John Francis Fortescue Horner

Sir John Francis Fortescue Horner, KCVO, (1842–1927) was a British barrister. His family had lived at Mells Manor for generations and many have memorials in St Andrew's Church, Mells. He and his family became associated with The Souls, a social group which included many of the most distinguished English politicians and intellectuals of the Victorian era.

Horner became Commissioner of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues and became a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order for his service.

Biography

Memorial window to John Francis Fortescue Horner in St Andrew's Church, Mells
Detail of memorial window

Horner's family were descended from the "Little Jack Horner" referred to in the children's nursery rhyme derived from an earlier jingle which was changed from the original to justify the use of the Horner name. The poem since has been associated with acts of opportunism. The family took possession of Mells Manor in Mells (near Frome), Somerset, at the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century. He married Frances Graham on 18 January 1883. Through her, he became associated with the social group known as The Souls, several of whom were frequent visitors to Mells, including the Liberal MP H. H. Asquith, who later became prime minister. Horner worked as a barrister in London and served as Commissioner of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues from 1895, for which he was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1907.[1][2]

With Frances, he had four children. Their youngest, Mark, died of scarlet fever in 1908 at the age of 16. Their eldest, Edward was educated at Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford, before being called to the bar and beginning a pupilage as a barrister; he joined the British Army at the outbreak of the First World War and was killed at the Battle of Cambrai in France in 1917. Their younger daughter, Katharine, married Raymond Asquith, the prime minister's son; Raymond was also killed in the First World War. Both Edward and Raymond are commemorated by memorials by Sir Edwin Lutyens in St Andrew's Church, Mells.[1]

Horner died in 1927, survived by his wife and daughter who continued to live in Mells Manor. Katharine inherited the manor upon her mother's death in 1940.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Reynolds, KD. "Horner [née Graham], Frances Jane, Lady Horner (1854/5–1940), hostess and patron of the arts". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/49524. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ↑ "No. 28077". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 November 1907. p. 7576.
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