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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Under construction}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Claude Watney
| name = Claude Watney
| image =
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 4 November 1866
| birth_date = 4 November 1866
| birth_place =
| birth_place =
| death_date = 7 November 1919
| death_date = {{death date and age|1919|11|7|1866|11|4|df=y}}
| death_place =
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| death_cause =
| nationality = British
| nationality = British
| residence =
| education = [[Eton College]]
| alma mater = [[New College, Oxford|New College]], University of Oxford
| education =
⚫
| occupation = Brewery director and motor dealer
| alma mater =
⚫
| occupation = Motor dealer
| title =
| title =
| term =
| term =
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| successor =
| successor =
| known for =
| known for =
| boards =
| boards = [[Watney Combe & Reid]]
| salary =
| spouse = [[Ada Annie Watney]]
| networth =
| spouse =
| children =
| children =
| parents =
| parents =
| relations =
| relations = [[James Watney junior]] (father)
| website =
| website =
}}
}}
'''Claude Watney''' (4 November 1866 - 7 November 1919) was a British motor dealer and enthusiast, and a member of the [[Watney Combe & Reid|Watney]] brewing family.
'''Claude Watney''' (4 November 1866{{spnd}}7 November 1919) was a British brewery director and motor dealer.

He was member of the [[Watney family]] of brewers, director of the brewing firm [[Watney Combe & Reid]], and a motor dealer and enthusiast. In 1903 he had a showroom in London selling Panhard and Mercedes motor cars. He owned a Pipe vehicle, and his wife Ada was also an enthusiastic motorist. He was a member of the committee of the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland, which became the Royal Automobile Club.


==Early life==
==Early life==
Claude Watney was born in London, England, on 4 November 1866, the second son of the brewer and politician [[James Watney junior]] and his wife, Blanche Maria Georgiana Burrell.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Oxford_men_and_their_colleges.djvu/867|title=Page:Oxford men and their colleges.djvu/867 - Wikisource, the free online library|website=en.wikisource.org}}</ref> He was educated at [[Eton College]], and [[New College, Oxford|New College]], Oxford.<ref name="auto1"/>
Claude Watney was born in London, England, on 4 November 1866, the second son of the brewer and politician [[James Watney junior]] and his wife, Blanche Maria Georgiana Burrell.<ref name="auto1">Foster, Joseph. (1893) [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Oxford_men_and_their_colleges.djvu/867 ''Oxford Men and their Colleges''.] Oxford & London: James Parker. p. 638. via Wikisource.org</ref> He was educated at [[Eton College]], and [[New College, Oxford|New College]], University of Oxford.<ref name="auto1"/>


==Career==
==Career==
[[File:12 h.p. Panhard motor car.jpg|thumb|A Panhard vehicle, c.1902]]
⚫
In June 1903, Hon. John Scott Montagu wrote in his ''[[The Car Illustrated]]'' magazine about [[Charles Rolls]], Watney and other Old Etonians he was at school with who were involved in the motor trade, despite having no need to work for money.<ref name="Pugh2015">{{cite book|author=Peter Pugh|title=Rolls-Royce: The Magic of a Name: The First Forty Years of Britain’s Most Prestigious Company, 1904-1944|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kTD5CQAAQBAJ&pg=PT65|date=1 October 2015|publisher=Icon Books Limited|isbn=978-1-84831-925-7|pages=65–66}}</ref> The magazine noted that Watney had opened a showroom in [[Wardour Street]], selling [[Panhard]]s and [[Mercedes (marque)|Mercedes]] motor cars.<ref name="Pugh2015"/>
[[File:Ada Watney 1904.jpg|thumb|Ada Watney, c.1904]]
Watney entered the family brewing firm early in his life when it was Watney & Co. His brother, [[Vernon Watney]], was at that time chairman of the firm.<ref name=obit/> When the firm merged with Combe & Co. and Reid's Brewery Company to become Watney Combe Reid, he remained a director of the enlarged entity. By the time of his death in 1919 he was deputy chairman.<ref name=death>"Death of Mr. Claude Watney", ''The Times'', 8 November 1919, p. 15.</ref>


