Robin Leigh-Pemberton, Baron Kingsdown
Encyclopedia
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, and was formerly a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and banker.
Lord Kingsdown was educated at St Peter's Court, then at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
. He attended Trinity College
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
, Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, where he earned an MA
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in 1950. In 1954, he was called to the Bar, and he practised law for a few years. He eventually became Chairman of the National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank Plc, commonly known as NatWest, is the largest retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom and has been part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc since 2000. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is ranked as the second largest bank in the world by assets...
, then Governor
Governor of the Bank of England
The Governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the Bank, with the incumbent grooming his or her successor...
of the Bank of England
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694, it is the second oldest central bank in the world...
from 1983 until 1993. He was appointed to the Privy Council
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
in 1987, and created a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
in 1993, as Baron Kingsdown, of Pemberton in the County of Lancashire. He became a Knight of the Order of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
in 1994, and was also the Lord Lieutenant of Kent
Lord Lieutenant of Kent
This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Kent. Since 1746, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Kent.-Lords Lieutenant of Kent:*Sir Thomas Cheney 1551–?*William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham 3 July 1585 – 6 March 1597...
. Between 1979 and 1992, he served as Honorary Colonel of the Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry
Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry
The Kent and Sharpshooters Yeomanry is a unit of the Territorial Army that was formed in 1961 as the Kent and County of London Yeomanry by the amalgamation of two yeomanry regiments, the 297 Regt, Royal Artillery and the 3rd/4th County of London Yeomanry...
and between 1977 and 1984 he served as Pro Chancellor of the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
. He also served on the board of directors of the Bank of International Settlements
His Barony of Kingsdown is a life peerage, but a previous hereditary Barony of Kingsdown was created for a kinsman, Thomas Pemberton Leigh
Thomas Pemberton Leigh, 1st Baron Kingsdown
Thomas Pemberton Leigh, 1st Baron Kingsdown , was a British barrister, judge and politician.-Background:Born Thomas Pemberton, in London, Leigh was the eldest son of Thomas Pemberton, a chancery barrister....
, in 1858. This title became extinct on the 1st Baron's death in 1867.
His family has a long association with Kingsdown and Torry Hill
Kingsdown (hamlet)
Kingsdown is a small hamlet surrounded by the villages of Frinsted, Milstead, Doddington and Lynsted in Kent, England.The hamlet is within the civil parish of Milstead and Kingsdown which spans the boundaries of the boroughs of Maidstone and Swale...
, near Doddington
Doddington, Kent
Doddington is an affluent rural English village, in the south eastern county of Kent, within the borough of Swale. A picturesque village nestling in the 'Syndale Valley' which is in the Kent Downs and is designated an Area of outstanding natural beauty...
, Kent, where he rebuilt the family mansion in the 1960s. It features a striking view north towards the Isle of Sheppey, the Swale and the Thames estuary. In the grounds, there is also what is believed to be the only Eton Fives
Eton Fives
Eton Fives, one derivative of the British game of Fives, is a hand-ball game, similar to Rugby Fives, played as doubles in a three-sided court. The object is to force the other team to fail to hit the ball 'up' off the front wall, using any variety of wall or ledge combinations as long as the ball...
court attached to a private dwelling; it was built in 1925. Lord Kingsdown's father also built a private miniature railway in the 1930s. This still runs for several miles on his estate.
One of his sons, James Henry Leigh-Pemberton
James Leigh-Pemberton
James Henry Leigh-Pemberton is a British banker and the incumbent Receiver-General for the Duchy of Cornwall.The son of former Governor of the Bank of England and life-peer Lord Kingsdown, James Leigh-Pemberton was educated at Eton and started his career at S. G. Warburg & Co.before becoming a...
continues the family's association with the Duchy of Cornwall
Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits the duchy and title of Duke of Cornwall at the time of his birth, or of his parent's succession to the throne. If the monarch has no son, the...
(beginning with its Chancellor, the 1st Baron Kingsdown
Thomas Pemberton Leigh, 1st Baron Kingsdown
Thomas Pemberton Leigh, 1st Baron Kingsdown , was a British barrister, judge and politician.-Background:Born Thomas Pemberton, in London, Leigh was the eldest son of Thomas Pemberton, a chancery barrister....
) as Receiver-General. His brother, Jeremy Leigh-Pemberton is a Deputy Lieutenant of Kent and is the parish chairman for the neighbouring parish of Wormshill
Wormshill
Wormshill , historically called Wormsell, is a small village and civil parish within the Borough of Maidstone, Kent, England. The parish is approximately south of The Swale and north of Maidstone. The villages of Frinsted and Bicknor are equidistant to the east and west, respectively; while...
.