Philip Saltmarshe
(1825-1912)
17 May 1862

Volume 6, page 318, sitting number 8141.

Born at Saltmarshe on 9 March 1825, Philip Saltmarshe was the eldest son of Philip Saltmarshe. His family could trace their roots back to the Norman Conquest.

Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Saltmarshe of Saltmarshe Hall near Howden died, aged 87, on 10 March 1912. He left an estate valued at £148,315.

He ‘had been in failing health for some time. […] He will be greatly missed. He was an English gentleman of the old school, a good landlord, and true friend to the poor’ (Hull Daily Mail, 16 March 1912).

According to the same obituary: ‘He was educated at Eton, entered the Army in 1846, when he obtained the rank of Lieutenant. He was stationed in Ireland when the Volunteer movement was first introduced. Mr Saltmarshe took up the captaincy of the Howden Company, rising to various superior degrees until he retired a lieutenant-colonel of the battalion. […] Colonel Saltmarshe was for many years chairman of the Howdenshire Conservative Association, a position from which he retired about twelve years ago. He had always been a staunch Conservative, and during the whole of his long career he watched closely the agricultural interests in politics. […] He was a thoroughly practical agriculturalist who took the greatest interest in the well-being of his tenants, who have lost not only a good landlord but a warm-hearted friend. He farmed over 6000 acres.

'As Chairman of the Howden Board of Guardians, he was respected by all over whom he presided, and no one will miss his geniality and kindness more than the Guardians and all other officials of the Howden Union. He was a sound Churchman, having been churchwarden practically all his life, and he contributed largely to the erection of church schools, of which he had been the principal supporter ever since.

‘Colonel Saltmarshe showed energy in everything he undertook, and the success of Howden Agricultural Club owed much to him as chairman, a position he held since its commencement. He was a keen sportsman, a good shot, in fact he was once considered one of the best in Yorkshire. He had travelled in the United States and in India, where [he] has occasionally “bagged” big game. He was also an ardent fisherman.

‘He always took the greatest interest in experiments, and had been successful in feeding cattle and growing potatoes. He always assisted every movement in the interest of farmers, and had been a great advocate of combination and organisation. He was a very charitable man, and the extent of his benefactions were known only to himself.’

[From an album compiled by the sitter's brother-in-law, George Robert Denison.]