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Sir Ernest Paget, 1st Baronet
Sir Ernest Paget, late 19th century
Born
George Ernest Paget

(1841-11-10)10 November 1841
Sutton Bonnington, Nottinghamshire
Died30 December 1923(1923-12-30) (aged 82)
Sutton Bonnington, Nottinghamshire
EducationHarrow School
Occupation(s)civil engineer and railway executive
Spouse
Sophia Holden
​
(m. 1864)​
ChildrenSir Cecil Paget

Sir George Ernest Paget, 1st Baronet JP DL (10 November 1841 – 30 December 1923) was an English civil engineer, railway executive, and racehorse owner. He was chairman of Midland Railway from 1890 to 1911.[1][2]

Early life and education

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Paget was born in 1841 at Sutton Bonington, Leicestershire, the sole surviving son of George Byng Paget, a wealthy landholder and farmer from Loughborough, and Sophia Mary Tebbut, the daughter of William Tebbutt of Kingston on Soar. His family were landed gentry in Leicester and Nottinghamshire, a branch of the Pagets of Ibstock, Humberstone, and Oxendon. He was baptised Presbyterian. He had one sister, Eliza, who married the architect Henry Darbishire.[3]

He was educated at Harrow.[1]

In December 1857, his father was elected chairman of the Midland Railway but fell ill and died the following month, before he was able to attend a meeting.[4]

Military career

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Paget joined the 7th Queen's Own Hussars as an ensign in 1860.[5] The following year he was promoted to cornet and transferred to the Royal Horse Guards.[6] He was promoted to lieutenant in April 1864.[7] In November 1864, he was made a cornet in Leicestershire Yeomanry (Prince Albert's Own).[8]

Paget resigned from the Royal Horse Guards in 1866[9] but remained in the Leicestershire Yeomanry, in which he was promoted to captain in 1871[10] and to major in 1882.[11] In 1885, he resigned and was granted the honorary rank of lieutenant-colonel.[12]

Railway career

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In 1870, Paget became a director of the Midland Railway. In 1881, he was appointed chairman of the Traffic Committee. In 1884 became deputy-chairman of the Board and in 1890 was elected chairman. He held the office until his retirement in 1911 due to poor health.[2]


He was also director the Inter-Oceanic Railway of Mexico, chairman of the Mexican Southern Railway Co., and the South-Western of Venezuela Railway Co., Ltd., ex-officio chairman of the Forth Bridge Railway Co., the Somerset and Dorset Railway Co., the Tottenham and Forest Gate Railway, the Tottenham and Hampstead Junction Railway, and vice-chairman of the Australian timber railway Millars Karri and Jarrah Forests Limited.[2]

Sir Ernest Paget, who always showed "marked ability and extreme courtesy", very rarely was absent from meetings of the Board and committees, and presided at every half yearly and special meeting, his during his 21 years as chairman. represented the Midland Company on 21 joint committees with other companies.

He was Midland's representative on the Railway Companies' Association on the reorganisation of that body in was elected a member of the Council, serving the office of deputy chairman in and chairman for 1904-5 and 1906-6.

Paget was a strong advocate of co-operation among railway companies, believing it would ensure better service to the public and avoid unnecessary conflicts in Parliament. This resulted in smooth relations among Midland, London and North Eastern Railway, and Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.[13]









£1,000 (equivalent to £125,000 in 2023) was allotted to commission his portrait.[13]





He resigned in 1911 because of illness and was succeeded by George Murray Smith.[14]




he was also vice-chairman of Millares Karri and Jarrah Forests. He was created a baronet in September, 1897.

Paget was created a Baronet, of Sutton Bonington in the County of Nottingham, on 25 September 1897,[15] in recognition of achievements of Midland Railway during the reign of Queen Victoria. improvement of accommodation for third-class passengers, in which Midland were pioneers.[16]

Public service

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Sir Ernest was also active in county business; he was High Sheriff of Notts in 1898, for 30 years chairman of the County Joint Comnittee, and a former chairman of the Notts Quarter Sessions.


