British businessman; MP for Manchester-Moss Side, 1959-1961; only nephew of author Dame Agatha Christie.
He was born at his parents’ home, Manor Lodge, close to his paternal grandfather’s estate of Abney Hall, Cheadle. According to his aunt Agatha, he was christened in Torquay that autumn, during the first of many visits to his maternal grandmother, Clarissa Boehmer Miller; his young aunt later taught him to swim. His family moved to Cheadle Hall in early 1915, and to Abney Hall in summer 1926.
Jack had no siblings. In the 1911 census, he was living with his parents and a German governess at Manor Lodge. Jack was subsequently educated at Shrewsbury School, then entered New College, Oxford University. He earned a bachelor’s degree, and was awarded his MA in November 1928. By then, he had joined his father at the family firm, S. & J. Watts Ltd. of Manchester. Agatha stated that, from childhood, he was fascinated by all things ecclesiastical; although baptized into the Church of England, Jack converted to Roman Catholicism in the 1920s. The original 1925 edition of Agatha’s thriller The Secret of Chimneys was dedicated to him.
In April 1930, newspapers announced his engagement to Lady Rosemary Wilma Bootle-Wilbraham, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Lathom; the ceremony was scheduled for June in Westminster Cathedral, and Jack’s cousin Rosalind Christie was to be among the child attendants. Less than three weeks before the wedding, however, the engagement was broken off, and later that summer Lady Rosemary married another man (tragically, her groom died just ten months later). Jack never married.
He served on the Manchester City Council 1933-1939. The 1939 Register shows him residing with his parents at Abney; still working in the family business, he is also listed as a captain in the 6th Battalion/22nd Cheshire Regiment. During WWII, he served in France and the Middle East, somehow managing to defy quarantine regulations in order to bring home a large dog from the latter assignment. According to The Guardian (8 July 1961, page 2), "He had a great reputation as a raconteur."
From 1933-1951, he was treasurer of the Manchester Conservative Association, and from 1951-1953, its chairman. In 1950, he stood for Parliament as a Conservative for Manchester-Gorton but was defeated. He stood again in the General Election of 1959, and this time was successful. He seems to have made few speeches in the House, but is known to have favoured corporal punishment, slum clearance, building additional housing for the working classes, and limiting immigration.
Following his father’s death, Jack sold Abney Hall to the Cheadle and Gatley District Town Council for about £12,000. There was a ten-day auction of 2,850 lots (including 300 paintings) to clear Abney’s approximately 40 rooms. The building was used for some years as the Town Hall, and subsequently turned into commercial space.
His primary residence was a five-storey terrace house in Chester Street*, Belgravia, London, which he held on a long-term lease. In June 1961, he broke his ankle. Although he appeared to be recovering well, a pulmonary embolism unexpectedly ended his life. His butler said, “He was in good form at first this morning. He collapsed at noon, and was dead in a few minutes.” (Daily Mail, 8 July 1961, page 1) There were memorial services for him in both Manchester and London; according to the cemetery's Register of Graves (Register K page 88, continued from Register D page 156), his cremated remains were interred here with those of his parents on 13 July 1961. There is no inscription for Jack or his father on the tombstone.
*One newspaper gave his address as Chester Street, another as Chester Square. His will confirms the house was 20 Chester Street, London SW1.
--Tosca-by-the-River 2020
He was born at his parents’ home, Manor Lodge, close to his paternal grandfather’s estate of Abney Hall, Cheadle. According to his aunt Agatha, he was christened in Torquay that autumn, during the first of many visits to his maternal grandmother, Clarissa Boehmer Miller; his young aunt later taught him to swim. His family moved to Cheadle Hall in early 1915, and to Abney Hall in summer 1926.
Jack had no siblings. In the 1911 census, he was living with his parents and a German governess at Manor Lodge. Jack was subsequently educated at Shrewsbury School, then entered New College, Oxford University. He earned a bachelor’s degree, and was awarded his MA in November 1928. By then, he had joined his father at the family firm, S. & J. Watts Ltd. of Manchester. Agatha stated that, from childhood, he was fascinated by all things ecclesiastical; although baptized into the Church of England, Jack converted to Roman Catholicism in the 1920s. The original 1925 edition of Agatha’s thriller The Secret of Chimneys was dedicated to him.
