YORKE
,
SIMON
(
1903
-
1966
)
,
the fifth descendant of that name from
Simon
Yorke
(
1606
-
1682
),
wholesale grocer
of
Dover
, grandfather of
Earl Hardwicke
; b.
24 June 1903
, eldest son of
Philip
Yorke
(
1849
-
1922
),
Erddig, Denbs.
, and his second wife
Louisa Matilda
(née
Scott
)
. He was educated at
Moorland House
,
Heswall
;
Cheltenham College
; and
Corpus Christi College
,
Cambridge
. He graduated
B.A.
in forestry in
1927
. In
1922
he inherited
Erddig
near
Wrexham
. He was
High Sheriff for Denbighshire
in
1937
. Although he was a
lieutenant
in the
Denbighshire Yeomanry
, when
World War II
came he enlisted as a
private soldier
in the
North Staffordshire Regiment
. In accordance with his wishes he remained a
sapper
, without seeking or gaining promotion.
His relationship with his tenants was not a happy one. He refused them permission to have electricity nor a telephone on their farms. Although he was not a
huntsman
, he
followed the hounds on his bicycle
and he always knew where to find the fox. He was found d. of
heart failure
in
Erddig Park
,
7 May 1966
, and was buried in
Marchwiel churchyard
. He was a bachelor and d. intestate.
Erddig
was inherited by his brother
Philip Scott
Yorke
(
1905
-
1976
).
Bibliography:
-
Merlin Waterson
,
The Servants’ Hall a domestic history of
Erddig
, London, 1980
(1980)
;
-
[
Oliver Garnett
,
Erddig
, London, 1999
(1999)
].
Author:
John Gwilym Jones, Wrexham
