Sir John Cecil POWER, 1st Baronet

1870 - 1950  (79 years)

• Name	John Cecil POWER
  Prefix	Sir
  Suffix	1st Baronet
  Born	21 Dec 1870	Eldon, County Down, Ireland
  	Name: John Gender: Male Baptism/Christening Date: Baptism/Christening Place: 457, CASTLEREAGH NO 2, DOWN, IRE Birth Date: 21 Dec 1870 Birthplace: Castlereagh No 2, Down, Ire Father's Name: William Power Mother's Name: Cleopatra Cecilia Bargoyre Indexing Project (Batch) Number: C70144-1 System Origin: Ireland-VR Source Film Number: 255810 Reference Number: 2:HQBKTP Collection: Ireland Births and Baptisms, 1620-1881
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	1881
  	Scholar
  Census	1 Apr 1881	100 Hertford Road, St John, Hackney, London
  Occupation	1901
  	Patent Stone Manufacturer
  	Employer
  Census	1 Apr 1901	21 Lower Mall, Hammersmith, London
  Occupation	1911
  	Constructional Engineer (Employer)
  Census	1 Apr 1911	1 Queen's Ride, Barnes, London S.W.
  		John Cecil Power & family 1911 census
  Occupation	1917
  	Director
  Probate (Grant of)	25 Jan 1917
  	Granted probate on the estate of his father, William Taylor Power.
  Living	From 1920 to Abt 1948	Newlands Manor, Milford on Sea, Hampshire
  	Cleo's second son bought his Hampshire house from the son of Mary 'Patsy' Cornwallis-West, one of the mistresses of the future King George V.
  Occupation	From Oct 1924 to Jun 1945	Wimbledon, London
  	Member of Parliament
  Living	21 Nov 1925	97 Eaton Square, London S.W.
  Travel	21 Nov 1925	Liverpool, Lancashire
  	On board Montcalm from Montreal
  		Power family On board 'Montcalm' from Montreal
  Occupation	21 Nov 1925
  	M.P.
  Living	5 Jun 1950	Yeatton House, Hordle, Hampshire
  Died	5 Jun 1950	France
  	Power, Sir John Cecil, first baronet (1870–1950), company director and public benefactor, was born at Eldon, co. Down, on 21 December 1870, the younger son of William Taylor Power and his wife, Cecilia, daughter of Colonel John Burgoyne. At ten Power went to London where, with his brother, he was later to enter the firm of Power, Power & Co., export merchants with considerable business in the East. As a young man Power was delicate and had to spend three years in Italy, a sojourn which implanted in him a love of other countries and of travel which he was later to indulge whenever possible. In 1902 he married Mabel Katherine Louisa, daughter of John Hartley Perks JP of London and Wolverhampton; they had two sons and three daughters. After his marriage he bought a villa in the south of France to which he would go as often as business and, subsequently, parliamentary duties allowed. He paid a series of visits to the United States and went to Canada, India, and South Africa, afterwards lecturing and writing on his experiences. He served for many years as a member of the executive of the Travel and Industrial Development Association. Real estate soon tempted Power away from the family business; he had an unerring flair for property, together with considerable financial talent. His name is associated particularly with Kingsway, a London thoroughfare which opened up what had hitherto been slum property between Holborn and Aldwych. A number of its imposing buildings, such as Adastral House, were of Power's provenance. Power's success in real estate made him a wealthy man and enabled him to become a generous benefactor. His first great gift was in 1920, an anonymous benefaction prompted by the historian A. F. Pollard of £20,000 towards the founding of an institute of historical research in London. Next, in 1923, came a gift of £10,000 to the British (later Royal) Institute of International Affairs, for the erection of a lecture hall at the rear of the mansion (given by Colonel and Mrs R. W. Leonard) in St James's Square, London, which became known as Chatham House. Power was honorary treasurer of the institute from 1921 to 1943 and during his long association made many other gifts to the organization which included, in 1938, the leasehold premises of his own house in Chesham Place. This house he had hitherto made available to the British Council (before it moved to larger premises) of which he was honorary treasurer from 1934 to 1950. On the outbreak of war in 1939 the house in Belgrave Square, in which he was then living, was lent to the government for use as offices. Power was for many years associated with the League of Nations Union, serving on the executive committee from 1929 to 1936 and, at various times, on its appeals, finance, and parliamentary committees. In addition he was a member of the committee of the Royal Humane Society and, from 1934 to 1949, a director of the Royal Insurance Company. Politics early claimed Power's attention and in 1924, the year in which he became a baronet, he was elected Conservative member for Wimbledon, a seat which he held until 1945 when, his health beginning to fail, he withdrew to his country home in Hampshire. Power's friends came from all walks of life; he enjoyed good company and was a generous host. The personal tastes of this tenacious and indomitable Irishman were simple; apart from golf and cricket, he had few hobbies save music. He had fallen under the spell of the opera as a young man and would talk nostalgically of the days when he had frequented the gallery of La Scala. Opera remained his abiding delight, and he was regularly to be seen at Covent Garden in the London season. He never fully recovered from the shock of his wife's death in 1945. He continued, however, to make occasional visits to Villa Fressinet at Grasse, where he died on 5 June 1950. He was succeeded, as second baronet, by his elder son, Ivan McLannahan Cecil (1903–1954). Source: ODNB
  		Sir John Cecil Power Andrews Newspaper Index Cards
  Person ID	I19745	1. Essex Ennevers
  Last Modified	5 Apr 2013

