Nicholas Nuttall
Encyclopedia
Sir Nicholas Keith Lillington Nuttall, 3rd Baronet (21 September 1933 - 29 July 2007) was the heir to the Edmund Nuttall
construction
and civil engineering
business. He also inherited the Nuttall baronetcy
on his father's death in 1941, when he was eight years old. After a career in the British Army
, he sold the family company in 1978 and emigrated to the Bahamas, where he become involved in marine conservation
.
, the son of Sir Keith Nuttall, 2nd Baronet (1901-1941)
, who ran the family engineering business, Edmund Nuttall, Sons & Co. Ltd
, in the 1920s and 1930s. The business had been founded by Nuttall's great-grandfather James Nuttall in Manchester
in 1865, and built into a nationwide business by Nuttall's grandfather, Sir Edmund Nuttall, 1st Baronet (1870-1923), who became a baronet
in 1922.
Nuttall's father became a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Engineers
in the Second World War. Wounded in the retreat to Dunkirk, Sir Keith died on 31 August 1941; his eight year old son, Nicholas, inherited the title, the family company, and the family seat at Lowesby Hall near Melton Mowbray
in Leicestershire. His mother remarried, becoming Mrs Edward Kirkpatrick.
and Sandhurst
, and took a commission in the Royal Horse Guards
in 1953. He played polo
, and was an amateur jockey
. On his own horse, Stalbridge Park, he won the Grand Military Gold Cup at Sandown Park in 1958, came second in 1959, then third in 1960, won again in 1961, and came second another time in 1962. He served in Cyprus
during the Cyprus Emergency. By 1966, he was a major, in command of the Guards Independent Parachute Regiment. He resigned his commission in 1968, on the death of his mother, to take over the family firm. He held a party at Lowesby Hall in 1959, to celebrate the restoration of a painted ceiling by Antonio Verrio
, and held a dance in tents at Lowesby in 1976, shortly before it was sold, emulating a party held by the Shah of Iran
in the desert in 1972.
Nuttall supported the Labour
government's Channel Tunnel
project in the 1970s. The company was later involved in the construction of High Speed 1. The company was bought by Hollandsche Beton Groep (later HBG), a Dutch group, in 1978, and he emigrated shortly afterwards with his third wife, Miranda, moving to Lyford Cay
, near Nassau, Bahamas
, on New Providence
there, although he kept a house in Chelsea
. He became involved in marine conservation
and founded the Bahamas Reef Environmental Educational Foundation
(BREEF), almost single-handedly transforming local attitudes to maritime conservation. The Nassau Guardian lauded him after his death as a "prominent local environmentalist... at the forefront of a number of important marine conservation initiatives and environmental causes".
. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by Harry, his son from his first marriage.
Edmund Nuttall
BAM Nuttall Limited is a construction and civil engineering company headquartered in Camberley, United Kingdom. It has been involved in a portfolio of road, rail, nuclear, and other major projects worldwide...
construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
and civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
business. He also inherited the Nuttall baronetcy
Nuttall Baronets
The Nuttall Baronetcy, of Chasefield in the Parish of Bowdon in the County of Chester, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 22 June 1922 for Edmund Nuttall...
on his father's death in 1941, when he was eight years old. After a career in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, he sold the family company in 1978 and emigrated to the Bahamas, where he become involved in marine conservation
Marine conservation
Marine conservation, also known as marine resources conservation, is the protection and preservation of ecosystems in oceans and seas. Marine conservation focuses on limiting human-caused damage to marine ecosystems, and on restoring damaged marine ecosystems...
.
Background
Nuttall was born in LeicestershireLeicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
, the son of Sir Keith Nuttall, 2nd Baronet (1901-1941)
Nuttall Baronets
The Nuttall Baronetcy, of Chasefield in the Parish of Bowdon in the County of Chester, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 22 June 1922 for Edmund Nuttall...
, who ran the family engineering business, Edmund Nuttall, Sons & Co. Ltd
Edmund Nuttall
BAM Nuttall Limited is a construction and civil engineering company headquartered in Camberley, United Kingdom. It has been involved in a portfolio of road, rail, nuclear, and other major projects worldwide...
, in the 1920s and 1930s. The business had been founded by Nuttall's great-grandfather James Nuttall in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
in 1865, and built into a nationwide business by Nuttall's grandfather, Sir Edmund Nuttall, 1st Baronet (1870-1923), who became a baronet
Baronet
A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary baronetcy awarded by the British Crown...
in 1922.
Nuttall's father became a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
in the Second World War. Wounded in the retreat to Dunkirk, Sir Keith died on 31 August 1941; his eight year old son, Nicholas, inherited the title, the family company, and the family seat at Lowesby Hall near Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray is a town in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It is to the northeast of Leicester, and southeast of Nottingham...
in Leicestershire. His mother remarried, becoming Mrs Edward Kirkpatrick.
