Walter Jones (polo)
Encyclopedia
Walter John Henry Jones (June 4, 1866 – April 14, 1932), was an English
polo player
.
He was born at The Elms, Warrington
, the son of William Charles Jones and Lucretia Elizabeth Jones. His father was the owner of Jones Brothers Cotton Mills in Leigh, and extremely wealthy. Jones was a fine sportsman, was educated at Harrow School
and Jesus College, Cambridge
, and played polo
, primarily for the "Rugby" team. He represented Great Britain
in polo at the 1908 Summer Olympics
, playing for the Hurlingham team, winning the silver medal. He lived at Hurlingham Lodge in Fulham, London. He married Maud, the widow of George Lyttelton Dewhurst (another Lancashire cotton magnate) of Beechwood, Lymm, Cheshire and Aberuchill Castle, Scotland.
Jones, a cotton-broker, was an important collector of first editions and watercolours and enjoyed big-game hunting, fishing and polo. He purchased J.M.W Turners's The Blue Rigi from Agnew's in 1912, who had purchased it at the Taylor sale for 2,700 guineas, but although he was interested in The Red Rigi (purchased for 2,100 guineas) he hesitated. It was sold to R.A. Tatton before being auctioned, yet again at Christie's, in 1928 when it was bought, yet again by Agnew's, and sold to Jones. Along with other drawings by British artists, the collection passed to Jones' widow, and was sold after her death at Christie's on 3 July 1942. Though The Blue Rigi still fetched the highest price in the sale, the wartime date explains the relatively low prices, The Blue Rigi going for 1500 guineas, The Red Rigi for 1100 guineas. The seventeen other Turners in the sale, in addition to the Rigis, ranged in date from The West Entrance of Peterborough Cathedral of 1795 to a late Venetian watercolour of circa 1841 and included two of the 1817 Rhine series of watercolours painted for Walter Fawkes, probably Turner's greatest patron, and other British, German, Swiss and Italian subjects.
He died leaving a net estate of £327,406.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
polo player
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...
.
He was born at The Elms, Warrington
Warrington
Warrington is a town, borough and unitary authority area of Cheshire, England. It stands on the banks of the River Mersey, which is tidal to the west of the weir at Howley. It lies 16 miles east of Liverpool, 19 miles west of Manchester and 8 miles south of St Helens...
, the son of William Charles Jones and Lucretia Elizabeth Jones. His father was the owner of Jones Brothers Cotton Mills in Leigh, and extremely wealthy. Jones was a fine sportsman, was educated at Harrow School
Harrow School
Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...
and Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
, and 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...
, primarily for the "Rugby" team. He represented Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in polo at the 1908 Summer Olympics
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...
, playing for the Hurlingham team, winning the silver medal. He lived at Hurlingham Lodge in Fulham, London. He married Maud, the widow of George Lyttelton Dewhurst (another Lancashire cotton magnate) of Beechwood, Lymm, Cheshire and Aberuchill Castle, Scotland.
Jones, a cotton-broker, was an important collector of first editions and watercolours and enjoyed big-game hunting, fishing and polo. He purchased J.M.W Turners's The Blue Rigi from Agnew's in 1912, who had purchased it at the Taylor sale for 2,700 guineas, but although he was interested in The Red Rigi (purchased for 2,100 guineas) he hesitated. It was sold to R.A. Tatton before being auctioned, yet again at Christie's, in 1928 when it was bought, yet again by Agnew's, and sold to Jones. Along with other drawings by British artists, the collection passed to Jones' widow, and was sold after her death at Christie's on 3 July 1942. Though The Blue Rigi still fetched the highest price in the sale, the wartime date explains the relatively low prices, The Blue Rigi going for 1500 guineas, The Red Rigi for 1100 guineas. The seventeen other Turners in the sale, in addition to the Rigis, ranged in date from The West Entrance of Peterborough Cathedral of 1795 to a late Venetian watercolour of circa 1841 and included two of the 1817 Rhine series of watercolours painted for Walter Fawkes, probably Turner's greatest patron, and other British, German, Swiss and Italian subjects.
He died leaving a net estate of £327,406.