Sir George Tapps, 1st Baronet

Sir George Ivison Tapps, 1st Baronet (5 Jan 1753 - 15 Mar 1835) was a British landowner and developer involved in the founding of Bournemouth.

Tapps inherited the estates of Peter Mews of Hinton Admiral from his cousin, Joseph Jarvis Clerke, when he died without issue in 1778. In so doing he became Lord of the Manors of Hinton Admiral, Christchurch and Westover.

Well known as a "wilful and hard living confidante" of the Prince of Wales (later the Prince Regent) the future King George IV.

Tapps was appointed High Sheriff of Hampshire in 1793.

As a result of the Christchurch Inclosures Act 1802 Tapps purchased convert|205|acre|km2 for £1,050. As lord of the manor he was also trustee for the areas set aside as commons. In 1809 he opened a public house called the Tapps Arms. It stood where the current Post Office Road meets Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth.

In 1810 Tapps sold convert|8.5|acre|m2 on the west bank of the Bourne Stream to Lewis Tregonwell for £179 11s

In 1834 Tapps obtained a loan of £40,000 from the Earl of Arran and John Augustus Fuller, into whose family his son had married, on the mortgage of the Tapps-Gervis estate at Hinton Admiral near Christchurch. With this money he intended to develop his estates on the east bank of the Bourne Stream. Building for this project finally began in 1837 under the direction of his son, as Tapps died in 1835.

References

*Rayment