Henry John Ralph Bankes JP (27 August 1902 - 9 August 1981), known simply as Ralph Bankes, was a British landowner and Lord High Admiral of Purbeck.

Early life

An only son, Bankes was born to Walter Ralph Bankes, a member of the

Bankes family The Bankes family were prominent landed gentry in Dorset, England, for over 400 years. They owned large portions of land throughout Dorset and made significant contributions to the political history and development of the country. Buildings T ...

, and his wife Henriette Jenny Fraser in 1902. He was the seven-times-great-grandson of Sir John Bankes and the great-great-grandson of

Henry Bankes Henry Bankes (1757–1834) was an English politician and writer. Life Bankes was the only surviving son of Henry Bankes (died 1776), Henry Bankes and Margaret Wynne (1724–1822). Bankes was the great-great-grandson of Sir John Bankes, Chie ...

. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

Eton, Berkshire Eton ( ) is a town in Berkshire, England, on the opposite bank of the River Thames to Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor, connected to it by Windsor Bridge. The civil parish, which also includes the village of Eton Wick two miles west of the town, had ...

and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

. At Eton, Bankes befriended Robert Strickland-Constable, (later Sir Robert Frederick Strickland-Constable, 11th Bt.), the brother of his future wife, Hilary Margaret Strickland-Constable.

Career

Bankes inherited

Kingston Lacy Kingston Lacy is a country house and estate near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England. It was for many years the family seat of the Bankes family who lived nearby at Corfe Castle until its destruction in the English Civil War after its incumbent ...

and his father’s estates in 1904, while still an infant, and came into his inheritance at the age of twenty-one, when he was the largest private landowner in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, 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, t ...

. In 1936, Bankes was appointed as a Justice of the Peace for Dorset and was

High Sheriff of Dorset The High Sheriff of Dorset is an ancient high sheriff title which has been in existence for over one thousand years. Until 1567 the Sheriff of Somerset was also the Sheriff of Dorset. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Governmen ...

in 1939. He was also Lord High Admiral of Purbeck, a ceremonial role. Bankes spent his life at Kingston Lacy, “running the estate with consummate skill”. However, during his last fifteen years the great house at Kingston Lacey was neglected, and public access was brought to an end.

Legacy

Bankes was the last private owner of

Corfe Castle Corfe Castle is a fortification standing above the Corfe Castle (village), village of the same name on the Isle of Purbeck peninsula in the English county of Dorset. Built by William the Conqueror, the castle dates to the 11th century and ...

and Kingston Lacy. On his death, he left £50,000 to each of his children and a life interest in some property to his housekeeper. He gave everything else he had, including his estates and his collections of art and antiques, to trustees for the benefit of the nation, and they donated them to the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

. His donation of approximately $40,000,000, is the single largest in the organisation's history.

Personal life

In 1935, Bankes married Hilary Margaret (née Strickland-Constable), daughter of Lt.-Col. Frederick Charles Strickland-Constable and Margaret Elizabeth Pakenham. Hilary Margaret, the sister of Sir Henry Strickland-Constable, 10th Baronet, was the great-granddaughter of

Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford, (14 May 1774 – 28 May 1835), known as The Lord Longford between 1792 and 1794, was an Anglo-Irish hereditary peer. Early life Pakenham was born in 1774, the eldest son of Edward Pakenham, 2nd Baron Lon ...

and

Sir George Strickland, 7th Baronet Sir George Strickland, 7th Baronet (26 May 1782 – 23 December 1874), also known as Sir George Cholmley was an English Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament and lawyer. He took the name Cholmley to succeed to the Cholmley ...

. Together, Ralph and Hilary were the parents of two children: * John Ralph Bankes (1937-1996), who was educated at Eton and

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

; an officer in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

and amateur magician, he died unmarried. * Mary Bankes (b. 1940). His wife died on 11 September 1966. Bankes died on 9 August 1981.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bankes, Ralph 1902 births 1981 deaths 20th-century British landowners Bankes family People educated at Eton College High sheriffs of Dorset