Beecher Moore (16 September 1908 – 10 November 1996) was a highly influential figure in the development of

dinghy sailing Dinghy sailing is the activity of sailing small boats - usually for fun, learning necessary sailing skills (often also within family), and competition. RYA lists Five essentials of sailing dinghies as: * The sails * The foils (i.e. the dagge ...

in the United Kingdom after the Second World War. He worked for many years with Jack Holt who designed numerous dinghies, and together they did much to make sailing a pastime accessible to the masses. In addition to his interest in sailing Moore had a reputation as something of a larger than life character and successfully pursued a range of other activities including for many years being part-owner of the restaurant Parkes, in

Beauchamp Place Beauchamp Place (pronounced "Beecham Place") is a fashionable shopping street in the Knightsbridge district of London. Previously known as Grove Place until 1885, it has since evolved into a well-known shopping street. It was once better kno ...

, London.

Early years

Moore was born in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, US but moved to Britain with his parents while very young. In the 1920s he went to

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

but did not complete his degree and instead returned to England to work with his father in his business stationery company, Moore's Modern Methods, which he inherited and ran on his father's death. During World War II he served as ARP Warden for the

Temple, London The Temple is an area or precinct of the City of London surrounding Temple Church. It is one of the main legal districts in London and a notable centre for English law, from the Middle Ages to the present day. It consists of the Inner Temple an ...

and had a lease on a flat in a building full of legal chambers where he remained resident for many years.

Personal life

Relationships

He was married three times, firstly in 1934 to Elizabeth Wynkoop and secondly in 1954 to Barbara (Bobbie) Seale and Naona Van Zile in 1972. Bobbie's father was theologian Morris S. Seale, her sister was

Thea Porter Dorothea Noelle Naomi "Thea" Porter (24 December 1927 – 24 July 2000) was a British artist, fashion designer and retailer who in the 1960s brought opulent Middle East fashions to London. Early life She was born Dorothea Noelle Naomi Seale, ...

the fashion designer and her brother was writer and journalist

Patrick Seale Patrick Abram Seale (7 May 1930 – 11 April 2014) was a British journalist and author who specialised in the Middle East. A former correspondent for ''The Observer'', he interviewed many Middle Eastern leaders and personalities. Seale was a ...

. Beecher and Bobbie had one son, Chadwick. She died in 1971. Moore married Naona Van Zile, ex-wife of Rev. Sidney Lanier the following year. He died on 10 November 1996 at his flat at the Middle Temple and his funeral was held in

Temple Church The Temple Church, a royal peculiar in the Church of England, is a church in the Inner Temple, Inner and Middle Temple, Middle Temple, London, Temples located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar for their En ...

in the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. His ashes are held in the Colombarium of the church with those of his wife Naona.

Sailing

Moore's interest and involvement in sailing increased during the 1930s and he became a member of the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in

Burnham-on-Crouch Burnham-on-Crouch is a town and civil parish in the Maldon District of Essex, in the East of England; it lies on the north bank of the River Crouch. It is one of Britain's leading places for yachting. The civil parish extends east of the town ...

. Around this time he was involved in the development of what became acknowledged as the first

trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes, metal straps, or chains, from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or ...

used in a sailing dinghy - in the form of a bell rope on a Thames A Class Rater. Moore was an exceptionally talented sailor and over the years won many sailing competitions either solo, as part of a crew or with regular sailing partner Jack Holt. His successes included; the 14-ft Merlin Championships on five occasions in the 1940s, the National Hornet World Championship three times and the 12-ft National Championship once. In 1934 Moore was part of the crew of Endeavour l in the

America's Cup The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...

when he was the only American to sail aboard the British challenger. He was also heavily involved the administration of sailing at both national and international level. He was senior vice-president of the International 470 class, Chairman of the International Tempest Association and the Mirror 16-ft Association and a vice-president of the Amateur Yacht Research Society.

Business Partnership with Jack Holt

Moore joined forces with Thames boatbuilder Jack Holt after the war. The two both worked and sailed together. Holt was a talented boatbuilder, sailor and designer. Together they were instrumental in the development and launching of many dinghy classes including the International 14, Merlin Rocket

Hornet Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the Eusociality, eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to yellowjackets, their close relatives. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other Vespi ...

,Designed by Jack Holt and

Barry Bucknell Robert "Barry" Barraby Bucknell (26 January 1912, Hampstead, County of London, London – 21 February 2003, St Mawes, Cornwall, aged 91) was an English TV presenter who popularised Do It Yourself (DIY) in the United Kingdom. Bucknell was e ...

GP 14,

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and

Mirror A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera ...

. Holt designed the boats and built the prototypes whilst Moore looked after the marketing and development of each class. The company they formed continues to operate to this day under the name of Holt.

Interests

Moore was a keen patron and collector of art and literature and accumulated a large collection of illustrated and written

erotica Erotica is art, literature or photography that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erot ...

. In 1964, during the puritanical scare period around the

Profumo affair The Profumo affair was a major scandal in British politics during the early 1960s. John Profumo, the 46-year-old Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, had an extramarital affair with the 19-year-old model ...

, he made a significant donation to the

Private Case The Private Case is a collection of erotica and pornography held initially by the British Museum and then, from 1973, by the British Library. The collection began between 1836 and 1870 and grew from the receipt of books from legal deposit, from ...

collection in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

. In the early 1990s he sold another collection of erotic writing and drawings many of which were the work of his friend, the illustrator Tom Poulton. These were collectively published by

Taschen Taschen is a luxury art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. As of January 2017, Taschen is co-managed by Benedikt Taschen and his eldest daughter, Marlene Taschen. History The company began as Tasch ...

in 2006.Maclean, Jamie, ''The Secret Art of an English Gentleman: Tom Poulton'' (Cologne: Taschen, 2006, )

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Beecher 1908 births American yacht designers 1996 deaths Harvard University people Artists from Rochester, New York 20th-century American architects