The following Monday morning, 14 August, Charles and Caroline went up to London and stayed at the Grosvenor Hotel in Buckingham Palace Road. This was their usual London hotel and was conveniently close to Victoria Station. According to newspaper reports of the event, he was apparently then in his customary good health.
However, early on the Tuesday morning, 15 August, Charles Digby Harrod died suddenly in the Grosvenor Hotel as the result of a heart attack. That evening Mrs Harrod, grief stricken, returned to Culverwood, and on Wednesday morning the body was conveyed by a special train to the Sussex residence.
His death certificate shows that the death was registered by E. Reynolds Conder, the husband of Charles Digby’s eldest daughter, Fanny. Charles Digby was described as a ‘retired general merchant, aged 64 years.’ The death was certified by Dr John F. Broadbent, and the cause was given as ‘Morbus Cordis (Fibrodegeneration – 6 years), Arteriosclerosis, Syncope’.
The list of causes is a bit confusing. Syncope describes the actual mode of death; literally, it means a faint, but here it is used to describe a sudden collapse. Arteriosclerosis is the word used for generalised hardening of the arteries, and morbus cordis is a catch-all term to describe degenerative heart disease. Fibrodegeneration is another cardiac term describing a slow degeneration over some years. In summary, it suggests the doctor was told by Caroline that Charles Digby had suffered with arterial disease for some time, and heart problems, probably something like angina, for six years. This would suggest that he started with his heart problems in about 1899, some ten years after his retirement. On the day of his death he had collapsed and the doctor felt this was caused by a heart attack.
He was buried at Waldron Church cemetery, the gravestone being engraved with a text from Ecclesiastes: ‘Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.’ That sounds very much like a Charles Digby Harrod choice of text.
There were numerous reports of Charles Digby’s death and funeral in both the local and the national press. The Sussex Express of 19 August 1905 gave an initial response:
A gloom has been cast over the Parish of Waldron and the surrounding neighbourhood by the painfully sudden death of Mr C.D. Harrod of Culverwood, Cross in Hand.
Mr Harrod, who was the founder of the famous ‘Harrod’s Stores’ in Brompton Road, was well known and respected in the locality in which he resided and the news of his death came as a great surprise and shock to the inhabitants.
Mr Harrod left Cross in Hand for London early on Monday morning and with Mrs Harrod stayed at his usual hotel. He was apparently in good health, but early on Tuesday morning he succumbed to a heart attack, the fatal attack only lasting a few minutes. Mr Harrod practically retired from business several years ago. He purchased Culverwood in 1902 and soon began to display an interest in local affairs. In 1904 he was elected a member of East Sussex County Council, representing the Mayfield division and was subsequently appointed a manager of the Heathfield Schools, he was also a Justice of the Peace for Somerset. In politics Mr Harrod was a Liberal, and did a great deal to further the cause of his party in the district. Since taking up his residence at Culverwood, Mr Harrod has been a great financial supporter to the various benevolent institutions in the neighbourhood. He was also a member of the Waldron Parish Council and Chairman of the Local Schools Attendance Council. The funeral, we understand, will take place today [Saturday] at Waldron Parish Church. It is requested of the family that there should be no flowers.
The funeral was also reported in several newspapers. Male relatives only were invited, which would have been quite normal for this time. The Sussex Express once again gave a full report:
The funeral of the late Mr C.D. Harrod took place at the Waldron Parish Church on Saturday.
Soon after half-past twelve the mournful procession left the deceased’s country mansion, Culverwood, which nestles amongst the trees between Cross in Hand and Horsham Road, and journeyed through Cross in Hand to Waldron, a distance of about three miles. The glass panelled car containing the body was followed by several private carriages containing the chief mourners and personal friends of deceased. At the church gates the cortege was met by the Rev. W.J. Humble-Crofts (Rector), the Rev. C. Henning (the Incumbent at Cross in Hand), and a surpliced choir. The first named read the lesson appointed for the burial of the dead, and also the committal sentences at the graveside. Mrs Humble-Crofts was at the organ, and during the arrival of the congregation rendered Mendelssohn’s ‘O rest in the Lord’ [from Elijah], and the hymn ‘Now the labourer’s task is o’er’ was sung by the choir and congregation.
(As far as I can find, there were no motorised hearses in 1905, and the ‘car’ must refer to a carriage. The first motorised hearse was an electric vehicle which was used in 1907 in Paris. A combustion engine version appeared in America in 1909.)
Another newspaper covered the content of the address given by the Reverend Henning:
He based his remarks upon the text, ‘Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might’ [as on Charles Digby’s gravestone]. In the course of some telling observations the reverend gentleman pointed out that the text formed the keynote of Mr Harrod’s life, for whatever he did he performed it thoroughly. He also alluded to the good work which the deceased gentleman had done in the Parish, and spoke of the high esteem and regard with which he was held by all classes and sects.
Only male relatives were present, amongst them being Mr Herbert Harrod [son], Mr .E.R. Conder, and Mr .J.H. Martin [sons-in-law], Mr H. Harrod [brother], Mr J. Conder and Mr W.H. Martin [grandsons, then aged 18 and 16 years old respectively].
