George Cubitt, 1st Baron Ashcombe, PC, DL (4 June 1828 – 26 February 1917) of Denbies House, Dorking, Surrey, was a British politician and peer, a son of Thomas Cubitt, the leading London builder and property developer of his day.
Hansard shows he made 81 speeches or questions in Parliament, from 1863 to 1909, including contributing in four years of the 1890s and two years of the 1900s.[4]
Denbies, a large hillside north of Dorking, Surrey was part of the inheritance from his father; Cubitt lived in the mansion built by his father there until 1905, much of which has been taken up by a viticulture centre, spa hotel, restaurant and vineyard.[5]
Upmarket street Ashcombe Road in Dorking is named after his peerage as is its amenity The Ashcombe School, the town's main senior school.
Through his funds he founded a landmark, hilltop church of St Barnabas, Ranmore Common, provided for the Denbies Estate's owners and employees.[6] Collaborative historians' work the Victoria County History states it is "a handsome stone church, with chancel, nave, and aisles in 13th-century style".[6]
Cubitt purchased Bodiam Castle and its 24 acres (9.7 ha) from Fuller's grandson in 1849, possibly local farmer Thomas Levett, descendant of an old Sussex family and owner of Court Lodge Farm a seller in a later smaller sale nearby, for over £5,000 (£660,000 today).[7]. Lord Curzon decided that "so rare a treasure [as Bodiam Castle] should neither be lost to our country nor desecrated by irreverent hands". Curzon made enquiries about buying the castle, but Cubitt did not wish to sell. However, after Cubitt's death, Curzon was able to make a deal with Cubitt's son; he bought the castle and its lands in 1916.[8] Curzon began a programme of investigation at Bodiam in 1919, and with architect William Weir more greatly restored parts of the castle. Its museum, design and authenticity make it a significant English tourist attraction.
While an MP for West Surrey, Cubitt and his wife Laura, Lady Ashcombe were among the founders and benefactors of St Catherine's School in Bramley, Surrey in 1885. One of the schoolhouses was named in his honour after his death. His wife's gift to the school was a Sanatorium, which cared for sick pupils. A stained glassed window in the school chapel, dedicated to St Cecilia, was created by Cubitt in remembrance of his wife after she died in 1904. The patron of the school is their great-great-granddaughter Queen Camilla.[9][10]
His will passed assets worth £42,168 (equivalent to about £3,000,000 in 2023) its executor being his surviving son.[11]
Death and burial
He died on 26 February 1917[12] and was buried in the churchyard of St Barnabas's.[5]
George Cubitt funerary monument, St Barnabas's Church, Ranmore Common, Surrey
Family
Cubitt married Laura Joyce, daughter of Rev. James Joyce, Vicar of Dorking, on 14 June 1853 and with her had 9 children; 3 sons, though only the third, Henry, survived beyond infancy, and 6 daughters, one of whom died in infancy:
Geoffrey George Cubitt (born 31 May 1854, died 6 June 1855)
Thomas Edmund Wilfred Cubitt (born 5 August 1859, died 17 May 1865)
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