David Pax Tennant (22 May 1902 – 8 April 1968) was a British aristocrat socialite, and the founder of the Gargoyle Club in London's

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

Early life

Tennant was the third son of Edward Tennant, who became Lord Glenconner in 1911, and the writer Pamela Wyndham, later wife of

Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon (25 April 1862 – 7 September 1933), better known as Sir Edward Grey, was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician who was the main force behind British foreign policy i ...

. He was the younger brother of the war poet Edward Tennant and the older brother of socialite Stephen Tennant.

Margot Asquith Emma Alice Margaret Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith (' Tennant; 2 February 1864 – 28 July 1945), known as Margot Asquith, was a British socialite and author. She was married to British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith from 1894 to his ...

, author and second wife of the

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928) was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916. He was the last ...

, was his paternal aunt.

Career

Tennant founded the

Gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed Grotesque (architecture), grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from ...

as a private members' club on the upper floors of 69 Dean Street,

, London in 1925. He created an arena where Bohemians could mingle comfortably with the upper crust, according to the writer Michael Luke. There were lavish interiors, paintings by

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

, and regular patrons included

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...

Duncan Grant Duncan James Corrowr Grant (21 January 1885 – 8 May 1978) was a Scottish painter and designer of textiles, pottery, theatre sets, and costumes. He was a member of the Bloomsbury Group. His father was Bartle Grant, a "poverty-stricken" major ...

Nancy Cunard Nancy Clara Cunard (10 March 1896 – 17 March 1965) was a British writer, heiress and political activist. She was born into the British upper class, and devoted much of her life to fighting racism and fascism. She became a muse to some of the ...

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

and later

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

and

Lucian Freud Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists. His early career as a painter was inf ...

. In 1952, Tennant sold the Gargoyle as a going concern for £5,000 to caterer John Negus and it remained popular for several years. He was one of the original members of the Bright Young Things in London in the 1920s. One of the parties he organized for the group was in the Burlington Galleries and had a Mozart theme and required the guests to dress in eighteenth-century costume. Another was his “pajamas-and-bottle-party” where the guests came in nightwear and brought their own alcohol. Tennant worked at the

British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...

from 1924 to 1929 as an announcer, in 1943 he re-joined the BBC as a home announcer."Obituary." Times ondon, England11 Apr. 1968: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 15 June 2014. From 1939 Tennant served as an officer in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

until he was invalided out in 1941.

Personal life

In 1928, Tennant married the actress Hermione Baddeley. They rented Teffont Evias Manor, which became known for their boisterous parties (including mixed naked bathing in the goldfish pond).Bates, Lesley. Three-year story of village where 'much has happened'. ''Salisbury Journal''. 4 March 2004. page 31. They had two children, a son, David, and a daughter, Pauline (1927–2008). Pauline was an actress and a poet. She married three times. Her partners were: the anthropologist Julian Pitt-Rivers; Euan Douglas Graham, grandson of the 5th Duke of Montrose; and Sir Anthony Rumbold, 10th Baronet. Tennant and Baddeley divorced in 1937, but remained good friends. In 1938, Tennant married Virginia Penelope Parsons, the daughter of Alan Parsons and

Viola Tree Viola Tree (17 July 1884 – 15 November 1938) was an English actress, singer, playwright and author. Daughter of the actor Herbert Beerbohm Tree, she made many of her early appearances with his company at Her Majesty's Theatre, His Majesty's Th ...

(daughter of the actor-manager Sir

Herbert Beerbohm Tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree (17 December 1852 – 2 July 1917) was an English actor and Actor-manager, theatre manager. Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre in the West End theatre, West End, winning ...

). They had two daughters, Georgia (born 1941) and Sabrina (born 1943). They divorced in 1953 and, afterward, Virginia married Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath, thus becoming the Marchioness of Bath. He later married Shelagh Rainey, sister of the fashion designer Michael Rainey and daughter of Sean Rainey and Joyce Marion Wallace (1923–2006), better known as Marion Wrottesley after her marriage to Richard Wrottesley (later 5th Baron Wrottesley). Shelagh Tennant died in Spain in 2018, aged 75. Tennant died in Spain on 8 April 1968 aged 65.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tennant, David English socialites Younger sons of barons 1902 births 1968 deaths BBC radio presenters Royal Artillery officers

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...