Sir Merton Russell-Cotes (

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

8 May 1835 – 27 January 1921

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

) was Mayor of Bournemouth,

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, 1894–95. During his Mayoralty, Meyrick Park, two free libraries, and the first two schools of art in the borough were opened. Although his name is usually hyphenated today, there is no hyphen in his

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entry or the

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entry for his knighthood, and he is described on the plaque marking the opening of the Undercliff Drive and Promenade as Cllr. ''Cotes'', not Cllr. ''Russell-Cotes''.

Royal Bath Hotel

He moved to Bournemouth in 1876 with his wife Annie. Soon after this, they bought the Bath Hotel. They quickly enlarged the hotel and renamed it the Royal Bath Hotel because the

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had stayed there in 1856.

Civic activities

Russell-Cotes was elected to the Board of Commissioners in 1883 and fought hard to enhance the town's reputation as a health resort. He called for a direct railway link from

Brockenhurst Brockenhurst is the largest village by population within the New Forest in Hampshire, England. The nearest city is Southampton some to the north-east, while Bournemouth is also nearby, south-west. Surrounding towns and villages include Beaul ...

to Bournemouth to avoid having to change trains at Ringwood. He also campaigned for 'Undercliff Drive' to enable invalids to take a carriage drive beside the sea. When Bournemouth became a borough in 1890, he presented the mace—a replica of that presented to

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

Mayor of Bournemouth

Russell-Cotes was offered the mayoralty in 1893 but declined it due to temporary ill health. He became mayor in 1894.

East Cliff Hall

When Undercliff Drive opened in 1907, it was announced that Annie and Merton wanted to give their recently completed home, East Cliff Hall, and its contents to the people of Bournemouth. Russell-Cotes amassed a large collection of works of art and curios. Those donated to the town are displayed in the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth's principal museum, which is located in East Cliff Hall and is named in his honour. He was a friend of the actor,

Sir Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

, who stayed with him on several occasions.

Freedom of the Borough

The Russell-Cotes were granted the Freedom of the Borough of Bournemouth in 1908. Russell-Cotes was knighted in 1909.

Personal life

He was married to Annie Russell-Cotes.

Sources

, 1920. 1835 births 1921 deaths Politicians from Wolverhampton Mayors of places in Dorset Knights Bachelor Politicians from Bournemouth Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Museum founders English philanthropists {{England-mayor-stub