==Motoring==
In 1909, he is listed as a "director of companies".<ref name="Oceanic"/>
⚫
Watney was keenly interested in motor cars, and in June 1903 [[John Scott Montagu]] wrote in ''[[The Car Illustrated]]'' about [[Charles Rolls]], Watney and other [[Eton College#Old Etonians|Old Etonians]] he was at school with who were involved in the motor trade, despite having no need to work for money.<ref name="Pugh2015">{{cite book|author=Pugh, Peter.|title=Rolls-Royce: The Magic of a Name: The First Forty Years of Britain's Most Prestigious Company, 1904–1944|date=2015|publisher=Icon Books|place=London|isbn=978-1-84831-924-0|pages=33–34}}</ref> The magazine noted that Watney had showrooms in [[Wardour Street]], selling [[Panhard]] and [[Mercedes (marque)|Mercedes]] motor cars.<ref name="Pugh2015"/>

The 1904 ''Motoring Annual and Motorist's Year Book'' described Watney as owning a [[Pipe (car)|Pipe]] motor car (a Belgian model) and being an "all-round sportsman" with his horses "famed for their mettle and speed".<ref>"WATNEY, Claude" in ''Motoring Annual and Motorist's Year Book 1904'', London. via gracesguide.co.uk</ref> He was a member of the committee of the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland which became the [[Royal Automobile Club]].<ref>"The Senate of the Car: The Committee of the Royal Automobile Club", ''[[The Illustrated London News]]'', 18 May 1907, p. 770.</ref>


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
[[File:Ada Watney 1904.jpg|thumb|Ada Watney, c. 1900]]
[[File:High Elms Manor, near Garston, Hertfordshire - geograph-5749487.jpg|thumb|Garston Manor, Hertfordshire]]
Watney married [[Ada Annie Watney]] (1868–1938),<ref name="NPG">[https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp130075/ada-annie-watney-nee-nunn-later-weguelin Ada Annie Watney (née Nunn, later Weguelin).] National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 15 June 2020.</ref> in 1895.<ref>[https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2D1C-35F Claude Watney England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837–2005.] Family Search. Retrieved 15 June 2020. {{subscription required}}</ref> She had an English father and a Portuguese mother<ref name=rct>[https://www.rct.uk/collection/2946294/mrs-claude-watney Mrs Claude Watney 1909.] [[Royal Collection Trust]]. Retrieved 18 June 2020.</ref> and was described in the American press as a former ballet dancer.<ref name="Baltimore American">{{cite news |title=Sherman Martin's Death |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vd1dAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zF4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=3568,6684165&dq=sherman-martin+bradley+martin+nunn&hl=en |access-date=7 June 2020 |work=Baltimore American |date=23 December 1894|page=1}}</ref> She had already been married to the banking heir Sherman Martin when they were both very young. Martin's family disapproved of the union and wished a divorce, for which Ada was said by the press to have asked $10,000, but he died in 1894 still married.<ref name="Baltimore American"/> A 1909 photo caption described Ada as "of medium height, fair complexion, golden-brown hair and grey-blue eyes" and "very fond of fishing, riding and driving, and is a very keen motorist".<ref name=rct/>
He married Ada Annie Nunn (1868-1938).<ref name="NPG">{{cite web |title=Ada Annie Watney (née Nunn, later Weguelin) (1868-1938), Former wife of Claude Watney, and later wife of Bernard Weguelin |url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp130075/ada-annie-watney-nee-nunn-later-weguelin |website=National Portrait Gallery |accessdate=7 June 2020}}</ref> She had been married to Sherman Martin, and would later marry Bernard Weguelin.<ref name="NPG"/>