Sir Ernest took an active parts in Notts, county affairs. He was Deputy-Lieutenant of the county, and he filled the office of High Sheriff in 1893. He was justice of the peace both for Notts, and Leicestershire. He succeeded the late Lord Belper as chairman of the Notts. Quarter Sessions up«n that nobleman's retirement, but resigned after holding the position only few months in October, 1911. He was chairman of tho Notts. Standing Joint Committee for 20 years, being appointed upon the formation of that body, and resigning in April, 1919. Deceased was elected member of the Jockey Club in 1884, and was staunch supporter racing. His colours, black jacket, French grey sleeves, and red cap were carried with success by several good horses. One of the best was Paragon, wljich ran third to Tetratema in the Two Thousand Guineas of 1920, and the following year carried off the Kempton Jubilee and Duke of York Stakes. His Corn Sack won the City and Suburban Epsom in 1920. Last year hopes were entertained that his Re-echo would win the Derby. The animal ran disappointingly, however, as he did also in the St. Leger, hut made some amends by carrying off the Cambridgeshire. Sir Ernest was familiar figure Derby race metings, where he invariably attended as steward. He was president for one year of the Notts. County Cricket Club.[2]

Horse racing

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For many years Sir Ernest had horses in training at Newmarket with P. P. Gilpin, and more recently with College Leader. His best horses in recent years were Paragon, with whom he won the Jubilee in 1921, the Duke of York Stakes in 1921,and the Cityand Suburban in 1922; Re-Echo, who Won the Cambridgeshire in 1922 and the Woodcote Stakes in 1921; and Cornsack, who won the City and Suburban in 1920. Sir Ernest was elected a member of the Jockey Club in 1884, and was one of the senior members of the Club. His colours were black, Fzench grey sleeves, and red cap.

Personal life

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On 10 November 1864, he married Sophia Holden (died 1913), daughter of Col. Charles Holden. They had three children:[17]

  • Hylda Sophia Paget (20 March 1866 – 31 March 1959), married in 1902, Lt.-Col. William Arthur Tilney, and mother of Brig. Robert Tilney
  • Capt. George Leigh Paget (16 July 1871 – 10 October 1900), killed in action in the Boer War
  • Lt.-Col. Cecil Walter Paget (1874–1936), married firstly in 1906 Lady Alexandra Louisa Godolphin Osbourne (divorced 1925), daughter of 9th Duke of Leeds; married secondly in 1927, Florence Butt, daughter of James Butt

26 Sept. 1897. Arms—Sa., a cross engrailed between in the 1st and 4th quarters an escallop erg. Crest—A lion rampant as., collared of supporting an antique shield arg., charged with an escallop so. Motto—Espere et persevere. Seats —Sutton Boningcnn, Loughborough ; King's Newton, Derby. Clubs--Boodle's ; Carlton.

Lady Paget died in 6 May 1913.[18]

He died at the end of 1923 at Sutton Bonington, aged 82. He died the day after George Child Villiers, 8th Earl of Jersey, another senior member of the Jockey Club.[19]

His second son, Cecil, inherited the baronetcy. He was a noted locomotive engineer and railway administrator. The title became extinct on his death in 1936 without an heir.[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Obituary: Sir Ernest Paget". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 1 January 1924. p. 14.
  2. ^ a b c d "Sir Ernest Paget – Death of Former Midland Railway Chairman – Prominent on the Turf". Derby Daily Telegraph. 31 December 1923. p. 2. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  3. ^ Burke, Bernard (1925). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry. Burke Publishing Company. pp. 1357–1358. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  4. ^ Stretton, Clement Edwin (1901). The History of the Midland Railway. London, Methuen & co. p. 262. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  5. ^ "No. 7037". The Edinburgh Gazette. 3 August 1860. p. 974.
  6. ^ "No. 22502". The London Gazette. 16 April 1861. p. 1616.
  7. ^ "No. 22843". The London Gazette. 12 April 1864. p. 2054.
  8. ^ "No. 7480". The Edinburgh Gazette. 1 November 1864. p. 1355.
  9. ^ "No. 7603". The Edinburgh Gazette. 2 January 1866. p. 2.
  10. ^ "No. 23803". The London Gazette. 8 December 1871. p. 5521.
  11. ^ "No. 25124". The London Gazette. 4 July 1882. p. 3101.
  12. ^ "No. 25544". The London Gazette. 29 December 1885. p. 6300.
  13. ^ a b "Testimonial to Sir Ernest Paget". Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal. 17 February 1912. p. 7. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Sir Ernest Paget Resigns the Chairmanship of the Midland Company". The Daily News. London. 7 October 1911. p. 5. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  15. ^ "No. 26896". The London Gazette. 1 October 1897. p. 5380.
  16. ^ Mellors, Robert (1924). Men of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire: Being Biographical Notices of Five Hundred Men and Women who Were Born, Or Worked, Or Abode, Or Died in the County of City of Nottingham. Bell. p. 201. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  17. ^ Burke, Sir Bernard; Burke, Ashworth P., eds. (1934). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage, and Companionage. Vol. II. London: Burke's Peerage. p. 2066. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Deaths". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 8 May 1913. p. 1.
  19. ^ "Obituary. Lord Jersey and Sir Ernest Paget". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 1 January 1924. p. 12.
  20. ^ "Obituary: Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Cecil Paget". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 12 December 1936. p. 19.
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