Ralph Bankes (landowner)

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

Ralph Bankes
Born
Henry John Ralph Bankes

27 August 1902
Died9 August 1981 (aged 78)
EducationEton
Alma materMagdalen College, Oxford
FamilyBankes family

Early life and education

Bankes was born to Walter Ralph Bankes, a member of the Bankes family, and Henriette Jenny Fraser in 1902. He was the 7-times-great-grandson of Sir John Bankes and the great-great-grandson of Henry Bankes. He was sent to board at Eton College in Eton, Berkshire and Magdalen College, Oxford.[1] 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.[2]

Legacy

Bankes inherited Kingston Lacy from his father in 1904.[1] He was the last private owner of Corfe Castle and Kingston Lacy and the largest private landowner in Dorset.[3] Bankes donated his estates and his art and antiques collection to the National Trust.[4] His donation is the single largest donation in the organisation's history.[5]

He held the office of High Sheriff of Dorset in 1939 and was a Justice of the Peace (J.P.) from 1936.

Family

In 1935, Bankes married Hilary Margaret (née Strickland-Constable), daughter of Lt.-Col. Frederick Charles Strickland-Constable and Margaret Elizabeth Pakenham.[6] Hilary Margaret was the great-granddaughter of Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford and Sir George Strickland, 7th Baronet.

Bankes and Hilary Margaret Bankes had three children:

  • Ralph M. Bankes (b. 1937)
  • John Ralph Bankes (1937), educated at Eton and Oxford, an officer in the Coldstream Guards.
  • Mary Bankes (1940)

References

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