In the late 1890s, Watney moved to 20 [[Charles Street, Mayfair|Charles Street]], Mayfair, London, which became the family home.<ref>[https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJF1-G81V Claude Watney England, London Electoral Registers, 1847–1913 (1899)]. Family Search. Retrieved 15 June 2020. {{subscription required}}</ref> By 1901, he employed 12 servants.<ref name=1901census>[https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X9HJ-T9W Claude Watney England and Wales Census, 1901.] Family Search. Retrieved 15 June 2020. {{subscription required}}</ref> During the First World War, it was announced that Ada had turned part of the house into a nursing home for officers "furnished and equipped with every requirement of modern surgery, and fully staffed by trained sisters and nurses".<ref name=nurse>"A nursing home for officers", ''The Times'', 6 August 1914, p. 9.</ref> It had the capacity to treat 18 officers and each was free to choose their own surgeon.<ref name=nurse/>
They lived in London, and at [[High Elms Manor]] in [[Garston, Hertfordshire|Garston]], [[Hertfordshire]].


Watney also owned [[High Elms Manor]], later Garston Manor, in [[Garston, Hertfordshire|Garston]], Hertfordshire, which was placed for sale in 1911.<ref name=time>[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ad_for_High_Elms_1911.jpg "Preliminary"], ''The Times'', 13 May 1911, p. 18.</ref> He also acquired Mervil Hill, a house in [[Hambledon, Surrey|Hambledon]], Surrey, that had been owned since 1904 by the astronomer [[John Franklin-Adams]]. The house was used as a convalescent home for soldiers during the First World War, and in 1929 it was transferred by Ada, by then a widow, to the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, who turned it into St Dominic's School, a "residential school for delicate boys".<ref>[http://www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2014-08magazine.pdf "The history behind the view"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615202912/http://www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/2014-08magazine.pdf |date=15 June 2020 }}, Stephen Dean, ''Hambledon Parish Magazine'', August 2014, p. 13.</ref>
On 15 August 1889 at St Luke's Church, London, Ada Annie Nunn aged 21, "reputed to be a former ballet-dancer" had married 19-year-old Sherman Martin, the eldest son of the banker and socialite [[Bradley Martin]], but when his parents found out some weeks later, they were "overwhelmed with mortification", and Ada was offered $10,00 to divorce.<ref name="Baltimore American">{{cite news |title=Sherman Martin's Death |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vd1dAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zF4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=3568,6684165&dq=sherman-martin+bradley+martin+nunn&hl=en |accessdate=7 June 2020 |work=Baltimore American |date=23 December 1894}}</ref> Martin was eventually welcomed home, went on a world tour, and his sister [[Cornelia, Countess of Craven|Cornelia Martin]] married [[William Craven, 4th Earl of Craven]].<ref name="Baltimore American"/> Martin relapsed and was sent to the [[Hartford Retreat for the Insane]] in March 1894, and after a few months was released apparently cured of his [[dipsomania]], but died on 22 December 1894 in Baltimore after a very brief illness.<ref name="Baltimore American"/>

In 1909, Watney and his wife Ada travelled to New York on the [[RMS Oceanic (1899)|SS Oceanic]].<ref name="Oceanic">{{cite web |title=New York Passenger Arrivals (Ellis Island), 1892-1924 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C95Y-L9FQ-Z?i=467&cc=1368704&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AJXRT-BQ3 |website=familysearch.org |accessdate=7 June 2020}}</ref>

In 1905 and 1911, he lived at 20 [[Charles Street, Mayfair|Charles Street]], Mayfair, London.<ref>{{cite web |title=Borough of Saint George, Hanover Square division Register of Electors 1905 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9FL-3RVH?i=75&cc=2228170&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AQJN4-RKJD |website=familysearch.org |accessdate=7 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Borough of Saint George, Hanover Square division Register of Electors 1911 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9N8-QNMX?i=84&cc=2228170&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AQJFG-RJ92 |website=familysearch.org |accessdate=7 June 2020}}</ref> In the 1911 census, he is listed as a "Brewery director", and they had 11 servants.<ref>{{cite web |title=Claude Watney England and Wales Census, 1911 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XW2Y-MMM |website=familysearch.org |accessdate=7 June 2020}}</ref>