In April 1930, newspapers announced his engagement to Lady Rosemary Wilma Bootle-Wilbraham, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Lathom; the ceremony was scheduled for June in Westminster Cathedral, and Jack’s cousin Rosalind Christie was to be among the child attendants. Less than three weeks before the wedding, however, the engagement was broken off, and later that summer Lady Rosemary married another man (tragically, her groom died just ten months later). Jack never married.
He served on the Manchester City Council 1933-1939. The 1939 Register shows him residing with his parents at Abney; still working in the family business, he is also listed as a captain in the 6th Battalion/22nd Cheshire Regiment. During WWII, he served in France and the Middle East, somehow managing to defy quarantine regulations in order to bring home a large dog from the latter assignment. According to The Guardian (8 July 1961, page 2), "He had a great reputation as a raconteur."
From 1933-1951, he was treasurer of the Manchester Conservative Association, and from 1951-1953, its chairman. In 1950, he stood for Parliament as a Conservative for Manchester-Gorton but was defeated. He stood again in the General Election of 1959, and this time was successful. He seems to have made few speeches in the House, but is known to have favoured corporal punishment, slum clearance, building additional housing for the working classes, and limiting immigration.
Following his father’s death, Jack sold Abney Hall to the Cheadle and Gatley District Town Council for about £12,000. There was a ten-day auction of 2,850 lots (including 300 paintings) to clear Abney’s approximately 40 rooms. The building was used for some years as the Town Hall, and subsequently turned into commercial space.
His primary residence was a five-storey terrace house in Chester Street*, Belgravia, London, which he held on a long-term lease. In June 1961, he broke his ankle. Although he appeared to be recovering well, a pulmonary embolism unexpectedly ended his life. His butler said, “He was in good form at first this morning. He collapsed at noon, and was dead in a few minutes.” (Daily Mail, 8 July 1961, page 1) There were memorial services for him in both Manchester and London; according to the cemetery's Register of Graves (Register K page 88, continued from Register D page 156), his cremated remains were interred here with those of his parents on 13 July 1961. There is no inscription for Jack or his father on the tombstone.
*One newspaper gave his address as Chester Street, another as Chester Square. His will confirms the house was 20 Chester Street, London SW1.
--Tosca-by-the-River 2020
British businessman; MP for Manchester-Moss Side, 1959-1961; only nephew of author Dame Agatha Christie.
He was born at his parents’ home, Manor Lodge, close to his paternal grandfather’s estate of Abney Hall, Cheadle. According to his aunt Agatha, he was christened in Torquay that autumn, during the first of many visits to his maternal grandmother, Clarissa Boehmer Miller; his young aunt later taught him to swim. His family moved to Cheadle Hall in early 1915, and to Abney Hall in summer 1926.
Jack had no siblings. In the 1911 census, he was living with his parents and a German governess at Manor Lodge. Jack was subsequently educated at Shrewsbury School, then entered New College, Oxford University. He earned a bachelor’s degree, and was awarded his MA in November 1928. By then, he had joined his father at the family firm, S. & J. Watts Ltd. of Manchester. Agatha stated that, from childhood, he was fascinated by all things ecclesiastical; although baptized into the Church of England, Jack converted to Roman Catholicism in the 1920s. The original 1925 edition of Agatha’s thriller The Secret of Chimneys was dedicated to him.
In April 1930, newspapers announced his engagement to Lady Rosemary Wilma Bootle-Wilbraham, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Lathom; the ceremony was scheduled for June in Westminster Cathedral, and Jack’s cousin Rosalind Christie was to be among the child attendants. Less than three weeks before the wedding, however, the engagement was broken off, and later that summer Lady Rosemary married another man (tragically, her groom died just ten months later). Jack never married.
He served on the Manchester City Council 1933-1939. The 1939 Register shows him residing with his parents at Abney; still working in the family business, he is also listed as a captain in the 6th Battalion/22nd Cheshire Regiment. During WWII, he served in France and the Middle East, somehow managing to defy quarantine regulations in order to bring home a large dog from the latter assignment. According to The Guardian (8 July 1961, page 2), "He had a great reputation as a raconteur."
From 1933-1951, he was treasurer of the Manchester Conservative Association, and from 1951-1953, its chairman. In 1950, he stood for Parliament as a Conservative for Manchester-Gorton but was defeated. He stood again in the General Election of 1959, and this time was successful. He seems to have made few speeches in the House, but is known to have favoured corporal punishment, slum clearance, building additional housing for the working classes, and limiting immigration.
