Sir Ernest Ridley Debenham, 1st Baronet (26 May 1865 – 25 December 1952), was an English businessman. He was responsible for the considerable expansion of the family's retail and wholesale drapery firm between 1892 and 1927.

Biography

Born at 42

Wigmore Street Wigmore Street is a street in the City of Westminster, in the West End of London. The street runs for about 600 yards parallel and to the north of Oxford Street between Portman Square to the west and Cavendish Square to the east. It is named af ...

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, he was the son of Frank Debenham and his wife Emma Folkard ''née'' Ridley. Educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. It was founded as Marlborough School in 1843 by the Dean of Manchester, George ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, At the age of 27 he joined the successful business of Debenham & Co., which had been run by his grandfather and father. His restructuring activities led to the splitting of the manufacturing from the retail side of the business, under the name Debenham & Freebody (Freebody was the maiden name of his grandmother). He effected a merger with

Marshall & Snelgrove Marshall & Snelgrove was a department store on the north side of Oxford Street, London, on the corner with Vere Street, Westminster, Vere Street founded by James Marshall (b.1806 Yorkshire – d.22 November 1893). The company became part of the ...

as well as a takeover of

Harvey Nichols Harvey Nichols Group Limited ( trading as Harvey Nichols) is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831 by Benjamin Harvey; it is headquartered at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections ...

. He was noted for his paternalistic attitude towards his staff, providing medical and educational support. He was also a pioneer in the dairy industry. On 8 November 1892 he married Cicely Kenrick (1869–1950), daughter of William Kenrick. The couple had eight children, including the artist

Alison Debenham Alison Edith Debenham (later Le Plat, 18 February 1903 – 24 November 1967) was a British painter and artist. Biography Debenham was born in 1903 in London, to Sir Ernest Ridley Debenham, 1st Baronet, and his wife, Lady Cicely, of the Debenh ...

. Debenham had an interest in politics, and was a supporter of the Conservative Party. Although he considered entering parliament, his business interests prevented this. He did enter local politics, however. He was a member of

St Marylebone Borough Council The Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone was a metropolitan borough of the County of London from 1900 to 1965. It was based directly on the previously existing civil parish of St Marylebone, Middlesex, which was incorporated into the Metropoli ...

, serving as mayor of the borough in 1910–12. He was also a member of the

London County Council The London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today ...

. He was elected unopposed at a by-election on 28 February 1912 for the Conservative-backed

Municipal Reform The Municipal Reform Party was a local party allied to the parliamentary Conservative Party in the County of London. The party contested elections to both the London County Council and metropolitan borough councils of the county from 1906 to 194 ...

party to represent the

Marylebone East Marylebone East was a borough constituency located in the Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone, in London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past th ...

division, remaining a councillor until 1919. On his retirement in 1927 he sold most of his shares in the firm for £1.8M, so severing his family's connections with the retail chain that still bears his name. He devoted the rest of his life to dairy farming on his estates in Dorset. He was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of Bladen in the

County of Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the ...

, in 1931. He died on Christmas Day 1952 at Moor Lane House,

Briantspuddle Briantspuddle is a small village in the River Piddle, Piddle Valley in Dorset, England, near the villages of Affpuddle and Tolpuddle and about east of the county town of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester. It forms part of the civil parishes in En ...

, Dorset, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son, Piers Kenrick Debenham, born in 1904.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Debenham, Ernest 1865 births 1952 deaths People educated at Marlborough College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English businesspeople in retailing

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from the Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious", often shortened to Ernie. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), ...

Debenhams Members of London County Council Municipal Reform Party politicians Mayors of places in Greater London Members of St Marylebone Metropolitan Borough Council Conservative Party (UK) councillors