At some point, Watney acquired Mervil Hill, a house in [[Hambledon, Surrey|Hambledon]], Surrey that had been owned since 1904 by the astronomer [[John Franklin-Adams]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=http://www.hambledonsurrey.co.uk/?page_id=480|title=Viewpoint on the Common}}</ref> In the First World War, it became a convalescent home for soldiers, and in 1929, it changed hands from his widow to the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, who turned it into St. Dominic's School, a "residential school for delicate boys".<ref name="auto"/>


==Death==
==Death==
Watney died on 7 November 1919.<ref>{{cite web |title=Claude Watney England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858-1957 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPL8-X4Z2 |website=familysearch.org |accessdate=7 June 2020}}</ref> He left an estate of £573,088.<ref>[https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Calendar/GetImgSrc?filePath=%2F1920%2FW%2F002819_watmough_1920.Png 1920 Probate Calendar, p. 224.]</ref>
Watney died at his home of 20 Charles Street on 7 November 1919.<ref name=death/><ref>{{cite web |title=Claude Watney England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858–1957 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPL8-X4Z2 |website=familysearch.org |access-date=7 June 2020}}</ref> His funeral was held at [[Woking cemetery]], where his father was also buried.<ref name=obit>"Mr. Claude Watney", ''The Times'', 10 November 1919, p. 20.</ref> He left an estate of £573,088<ref>[https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Calendar/GetImgSrc?filePath=%2F1920%2FW%2F002819_watmough_1920.Png 1920 Probate Calendar, p. 224.]</ref> including a collection of [[coaching]] prints which were sold at auction by [[Christie's]].<ref>''Art Prices Current'', William Dawson & Sons, p. 36.</ref> His widow subsequently married the motorist [[Bernard Weguelin]].<ref name="NPG"/>


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Claude_Watney


{{DEFAULTSORT:Watney, Claude}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watney, Claude}}



{{UK-bio-stub}}

[[Category:1866 births]]
[[Category:1866 births]]
[[Category:1919 deaths]]
[[Category:1919 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at Eton College]]
[[Category:People educated at Eton College]]
[[Category:People from London]]
[[Category:People from London]]
[[Category:Watney family]]
[[Category:Watney family|Claude]]
[[Category:Alumni of New College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Alumni of New College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Burials at Brookwood Cemetery]]
[[Category:19th-century English businesspeople]]
[[Category:Masters of the Worshipful Company of Brewers]]

Latest revision as of 10:09, 12 December 2023

Claude Watney
Born4 November 1866
Died7 November 1919(1919-11-07) (aged 53)
NationalityBritish
EducationEton College
Alma materNew College, University of Oxford
Occupation(s)Brewery director and motor dealer
Board member ofWatney Combe & Reid
SpouseAda Annie Watney
RelativesJames Watney junior (father)

Claude Watney (4 November 1866 – 7 November 1919) was a British brewery director and motor dealer.

He was member of the Watney family of brewers, director of the brewing firm Watney Combe & Reid, and a motor dealer and enthusiast. In 1903 he had a showroom in London selling Panhard and Mercedes motor cars. He owned a Pipe vehicle, and his wife Ada was also an enthusiastic motorist. He was a member of the committee of the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland, which became the Royal Automobile Club.

Early life

[edit]

Claude Watney was born in London, England, on 4 November 1866, the second son of the brewer and politician James Watney junior and his wife, Blanche Maria Georgiana Burrell.[1] He was educated at Eton College, and New College, University of Oxford.[1]

Career

[edit]
A Panhard vehicle, c.1902
Ada Watney, c.1904

Watney entered the family brewing firm early in his life when it was Watney & Co. His brother, Vernon Watney, was at that time chairman of the firm.[2] When the firm merged with Combe & Co. and Reid's Brewery Company to become Watney Combe Reid, he remained a director of the enlarged entity. By the time of his death in 1919 he was deputy chairman.[3]

Motoring

[edit]

Watney was keenly interested in motor cars, and in June 1903 John Scott Montagu wrote in The Car Illustrated about Charles Rolls, Watney and other Old Etonians he was at school with who were involved in the motor trade, despite having no need to work for money.[4] The magazine noted that Watney had showrooms in Wardour Street, selling Panhard and Mercedes motor cars.[4]

