jones.
Bearsted fortune
The Bearsted fortune came from Lord Bearsted’s father, a co-founder of the Shell oil business. It enabled the Lord and Lady to have a main London residence, a grouse moor estate, a holiday villa on the French Riviera and Upton, a place in which to house their large collection of art, entertain friends and enjoy Warwickshire’s country pursuits.
Philanthropy
The acquisition of Upton House in 1927 by Walter Samuel, the 2nd Viscount Bearsted, coincided with the Great Depression.
Unemployment and deprivation ran high, not least in the local village. Lord Bearsted wrote to the local community announcing that:
‘Any man who presents himself at my house at 9am on Monday morning shall find work there.’
The local community had an early taste of the fortune and philanthropy which characterised their new neighbour.
Lord and Lady Bearsted recognised that great wealth brought great responsibility.
They both made regular and substantial donations to a range of charities from hospitals and children’s societies to seaman’s missions, from cancer charities to Jewish schools.
Walter gave the grounds surrounding his father’s estate in Kent to the people of Maidstone.
Lady Bearsted supported the Bearsted Maternity Hospitals (founded by the 1st Viscount) with donations, and during the Second World War personally helped with supervision and management.
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