  
  

  Father	William Taylor POWER,   Born:  1839, Ireland ,   Died:  29 Nov 1916, 15 Sheen Gate Gardens, East Sheen, Surrey  (Age 77 years)
  Mother	Cleopatra Cecilia BURGOYNE,   Born:  11 Jan 1844, Plymouth, Devon ,   Died:  6 Feb 1911, 103 Denison Avenue, Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, USA  (Age 67 years)
  Married	15 Jan 1867	Parish Church, Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland
  	Groom's Name: William Power Bride's Name: Clepatra Cecilia Burgoyne Marriage Date: 15 Jan 1867 Marriage Place: Dundach, Louth, Ireland Groom's Father's Name: John Power Bride's Father's Name: John Burgoyne Groom's Marital Status: Single Bride's Marital Status: Single Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M70237-2 System Origin: Ireland-EASy Source Film Number: 101505 Reference Number: P923-44 Collection: Ireland Marriages, 1619-1898
  		William Taylor Power & Cleopatra Cecilia Burgoyne
  Separation	Dec 1872
  Divorce Filed	6 May 1874
  	Petition Filed.
  		Power v Power & Bennett
  Divorced	7 Nov 1874
  	Decree Nisi.
  		Power v Power & Bennett
  Divorced	25 May 1875
  	Final Decree.
  		Power v Power & Bennett
  Family histories		Cleopatra Cecilia Burgoyne & Augustus Joseph Enever A story of a broken marriage, power and Power, aristocracy, misery, the exalted position of 'Once Master of British commerce' and some surprising connections in the family
  		Name changes in the Ennever and associated families Information about many of the name changes that have occurred.
  		Well-known family members All family members who I have found featured in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography or its Australian equivalent, Who's Who 2008 or with an obituary in The Times.
  Family ID	F4484	Family Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family (spouse)	Lady Mabel Katherine Louisa PERKS,   Born:  1884/5, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland ,   Died:  31 Mar 1945  (Age 60 years)
  Married	14 Oct 1902	Kensington District, London
  Children	1. Ivan McLannahan Cecil POWER,   Born:  1903/4, Kensington, London ,   Died:  Yes, date unknown   2. Mary Lois Cecil POWER,   Born:  1907/8, Kensington, London ,   Died:  Yes, date unknown   3. Cynthia Mabel Cecil POWER,   Born:  1909/10, Kensington, London ,   Died:  Yes, date unknown   4. George F C POWER,   Born:  1919, Chelsea District, London ,   Died:  Yes, date unknown
  Family histories		Well-known family members All family members who I have found featured in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography or its Australian equivalent, Who's Who 2008 or with an obituary in The Times.
  Family ID	F6067	Family Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 21 Dec 1870 - Eldon, County Down, Ireland Census - 1 Apr 1881 - 100 Hertford Road, St John, Hackney, London Census - 1 Apr 1901 - 21 Lower Mall, Hammersmith, London Married - 14 Oct 1902 - Kensington District, London Census - 1 Apr 1911 - 1 Queen's Ride, Barnes, London S.W. Living - From 1920 to Abt 1948 - Newlands Manor, Milford on Sea, Hampshire Occupation - Member of Parliament - From Oct 1924 to Jun 1945 - Wimbledon, London Living - 21 Nov 1925 - 97 Eaton Square, London S.W. Travel - On board Montcalm from Montreal - 21 Nov 1925 - Liverpool, Lancashire Living - 5 Jun 1950 - Yeatton House, Hordle, Hampshire Died - 5 Jun 1950 - France  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photographs

  Sir John Cecil Power National Portrait Gallery

  
  

  Documents		John Power The Belfast Hotel and some info. re Power family in Holywood
  		Power lineage Burke's P&G 1999 p2/2
  		Power lineage Burke's P&G 1999 p1/2
  		Sir John Cecil Power Source: ODNB
  		Sir John Cecil Power Source: ODNB