The 1904 Motoring Annual and Motorist's Year Book described Watney as owning a Pipe motor car (a Belgian model) and being an "all-round sportsman" with his horses "famed for their mettle and speed".[5] He was a member of the committee of the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland which became the Royal Automobile Club.[6]

Personal life

[edit]
Garston Manor, Hertfordshire

Watney married Ada Annie Watney (1868–1938),[7] in 1895.[8] She had an English father and a Portuguese mother[9] and was described in the American press as a former ballet dancer.[10] She had already been married to the banking heir Sherman Martin when they were both very young. Martin's family disapproved of the union and wished a divorce, for which Ada was said by the press to have asked $10,000, but he died in 1894 still married.[10] A 1909 photo caption described Ada as "of medium height, fair complexion, golden-brown hair and grey-blue eyes" and "very fond of fishing, riding and driving, and is a very keen motorist".[9]

In the late 1890s, Watney moved to 20 Charles Street, Mayfair, London, which became the family home.[11] By 1901, he employed 12 servants.[12] During the First World War, it was announced that Ada had turned part of the house into a nursing home for officers "furnished and equipped with every requirement of modern surgery, and fully staffed by trained sisters and nurses".[13] It had the capacity to treat 18 officers and each was free to choose their own surgeon.[13]

Watney also owned High Elms Manor, later Garston Manor, in Garston, Hertfordshire, which was placed for sale in 1911.[14] He also acquired Mervil Hill, a house in Hambledon, Surrey, that had been owned since 1904 by the astronomer John Franklin-Adams. The house was used as a convalescent home for soldiers during the First World War, and in 1929 it was transferred by Ada, by then a widow, to the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, who turned it into St Dominic's School, a "residential school for delicate boys".[15]

Death

[edit]

Watney died at his home of 20 Charles Street on 7 November 1919.[3][16] His funeral was held at Woking cemetery, where his father was also buried.[2] He left an estate of £573,088[17] including a collection of coaching prints which were sold at auction by Christie's.[18] His widow subsequently married the motorist Bernard Weguelin.[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Foster, Joseph. (1893) Oxford Men and their Colleges. Oxford & London: James Parker. p. 638. via Wikisource.org
  2. ^ a b "Mr. Claude Watney", The Times, 10 November 1919, p. 20.
  3. ^ a b "Death of Mr. Claude Watney", The Times, 8 November 1919, p. 15.
  4. ^ a b Pugh, Peter. (2015). Rolls-Royce: The Magic of a Name: The First Forty Years of Britain's Most Prestigious Company, 1904–1944. London: Icon Books. pp. 33–34. ISBN 978-1-84831-924-0.
  5. ^ "WATNEY, Claude" in Motoring Annual and Motorist's Year Book 1904, London. via gracesguide.co.uk
  6. ^ "The Senate of the Car: The Committee of the Royal Automobile Club", The Illustrated London News, 18 May 1907, p. 770.
  7. ^ a b Ada Annie Watney (née Nunn, later Weguelin). National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  8. ^ Claude Watney England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837–2005. Family Search. Retrieved 15 June 2020. (subscription required)
  9. ^ a b Mrs Claude Watney 1909. Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Sherman Martin's Death". Baltimore American. 23 December 1894. p. 1. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  11. ^ Claude Watney England, London Electoral Registers, 1847–1913 (1899). Family Search. Retrieved 15 June 2020. (subscription required)
  12. ^ Claude Watney England and Wales Census, 1901. Family Search. Retrieved 15 June 2020. (subscription required)
  13. ^ a b "A nursing home for officers", The Times, 6 August 1914, p. 9.
  14. ^ "Preliminary", The Times, 13 May 1911, p. 18.
  15. ^ "The history behind the view" Archived 15 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Stephen Dean, Hambledon Parish Magazine, August 2014, p. 13.
  16. ^ "Claude Watney England and Wales, National Index of Wills and Administrations, 1858–1957". familysearch.org. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  17. ^ 1920 Probate Calendar, p. 224.
  18. ^ Art Prices Current, William Dawson & Sons, p. 36.
[edit]
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