| Administrative History | John Harpur Crewe (1824-1886), 9th Baronet, was born at Calke Abbey and baptised at Calke, the son of George and Jane Crewe. He attended Rugby School from 1838. He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford in 1843 and subsequently entered Trinity College, Cambridge as a fellow commoner. His coming of age in November 1845 was celebrated with the ringing of the bells of Derby churches: a few days later, at St George's, Hanover Square, John Harpur Crewe married his cousin Georgiana Jane Henrietta Eliza Lovell, daughter of William Stanhope Lovell and Selina Harpur. The couple lived at Calke Abbey, where their three children were born. John Harpur Crewe pursued interests in hunting and fishing, in the breeding and showing of livestock and in ornithology. (In a speech made in 1868 in Derby John Harpur Crewe reflected that in his early life he was "too fond of field sports and sadly neglected [his] duties.") He played some part in public life, being appointed High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1853 and a deputy lieutenant in 1854. He was regarded as a considerate landlord, often remitting a proportion of farm rents in the face of poor harvests. He died at Calke in 1886 and was buried there. There is a memorial inscription in Calke church. There are further relevant records at D769/B/8A/105/3 and at D6910. There are documents relating to John Harpur and Georgina Crewe in the Wilkinson papers at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford: Georgina Crewe was cousin of Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (1797-1875). |