Jonathan Rashleigh (7 January 1820 – 12 April 1905) was an English landowner, local politician, and collector and numismatist of some repute.
Jonathan Rashleigh was born 7 January 1820 atWilsford,Wiltshire, the second son ofWilliam Rashleigh,[1] who in 1811 had inherited theMenabilly estate and sat asMember of Parliament (MP) for thePocket Borough of Fowey from 1812 to 1817. At the time of Jonathan's birth, William wasSheriff of Cornwall.
Rashleigh was educated atHarrow School, for which he played cricket,[2] and atBalliol College, Oxford, matriculating 1839 and graduatingB.A. in 1842.[3][1]
He married on 1 August 1843 Mary Pole Stuart, daughter ofWilliam Stuart, a BritishTory politician, and the couple lived in Cumberland Terrace,Regent's Park, London. Rashleigh appears to have lived as a gentleman of leisure, dedicating his time in part to his interest innumismatics. The couple had five children, but Mary died in 1852. Rashleigh served as a member of theMetropolitan Board of Works forSt Pancras, and as a member of theMetropolitan Asylums Board.[1]
He remarried 3 August 1869 to Jane Elizabeth Pugh, an heiress to a considerable Irish fortune, daughter of Arthur Pugh of Lissmore. The couple lived in Fortfield House,Sidmouth, Devon, and in 1871 purchased the Feniton Court estate nearHoniton, Devon. On 3 October 1871, Rashleigh's elder brother,William Rashleigh, who had inherited Menabilly in 1855, died without issue, and so that estate now passed to Jonathan Rashleigh. In addition the couple inherited lands at Lissmore, Ireland. Retaining all of these estates, the couple moved to Menabilly; they had four further children.[1]
The Menabilly estate had been in theRashleigh family since the 16th-century; in theReturn of Owners of Land, 1873, a survey of British landholdings, Menabilly was the largest private estate inCornwall of 30,156 acres (122.04 km2) or 3.97% of the total area of the county.[4] Once at Menabilly, Jonathan Rashleigh turned his attention to botany and horticulture, notably by developing the estate gardens. He served asDeputy Lieutenant of Cornwall, was its High Sheriff in 1877, and was a county magistrate.[1]
He died at Menabilly on 12 April 1905.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jonathan Rashleigh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 7 January 1820 Wilsford,Wiltshire,England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 12 April 1905(1905-04-12) (aged 85) Menabilly,Cornwall, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Unknown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Unknown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1841–1842 | Oxford University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:Cricinfo,10 December 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rashleigh was, briefly, acricketer active in the early 1840s, making four appearances infirst-class cricket. Hisbatting andbowling styles are unknown. He made his debut infirst-class cricket in 1841 forOxford University against theMarylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at theMagdalen Ground, Oxford. He made three further first-class appearances for the university in 1842, playing twice against the MCC and once inThe University Match againstOxford University atLord's.[5] He scored a total of 42 runs with a high score of 20,[6] while with the ball he took two wickets.[7]