Following his father’s death, Jack sold Abney Hall to the Cheadle and Gatley District Town Council for about £12,000. There was a ten-day auction of 2,850 lots (including 300 paintings) to clear Abney’s approximately 40 rooms. The building was used for some years as the Town Hall, and subsequently turned into commercial space.
His primary residence was a five-storey terrace house in Chester Street*, Belgravia, London, which he held on a long-term lease. In June 1961, he broke his ankle. Although he appeared to be recovering well, a pulmonary embolism unexpectedly ended his life. His butler said, “He was in good form at first this morning. He collapsed at noon, and was dead in a few minutes.” (Daily Mail, 8 July 1961, page 1) There were memorial services for him in both Manchester and London; according to the cemetery's Register of Graves (Register K page 88, continued from Register D page 156), his cremated remains were interred here with those of his parents on 13 July 1961. There is no inscription for Jack or his father on the tombstone.
*One newspaper gave his address as Chester Street, another as Chester Square. His will confirms the house was 20 Chester Street, London SW1.
--Tosca-by-the-River 2020
He was born at his parents’ home, Manor Lodge, close to his paternal grandfather’s estate of Abney Hall, Cheadle. According to his aunt Agatha, he was christened in Torquay that autumn, during the first of many visits to his maternal grandmother, Clarissa Boehmer Miller; his young aunt later taught him to swim. His family moved to Cheadle Hall in early 1915, and to Abney Hall in summer 1926.
Jack had no siblings. In the 1911 census, he was living with his parents and a German governess at Manor Lodge. Jack was subsequently educated at Shrewsbury School, then entered New College, Oxford University. He earned a bachelor’s degree, and was awarded his MA in November 1928. By then, he had joined his father at the family firm, S. & J. Watts Ltd. of Manchester. Agatha stated that, from childhood, he was fascinated by all things ecclesiastical; although baptized into the Church of England, Jack converted to Roman Catholicism in the 1920s. The original 1925 edition of Agatha’s thriller The Secret of Chimneys was dedicated to him.
In April 1930, newspapers announced his engagement to Lady Rosemary Wilma Bootle-Wilbraham, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Lathom; the ceremony was scheduled for June in Westminster Cathedral, and Jack’s cousin Rosalind Christie was to be among the child attendants. Less than three weeks before the wedding, however, the engagement was broken off, and later that summer Lady Rosemary married another man (tragically, her groom died just ten months later). Jack never married.
He served on the Manchester City Council 1933-1939. The 1939 Register shows him residing with his parents at Abney; still working in the family business, he is also listed as a captain in the 6th Battalion/22nd Cheshire Regiment. During WWII, he served in France and the Middle East, somehow managing to defy quarantine regulations in order to bring home a large dog from the latter assignment. According to The Guardian (8 July 1961, page 2), "He had a great reputation as a raconteur."
From 1933-1951, he was treasurer of the Manchester Conservative Association, and from 1951-1953, its chairman. In 1950, he stood for Parliament as a Conservative for Manchester-Gorton but was defeated. He stood again in the General Election of 1959, and this time was successful. He seems to have made few speeches in the House, but is known to have favoured corporal punishment, slum clearance, building additional housing for the working classes, and limiting immigration.
Following his father’s death, Jack sold Abney Hall to the Cheadle and Gatley District Town Council for about £12,000. There was a ten-day auction of 2,850 lots (including 300 paintings) to clear Abney’s approximately 40 rooms. The building was used for some years as the Town Hall, and subsequently turned into commercial space.
His primary residence was a five-storey terrace house in Chester Street*, Belgravia, London, which he held on a long-term lease. In June 1961, he broke his ankle. Although he appeared to be recovering well, a pulmonary embolism unexpectedly ended his life. His butler said, “He was in good form at first this morning. He collapsed at noon, and was dead in a few minutes.” (Daily Mail, 8 July 1961, page 1) There were memorial services for him in both Manchester and London; according to the cemetery's Register of Graves (Register K page 88, continued from Register D page 156), his cremated remains were interred here with those of his parents on 13 July 1961. There is no inscription for Jack or his father on the tombstone.
*One newspaper gave his address as Chester Street, another as Chester Square. His will confirms the house was 20 Chester Street, London SW1.
--Tosca-by-the-River 2020
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