The Guest family is a British family that has been prominent in business and politics since the 18th century. It was involved in the British iron and steel industry, particularly the Dowlais Ironworks in Wales, which later became part of Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds. Hereditary titles held by members of the family include Baron Wimborne, Baron Ashby St Ledgers, and Viscount Wimborne, all in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
John Guest (1722–1785 [1] or 25 November 1787 [2] [3] ) was a brewer, farmer, and coal merchant in Broseley, Shropshire. He collaborated with Isaac Wilkinson in starting the Plymouth Ironworks in 1763 and there came to the attention of Thomas Lewis and the other Dowlais partners. He moved to Dowlais and was appointed manager of the works on 30 April 1767. He built his first house at Morlais Brook, Gellifaelog, but, isolated from his family, became a "lonely and melancholy man". By 1767, Guest had moved most of his family to Dowlais. [2] [4] His children were:
Thomas Guest (died 1807) continued his father's work at Dowlais. He married Jemima Revel Phillips of Shifnal, Shropshire. They had three daughters and two sons: [5]
Thomas Guest did much to modernise production at Dowlais, employing several of his relatives, including Cornelius Guest, Charles Guest and George Guest. [7]
Sir Josiah John Guest, 1st Baronet (1785–1852), married: [5]
He purchased Canford Manor, Dorset 1846 and significantly remodelled the house, previously designed by Edward Blore, using the renowned architect of the Houses of Parliament, Charles Barry. [8]
Ivor Bertie Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne (1835–1914), married Lady Cornelia Henrietta Maria Spencer-Churchill (1847–1927), daughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough, and aunt of Winston Churchill. They had four daughters and five sons: [9]
Lord Wimborne resided at the family residence, Canford Manor, and his wife Cornelia was instrumental in overseeing the construction of estate cottages, started by Charlotte Guest, to improve the living conditions for workers on the estate. The cottages are known as 'Lady Wimborne Cottages' in memory of her role. [14]
Ivor Churchill Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne (1873–1939), married Alice Katherine Sibell Grosvenor, daughter of Robert Wellesley Grosvenor, 2nd Baron Ebury. They had two daughters, and one son: [15]
Frederick Edward Guest (1875–1937), married Amy Phipps (1873–1959), daughter of American industrialist Henry Phipps. The couple had two sons and a daughter, all of whom eventually immigrated to the United States: [16]
John Winston Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough,, styled Earl of Sunderland from 1822 to 1840 and Marquess of Blandford from 1840 to 1857, was a British Conservative cabinet minister, politician, peer, and nobleman. He was the paternal grandfather of Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.
Lucy Douglas "C.Z." Guest was an American actress, author, columnist, horsewoman, fashion designer, and socialite who achieved a degree of fame as a fashion icon. She was frequently seen wearing elegant designs by designers like Mainbocher. Her unfussy, clean-cut style was seen as typically American, and she was named to the International Best Dressed Hall of Fame List in 1959.
Sir Josiah John Guest, 1st Baronet, known as John Josiah Guest, was a British engineer, entrepreneur and politician.
Viscount Wimborne, of Canford Magna in the County of Dorset, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom.
Lady Charlotte Elizabeth Guest, later Lady Charlotte Schreiber, was an English aristocrat who is best known as the first publisher in modern print format of the Mabinogion, the earliest prose literature of Britain. Guest established the Mabinogion as a source literary text of Europe, claiming this recognition among literati in the context of contemporary passions for the chivalric romance of King Arthur and the Gothic movement. The name Guest used for the book was derived from a mediaeval copyist's error, already established in the 18th century by William Owen Pughe and the London Welsh societies.
Ivor Bertie Guest, 1st Baron Wimborne, 2nd Baronet, DL was a British industrialist and a member of the prominent Guest family.
Ivor Churchill Guest, 1st Viscount Wimborne, KP, PC, known as Lord Ashby St Ledgers from 1910 to 1914 and as Lord Wimborne from 1914 to 1918, was a British politician and one of the last Lords Lieutenant of Ireland, serving in that position at the time of the Easter Rising.
Frederick Edward Guest, was a British politician best known for being Chief Whip of Prime Minister David Lloyd George's Coalition Liberal Party, 1917–1921. He was also Secretary of State for Air between 1921 and 1922. He won the bronze medal with the British polo team at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.
General Albemarle Bertie, 9th Earl of Lindsey was a British Army officer, politician and peer.
The Phipps family of the United States is a prominent American family that descends from Henry Phipps Jr. (1839–1930), a businessman and philanthropist. His father was an English shoemaker who immigrated in the early part of the 19th century to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before settling in Pittsburgh. Phipps grew up with Andrew Carnegie as a friend and neighbor. As an adult, he was Carnegie's business partner in the Carnegie Steel Company and became a very wealthy man. He was the company's second-largest shareholder and also invested in real estate.
Matthew White Ridley, 2nd Viscount Ridley, was a British peer and Conservative politician. His political career was most noted for his support of Tariff Reform.
Lieutenant-Colonel Christian Henry Charles Guest, usually known as Henry Guest, was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom.
Oscar Montague Guest was a politician in the United Kingdom, initially with the Liberal Party and later as a Conservative. He was twice elected as a Member of Parliament (MP).
The surname Guest is derived from the Old English word giest, which in turn comes from the Old Norse word "gestr", both of which mean "guest" or "stranger." Spelling variations may include Gest, Geste, Gueste, Ghest, Geest, Geeste, Gist, Ghost, Jest. Other European counterparts to the name include the German and Dutch "Gast", Luxembourgish "Gaascht", Swedish "Gäst", Norwegian "Gjest", Serbian and Slovakian "Gost", Czech "Host", etc.
Montague John Guest, was a British Liberal politician.
Winston Frederick Churchill Guest was an Anglo-American polo champion and a member of the Guest family of Britain.
Merley House in Ashington, Wimborne, Dorset, England, is a building of historical significance and is Grade I listed on the English Heritage Register. It was built in 1752 by the bibliophile Ralph Willett and remained in the Willett family until about 1875. For the next century it was the residence of many notable people. It is now a hotel.
George Brydges Harley Dennett Rodney, 7th Baron Rodney was a British Army officer notable for his service in the Egyptian and Nile campaigns of the 1880s. He succeeded his father to the Rodney Barony in 1864 and was succeeded by his son George Bridges Harley Guest Rodney (1891-1973).
Frances Charlotte Thesiger, Viscountess Chelmsford,, styled as the Lady Chelmsford until 1921, was a British aristocrat and Vicereine of India.
The Lady Wimborne Cottages are 111 cottages built by the Guest family of Canford Manor, between 1867 and 1904 to improve the living standards of workers on the estate.
