John Innes (philanthropist)

John Innes JP (1829 – 8 August 1904) was born in Hampstead, Middlesex (now London) [http://www.1901censusonline.com www.1901censusonline.com] ] . His family owned sugar plantations in Jamaica and imported rum into England. The family supported the campaign against slavery in the West Indies and eventually sold all the business interests. Innes was a City merchant who founded the City of London Real Property Company which purchased land in Merton park in 1864 and created the Merton Park Estate Company. He purchased the Manor house in the parish of Merton with about 12 acres of land, and he became "Lord of the Manor" at the end of the 19th century. Taking advantage of demand for new housing arising from the growth of neighbouring Wimbledon, Innes developed his land for housing giving it the name "Merton Park". The area is now part of the London Borough of Merton.

Innes was chairman of trustees of a charity established by William Rutlish, Embroiderer to Charles II, on his death in 1687. The charity's function was to provide funds to educate the poor children of the parish of Merton, but by the 1890s the charity had accumulated a considerable excess of funds. Innes used some of this excess to establish Rutlish School.

John Innes remained a bachelor until his death on 8 August 1904 and was buried in the churchyard of St Mary the Virgin, Merton ParkLondonGazette|issue=27840|linkeddate=1905-09-29|startpage=6583|accessdate=2007-12-27] [http://www.jic.ac.uk/corporate/services-and-products/library/history-jic.pdf John Innes Centre, Corporate history pdf] ] . He left most of the grounds of the Manor House to be converted into a public park for the benefit of the residents of the parishes of Merton and Morden. He left funds and his home, Manor Farm in Watery Lane, and its grounds for the creation of the horticultural institute which still bears his name, the John Innes Centre. His bequest to the nation was to be used for either a school of horticulture that would provide “technical instruction in the principles of the science and art of horticulture and the application thereof to the industry or employment of gardening”, or a Public museum for the collection of paintings and other works of art. Innes appointed 3 trustees to carry out the bequest, Frederick George Courthorpe, Charles Clare Scott K.C. and William Ernest Reid Innes. In 1906 the Trustees asked the Charity Commissioners to prepare a scheme and by 1908 the scheme was approved by both Trustees and Board of Agriculture. Thus on the 12th January 1909 the scheme comes into force and in 1910 the John Innes Horticultural Institution opened.

The John Innes institute moved from Merton Park in 1945 and is now located in Colney, Norfolk, a world leader in plant science and microbiology. John Innes Compost, now widely used in gardening, was developed by the Centre. The grounds of Innes's home south of Watery Lane are now the site of Rutlish School, John Innes Park and John Innes Recreation Ground. The "Manor House" in Watery Lane, is used by the school and a blue plaque identifying it as his former residence was placed there in 1978 [http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.001002006005/chooseLetter/I English Heritage - list of plaques] ] :

:John Innes (1829-1904), Founder of the John Innes Horticultural Institute, lived here.

A local conservation group, the John Innes Society, promotes good architectural design in the Merton Park area.

References

External links

* [http://www.stmarysmerton.org.uk/history.htm St. Mary the Virgin, Merton Park]