Career
Sir Nicholas was educated at Eton CollegeEton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
, and took a commission in the Royal Horse Guards
Royal Horse Guards
The Royal Horse Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry.Founded August 1650 in Newcastle Upon Tyne by Sir Arthur Haselrig on the orders of Oliver Cromwell as the Regiment of Cuirassiers, the regiment became the Earl of Oxford's Regiment during the reign of...
in 1953. He played polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
, and was an amateur jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
. On his own horse, Stalbridge Park, he won the Grand Military Gold Cup at Sandown Park in 1958, came second in 1959, then third in 1960, won again in 1961, and came second another time in 1962. He served in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
during the Cyprus Emergency. By 1966, he was a major, in command of the Guards Independent Parachute Regiment. He resigned his commission in 1968, on the death of his mother, to take over the family firm. He held a party at Lowesby Hall in 1959, to celebrate the restoration of a painted ceiling by Antonio Verrio
Antonio Verrio
The Italian-born Antonio Verrio was responsible for introducing Baroque mural painting into England and served the Crown over a thirty year period.-Career:...
, and held a dance in tents at Lowesby in 1976, shortly before it was sold, emulating a party held by the Shah of Iran
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
in the desert in 1972.
Nuttall supported the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
government's Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
project in the 1970s. The company was later involved in the construction of High Speed 1. The company was bought by Hollandsche Beton Groep (later HBG), a Dutch group, in 1978, and he emigrated shortly afterwards with his third wife, Miranda, moving to Lyford Cay
Lyford Cay
Lyford Cay is a private gated community located on the western tip of New Providence Island, Bahamas. Considered one of the world's wealthiest and most exclusive neighborhoods, the Lyford Cay Club was built during the latter part of the 1950s by prominent Canadian businessman Edward Plunkett Taylor...
, near Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
, on New Providence
New Providence
New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It also houses the national capital city, Nassau.The island was originally under Spanish control following Christopher Columbus' discovery of the New World, but the Spanish government showed...
there, although he kept a house in Chelsea
Chelsea, London
Chelsea is an area of West London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe above...
. He became involved in marine conservation
Marine conservation
Marine conservation, also known as marine resources conservation, is the protection and preservation of ecosystems in oceans and seas. Marine conservation focuses on limiting human-caused damage to marine ecosystems, and on restoring damaged marine ecosystems...
and founded the Bahamas Reef Environmental Educational Foundation
Bahamas Reef Environmental Educational Foundation
The Bahamas Reef Environmental Educational Foundation is a non-government organization in the Bahamas devoted to the conservation of the marine environment. It campaigns for to preserve the coral reef ecosystems in the seas around the Bahamas, to protect local fishing grounds, and is also...
(BREEF), almost single-handedly transforming local attitudes to maritime conservation. The Nassau Guardian lauded him after his death as a "prominent local environmentalist... at the forefront of a number of important marine conservation initiatives and environmental causes".
Family life
Nuttall married four times.- Caroline York, daughter of former Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Christopher YorkChristopher YorkMajor Christopher York was a British Conservative politician.York was the eldest son of Captain Edward York and his wife, Violet Helen née Milner, daughter of Sir Frederick Milner, 7th Baronet...
, on 20 December 1960. They had one son, Harry, and a daughter, Tamara; and divorced in 1971. - Julia Williamson, formerly Lady Patrick Beresford, daughter of Col. Thomas Cromwell Williamson, D.S.O., of Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex. Lord Patrick Beresford had been Sir Nicholas's best man at his first wedding. Lord Patrick and his wife Julia (married 1964, divorced 1971) had issue: Valentine Tristram Beresford, (b. 1965) and Samantha Julia Beresford, (b. 1969) who were both attendants at the 1973 wedding of Camilla Shand (now HRH The Duchess of Cornwall) to her first husband Andrew Parker Bowles (see "Shand family update"); they divorced in 1975.
- Miranda Quarry (stepdaughter of Stormont Mancroft, 2nd Baron MancroftStormont Mancroft, 2nd Baron MancroftStormont Mancroft Samuel Mancroft, 2nd Baron Mancroft KBE , was a British Conservative politician.Mancroft was the son of Arthur Michael Samuel, 1st Baron Mancroft, and Phoebe Fletcher. In 1925 he assumed by deed poll the surname of Mancroft...
and ex-wife of Peter SellersPeter SellersRichard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
; later wife of Alexander Macmillan, 2nd Earl of StocktonAlexander Macmillan, 2nd Earl of StocktonAlexander Daniel Alan Macmillan, 2nd Earl of Stockton is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He is the first son of the late Conservative politician Maurice Macmillan and the first grandson of former prime minister Harold Macmillan.-Life:Lord Stockton was educated at Eton...
); they had three daughters: Gytha, Amber and Olympia. - Eugenie McWeeney, from Bahamas, clothing designer and sister of former Attorney-General of The Bahamas, Sean McWeeney QC ; they had a son, Alexander.
-
- His daughters, Olympia and Amber, were married in May and June 2007, respectively.
Death
He died of lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by Harry, his son from his first marriage.