John Hare, 1st Viscount Blakenham

For other people named John Hare, see John Hare (disambiguation).

The Viscount Blakenham OBE, PC, DL
Secretary of State for War
In office 18 October 1956 – 6 January 1958
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Sir Anthony Eden Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	Anthony Head
Succeeded by	Christopher Soames
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
In office 6 January 1958 – 27 July 1960
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	Derick Heathcoat-Amory
Succeeded by	Christopher Soames
Minister of Labour
In office 27 July 1960 – 20 October 1963
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan
Preceded by	Edward Heath
Succeeded by	Joseph Godber
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office 20 October 1963 – 18 October 1964
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Alec Douglas-Home
Preceded by	Iain Macleod
Succeeded by	Douglas Houghton
Personal details
Born	22 January 1911 (1911-01-22)
Died	7 March 1982 (1982-03-08)
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Hon. Nancy Pearson (1908-1994)

John Hugh Hare, 1st Viscount Blakenham OBE, PC, DL (22 January 1911–7 March 1982), was a British Conservative politician.

1 Background and education
2 Political career
3 Family
4 Blakenham Woodland Garden
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links

Background and education

Blakenham was the third son of The Rt. Hon. Richard Hare, 4th Earl of Listowel, an Anglo-Irish aristocrat, and The Hon. Freda Vanden-Bampde-Johnstone. His elder brother, The 5th Earl of Listowel, was a prominent Labour politician. He was educated at Eton.

Political career

Blackenham was an Alderman of London County Council between 1937 and 1952 and fought in the Second World War with the Suffolk Yeomanry in Italy and was awarded the Legion of Honour and appointed an OBE. He sat as Member of Parliament for Woodbridge between 1945 and 1950 and for Sudbury and Woodbridge between 1950 and 1963 and was vice-chairman of the Conservative Party between 1952 and 1955. He served under Sir Anthony Eden as Minister of State for the Colonies between 1955 and 1956 and under Eden and his successor, Harold Macmillan, as Secretary of State for War from 1956 to 1958.

He later held office under Macmillan as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from 1958 to 1960 and Minister of Labour between 1960 and 1963. He was admitted to the Privy Council in 1955 and in 1963 he was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Blakenham, of Little Blakenham in the County of Suffolk. Blakenham then served under Sir Alec Douglas-Home as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Deputy Leader of the House of Lords from 1963 to 1964 and was chairman of the Conservative Party between 1963 and 1965.

Hare received the Victoria Medal of Honour from the Royal Humane Society in 1974.^[1]

Family

Lord Blakenham married the Hon. Nancy Pearson, daughter of Weetman Pearson, 2nd Viscount Cowdray, on 31 January 1934. They had three children:

Hon. Mary Anne Hare (b. 9 April 1936)
Michael John Hare, 2nd Viscount Blakenham (b. 25 January 1938)
Hon. Joanna Freda Hare (b. 27 July 1942), married 1967 to United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer

Lord Blakenham died in March 1982, aged 71, and was succeeded in the viscountcy by his only son, Michael. Lady Blakenham died in November 1994, aged 86.

Blakenham Woodland Garden

In 1951 he purchased wood close to his home. Over the following years he created glades and paths through the bluebells and planted many rare plants. In 1982 he became treasurer of the Royal Horticultural Society. The wood was inherited by his son and is open to the public.^[2] On his death the wood was made into a charitable trust. His son, Michael Blakenham, a lifelong environmentalist has increased the stock of unusual specimens and has bought many rare including unnamed trees and shrubs from auctions at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.^[3]

Notes

^ Mosley, Charles (ed.) (2003) "John Hugh Hare, 1st Viscount Blakenham" Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage 107th edition, 3 volumes, Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A., volume 1, page 391.
^ "History of the Garden". Blakenham Woodland Garden. http://www.blakenhamwoodlandgarden.org.uk/about.html. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
^ "The gardens today". http://www.blakenhamwoodlandgarden.org.uk/about2.html. Retrieved 2010-05-02.

References

www.thepeerage.com

External links

Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Viscount Blakenham

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Walter Ross-Taylor	Member of Parliament for Woodbridge 1945–1950	Constituency abolished
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Sudbury and Woodbridge 1950–1963	Succeeded by Keith Stainton
Political offices
Preceded by Anthony Head	Secretary of State for War 1956–1958	Succeeded by Christopher Soames
Preceded by Derick Heathcoat Amory	Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 1958–1960	Succeeded by Christopher Soames
Preceded by Edward Heath	Minister of Labour 1960–1963	Succeeded by Joseph Godber
Preceded by Iain Macleod	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1963–1964	Succeeded by Douglas Houghton
Party political offices
Preceded by Iain Macleod	Chairman of the Conservative Party 1963–1965	Succeeded by Edward du Cann
Peerage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Viscount Blakenham 1963–1982	Succeeded by Michael Hare

Persondata
Name	Hare, John
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	22 January 1911
Place of birth
Date of death	7 March 1982
Place of death