Julius Drewe
Julius Charles Drewe | |
|---|---|
| Born | Julius Charles Drew 4 April 1856 |
| Died | 20 November 1931 |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Tea Merchant |
| Spouse | Frances Richardson |
| Children | Adrian, Basil, Cedric, Mary and Frances |
| Parent(s) | George and Mary Drew |
Julius Charles Drewe (Born Julius Charles Drew) (4 April 1856 – 20 November 1931) was an English businessman, retailer and entrepeneur, known for being the co-creator of the successful Home and Colonial Stores, as well as for the building of Castle Drogo in Devon as his family's country home.
Biography
Julius Drew (changed to Drewe in 1913) was born 4 April 1856 in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, to George, a clergyman, and Mary (nee Peek). He was the third youngest from his seven siblings, Mary, Reginald, Edith, Ada, William, Anna and Evelyn. He is the nephew of Richard Peek, one of the Sheriffs of the City of London.
He started his working life as a tea buyer in China and opened his first tea shop in Liverpool in 1878. In 1883 he moved to London to expand his enterprises. The business developed rapidly under the name of The Home and Colonial Stores. After only six years, in 1889, he and his partner, John Musker, were able to retire from active participation in the firm as rich men. Drewe was only thirty-three years old. In 1919 they sold their outstanding shares in the business for £1 million, a huge sum in those days.[1]
With his elder brother William he had always taken a keen interest in the history of the Drewe family. A genealogist convinced him that his family was descended from the Drewe's of Broadhembury near Honiton in Devon. Already in 1901 he bought land there and installed his brother William, a barrister, at Broadhembury House.
Julius married Frances (nee Richardson), on the 16th September 1890, and had 5 children. Adrian, Basil, Cedric, Mary and Frances.
The Drewe’s eldest son Adrian died in 1917 during the First World War in Ypres, France. His death was a terrible loss and Mr Drewe never fully recovered from the shock.
Basil, their second eldest, inherited Castle Drogo after Julius's death in 1931.
Cedric, their youngest son, was elected into the British House of Commons as a Member of Parliament in 1924, and in 1953 was appointed into the Royal Victorian Order as a Knight Commander.[2]
Julius died November 20, 1931 in Drewsteignton, England.
Castle Drogo
Castle Drogo is a country house near Drewsteignton, Devon, England. It was built in the 1910s and 1920s for Julius Drewe to designs by architect Edwin Lutyens, and is a Grade I listed building.[3]
Julius's first cousin was Richard Peek was the rector of Drewsteignton, named after Drogo de Teigne, and alleged forefather to the Drewes. Julius stayed on several occasions with his cousin and it must have been here that he conceived the idea of building a castle on the home ground of his ancestor. He found an ideal site, and in 1910 he bought about 450 acres south and west of the village (By the time of his death in 1931 he had bought up an estate of 1,500 acres). He then went to Edwin Lutyens, the most interesting architect of the time, and asked him to build his castle. According to his son Basil, he did so on the advice of William Hudson, proprietor of the Country Life Magazine, who was both a patron and a champion of Lutyens. Drewe was now 54 years old, but he still had time, energy and money to create his new family seat. On April 4, 1911, Drewe's 55th birthday, the first foundation stone was laid.[4]
The castle took many years to complete, with the First World War and the economic downturn causing many delays. Castle Drogo was finally completed in 1930, a year before Julius died.
After his death, his wife Frances and her son Basil continued to live at the castle. During 1939-45, Frances and her daughter Mary ran the house as a home for babies made homeless during the bombings of London.
Frances Drewe died in 1954 and Basil was then joined at Drogo by his son Anthony and his wife. In 1974, Anthony and his son, Dr Christopher Drewe, gave Castle Drogo and 600 acres of the surrounding land to the National Trust. It was the first 20th-century property the charity acquired.[5]
The stately home borrows styles of castle building from the medieval and Tudor periods, along with more minimalist contemporary approaches. A notable feature is the encasement of the service staircase, around which the main staircase climbs. Its defensive characteristics are essentially decorative.
The castle has a fine formal garden, designed by Lutyens with planting by Gertrude Jekyll, which contrasts effectively with its striking setting on the edge of Dartmoor. The garden is noted for its rhododendrons and magnolias, herbaceous borders, rose garden, shrub garden and circular croquet lawn.
Castle Drogo was the last castle to be built in England, and probably the last private house in the country to be built entirely of granite.