Sir John Jarvis, 1st Baronet
Sir (Joseph) John Jarvis, 1st Baronet (25 March 1876 – 3 October 1950)[1] was a British industrialist and philanthropist who became a Conservative Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1935 to 1950 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Guildford in Surrey,[2] but is best known for his philanthropic and industrial efforts to assist the town of Jarrow in the economic depression of the 1930s.
Early life and family
Jarvis was the eldest son of Joseph Charles Jarvis, of
Residence
From 1921 until his death, Jarvis lived at
Career
During
Jarrow
In early 1934 he was elected as High Sheriff of Surrey, and shortly afterwards visited Jarrow, a shipbuilding town on Tyneside which had been particularly badly hit by the Great Depression. The Depression caused a collapse in demand for ships, and the closure of Palmers shipyard in Jarrow, leading to 80% unemployment in the town.[7] Jarvis launched an appeal named the "Surrey Fund" which eventually raised £40,000; the funds were used to buy materials to enable men in Jarrow to continue working, on tasks such as the constructing playgrounds and sports facilities and the redecoration of houses.[3] Using his own wealth, Jarvis also bought the decommissioned liner Olympic (a sistership of the Titanic) for a reported £100,000 and had the ship brought to Tyneside to be broken up,[3] followed in 1938 by the liner Berengaria.[8] The breaking of Berengaria was promised to directly employ 200 men in skilled and semi-skilled tasks in the new Jarrow Shipbreaking Company (based on the former Palmers shipyard), while the metal was to be used in Jarvis's new metal industries in the area, which employed several hundred people.[8] Through Jarvis's efforts, several other new businesses were established in the Jarrow area.[7] Jarvis also brought unemployed miners from Jarrow to Hascombe Court, his country estate in Surrey, where they built a Japanese style water and rock garden.[9]
Set against the scale of the economic problems in Jarrow, the impact of Jarvis's efforts is contested. In a letter published in The Times on 2 October 1936, Jarvis listed some of the achievements of the fund as a "step in the right direction".[10] However, on the following day Jarrow MP Ellen Wilkinson praised Jarvis's support for the town but criticised "his over-sanguine optimism", noting that the employment generated had been small-scale and temporary.[11] Wilkinson complained that charitable works were inadequate, and that a solution to the problem required addressing the underlying cause, which was the forced closure of the shipyard.[11]
For his efforts, Jarvis was made a freeman of Jarrow in 1935,[12] but the ceremony on 4 June was boycotted by Labour Party councillors because Jarvis had been selected as a Conservative candidate for the coming general election.[12]
Parliament
Guildford's Conservative MP Charles Rhys announced in January 1934 that he would not contest the next election.[13] At a meeting of the Central Council of the Guildford Division Conservative and Unionist Association on 25 February, Jarvis was invited to be the National Conservative candidate at the next election,[14] and it was reported on 9 March that he had accepted.[14]
However, the parties in the
However, in August 1935, Brooke's candidacy was halted by the local National association,[15] which announced that since the collaboration of parties in the constituencies had not developed across the country at large, "no useful purpose would be served by running a purely National candidate in this division in support of this principle".[15]
At the
In November 1943 he wrote to The Times newspaper to summarise his experiences in Jarrow,[3] asserting that it was better to bring work to people in depressed areas than to encourage them to move in search of work.[21]
Death and legacy
Jarvis died on 2 October 1950, aged 74.[1]
In September 1951 a plaque was placed in Jarrow Town Hall commemorating Sir John and the Surrey Fund in connection with the installation of a chiming clock. It reads:[22]
This plaque was provided by the citizens of Jarrow to commemorate the kindness of the people of Surrey, who subscribed to the "SURREY FUND" raised at the request of Sir JOHN JARVIS, Baronet, to assist Jarrow during the period of abnormal unemployment. The fund was used to brighten the homes of the people of Jarrow, to construct the Monkton Dene Park and in the year of the FESTIVAL of BRITAIN, 1951, to provide a chiming clock for the town hall and a Shelter near the "Festival Flats" in Monkton Road.
In 2018 a plaque was unveiled in his memory at Monkton Stadium as part of Jarrow and Hebburn Athletics Club's 80th anniversary celebrations; Sir John had been involved in setting up the club in 1938.[23]
References
- ^ a b Leigh Rayment's list of baronets – Baronetcies beginning with "J"
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "G" (part 2)
- ^ a b c d e "Obituaries: Sir John Jarvis, A Social Experiment On Tyneside". The Times. London. 4 October 1950. p. 8.
- ^ a b "Hascombe Court: History". Parks & Gardens UK. Archived from the original on 1 February 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
- ^ "Hascombe Court: Description". Parks & Gardens UK. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
- ^ "No. 32668". The London Gazette. 11 April 1922. p. 2916.
- ^ a b "Surrey Scheme Progress Helping Tyneside People, New Jarrow Industries". The Times. London. 29 May 1936. p. 11.
- ^ a b "Berengaria Bought For Jarrow Shipbreaking To Help Unemployed". The Times. London. 8 November 1938. p. 11.
- ISBN 978-1-873047-10-1.
- ^ Jarvis, Sir John (2 October 1936). "Letters to the Editor: The Situation In Jarrow Two Years' Progress, What The Surrey Fund Has Done". The Times. London. p. 15.
- ^ a b Wilkinson, Ellen (3 October 1936). "Letters to the Editor: The Plight Of Jarrow". The Times. London. p. 8.
- ^ a b "Jarrow Honour For Sir John Jarvis Socialists Absent From Freedom Ceremony". The Times. London. 4 June 1935. p. 9.
- ^ "Mr. Charles Rhys, M.P., To Resign". The Times. London. 15 January 1934. p. 14.
- ^ a b c d "Politics At Guildford Two Possible National Candidates". The Times. London. 26 February 1934. pp. 16, 19.
- ^ a b c "The Guildford Division". The Times. London. 5 August 1935. p. 13.
- ^ a b "Seven Unionist Seats, Surrey Solid For The Government". The Times. London. 13 November 1935. p. 7.
- ^ "General Election: List Of Nominations". The Times. London. 5 November 1935. p. 8.
- ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
- ^ "No. 34268". The London Gazette. 27 March 1936. p. 1977.
- ^ "No. 37238". The London Gazette. 24 August 1945. p. 4294.
- ^ ""Special Areas" Their Cause And Cure, Lessons Of A Social Experiment". The Times. London. 27 November 1943. p. 5.
- ^ photo
- ^ "Steve Cram helps Jarrow and Hebburn Athletics Club celebrate its 80th anniversary". The Shields Gazette. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
External links