Peter Thellusson facts for kids

Peter Thellusson (born June 27, 1735 – died July 21, 1797) was a very successful businessman and banker from Geneva. He moved to London, England, and became a British citizen in 1762. Peter Thellusson earned a huge amount of money through his businesses. When he passed away in 1797, he owned over 4,000 acres of land in England. His family later built the beautiful Brodsworth Hall in South Yorkshire, which is now looked after by English Heritage.

Peter Thellusson's Early Life and Family

Peter Thellusson came from a Huguenot family. Huguenots were French Protestants who had to leave France in the 1500s because of their religion. His father, Isaac Thellusson, started a bank in Geneva called Thellusson, Necker et Cie. Isaac also became Geneva's ambassador to Paris.

Starting a Banking Career

Peter Thellusson worked with his brother, George-Tobie, and a partner named Jacques Necker. They managed their successful bank together. Peter took charge of the bank's branch in London starting in 1760, while Necker managed the Paris branch. Both partners became very wealthy by lending money to governments and by buying and selling grain.

On January 6, 1760, Peter Thellusson married Ann Woodford. She was the daughter of Matthew Woodford and the sister of Sir Ralph Woodford. Peter then started his own finance company in London. In 1761, he officially became a British citizen through a special law passed by Parliament.

Business Ventures and Property

Peter Thellusson was involved in many different businesses. He became a director of the Bank of England, which is a very important bank. He also owned parts of several sugar refineries. These were factories that turned raw sugar into the sugar we use every day.

Trade and Plantations

He was also a big importer of tobacco and sugar from the West Indies. This meant he brought these goods from islands in the Caribbean to England. As part of this business, he provided loans to people who owned ships that transported goods and to those who owned large farms called plantations. When some of these plantation owners could not pay back their loans, Peter Thellusson gained ownership interests in their Caribbean plantations. His family continued to have interests in plantations in Grenada and Montserrat until 1820.

Homes and Estates

Peter Thellusson built a large house for himself called 'Plaistow Lodge' in Bromley, Kent. Today, this building is a primary school. In 1790, he bought the Brodsworth estate in South Yorkshire. The original house on this estate was built for Peter Thellusson in 1791. The Victorian building you see there today was built much later, in 1861, for his descendant, Charles Sabine Thellusson. The house and its gardens are now cared for by English Heritage.

The Famous Thellusson Will Case

After Peter Thellusson died, his large fortune and estates became part of a very long and famous court case called the Thellusson Will Case. This happened because he wrote a very unusual will. He decided that most of his money and land should be put into a special fund, called a trust fund. This fund was meant to grow for many years, and his children and grandchildren would not get much of it right away. Instead, the money would go to future generations.

Court Battles and Outcomes

This caused a lot of legal arguments and court battles. Eventually, the courts decided that the main beneficiaries, or people who would receive the money, would be the grandchildren of his eldest son, Peter Isaac Thellusson, who became Baron Rendlesham in 1806, and one of his other sons, Charles.

Lasting Impact

Many people believe that the Thellusson Will Case inspired the fictional court case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce in Charles Dickens' famous novel Bleak House. It is also thought that Peter Thellusson might have been the inspiration for Tellsons Bank, which is mentioned in Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities. Because of the problems caused by this will, a new law was passed. This law is often called the Thellusson Act, and it was created to prevent similar issues from happening again in the future.