There followed a long list of mourners, including the great and good of the area:
The grave was lined with greenery consisting of ferns, laurels, yew and ivy, and the coffin was of polished oak, with brass furniture … Although the wish of the widow was there should be no flowers, there were a few floral tributes from sympathetic friends and relatives, including a beautiful harp with a missing string, ‘from his loving daughters, Bee and Eva’. Others were inscribed: ‘From Grace and Bertie’; ‘From Emmie, Amy, Olive and Herbert’; ‘With deepest sympathy from the maids at Culverwood’; and ‘From Fannie and Rennie’.
As a mark of respect to the late Mr Harrod, a half-muffled peal of several changes was rung at Waldron Parish Church before Divine service on Sunday morning last.
The flowers were from close family and staff. Daughter ‘Bee’ was Beatrice, my grandmother; this was her name in the family.
Another newspaper report added a different slant:
It is no mere sentimental exaggeration to say that the whole countryside around Cross in Hand and Waldron, was in mourning on Saturday afternoon, when with that quiet simplicity which invariably characterises a funeral in rural communities, the remains of the late Mr Charles Digby Harrod, J.P., of Culverwood, Cross in Hand, were interred in Waldron churchyard. The cortege left Culverwood about half an hour after noon, and on every hand during the rather lengthy journey to the Parish Church the feelings of regret occasioned by the sad loss to the village found reverent demonstration. In the vicinity of the church a large crowd awaited the arrival of the cortege, all classes being represented in a sympathetic tribute of respect to the memory of one who was deservedly beloved throughout the district.
The rest of the report echoed the previous one.
Even allowing for the ‘squire’ status, it is quite astounding what an impact a man who had lived in the area for only three years had made on the community. The News of the World, quite obviously a different sort of newspaper in those days, reported, ‘Mr Harrod’s business career has been an exceeding interesting one, and forms quite a romantic chapter in the history of modern commercial enterprise in London.’
The Daily Mirror said:
Mr C.D. Harrod was among the pioneers of advertising as we understand it today. He was the first man, it is said, who had a full page advertisement in The Times. So successful were his methods that the business which, when
he embarked upon a commercial career was only a small grocer’s shop in a mean thoroughfare, now occupies four acres of land. ‘Harrod’s Stores’, indeed, is known all over the world …
It was in 1864 that Mr Harrod, a young man of twenty-three, took charge of his father’s business and sold grocery and provisions over the counter. The humble shop occupied a position on the same site where the present stores stand. When he had been in business for two years, Mr Harrod began to dream dreams, and then to realise them. The store trade was just being started, and the first stores had recently been opened in the Haymarket. Young Harrod saw his opportunity. ‘I will fight the stores’, he said. The fight was a long one. He advertised as perhaps no man had advertised before. People saw in the newspapers and in the windows of Harrod’s shop such announcements as: ‘We sell 7lb of rice for 1s.’ He cut prices in every way possible and was not astonished when his receipts increased by leaps and bounds.
All the time he smiled. ‘What is the use of always looking serious?’ he said. Customers liked his cheerful air, and even when he was drawing thousands a year out of the business they used to ask for ‘Mr Harrod to serve them.’ His smile was a valuable asset.
Another report gave further details of his business career, some previously unrecorded:
Mr Harrod’s father kept a grocer’s shop in Cable Street, St Georges E., where there were opportunities of making money half a century ago. With under £500 capital, Mr C.D. Harrod came westward, and set up a small grocer’s shop on a portion of the huge site now occupied by Harrods Stores in the Brompton Road.
He was a keen buyer, and worked all the day, and took his books home to make up at night. Even when he was rich, he never relaxed the careful supervision of his growing business, to which his success may be chiefly attributed.
Mr Harrod was a man of frugal habits, and when controlling the business, absented himself one hour only a day for lunch. He had a habit of inspiring his employees, and he often remarked that his proudest moments were when presiding at the annual dinner of his staff, not in a hotel, but in the store, after business hours, and served from choice viands in stock.
When he commenced business, Mr Harrod gave employment to a handful of men, but he lived to see his business develop, in the course of a few years, into one of the largest, if not the largest, stores in the world, employing nearly 4,000 people, and having an annual turnover of between two and three million pounds.
There is almost a touch of irony in the fact that when Mr Harrod opened his shop one of his main objects in view was to fight, in a modest way, the competitive stores, which were then beginning to spring up in London.
The report detailed the fire of 1883 which, it thought paradoxically, by his bold response to the disaster helped the store become an institution. The report went on to discuss his contribution to local life in Sussex. It seems he never forgot his and his family’s humble beginnings:
While Mr Harrod resided at Culverwood he evinced considerable interest in the affairs of the district and was a warm hearted supporter of the poor in a kindly and charitable disposition, and ever ready to assist a deserving person or object. With the children of all classes, and irrespective of religious denomination, he particularly endeared himself, and never seemed happier than when they were enjoying festivities which he had thoughtfully provided for them. By these young people his loss will be deeply felt. The children in the Uckfield Workhouse were never forgotten by him, and for some years past he has brightened their lives by entertaining them at the seaside. His kindness in this respect was unrestricted, and there was never the least stipulation as to the amount the excursion was to cost. All he desired was that they should have thorough enjoyment.
His interest in the parish life of Cross in Hand was manifest in his endeavour to erect an institute wherein the adult portion of the residents could spend their evenings. He endeavoured to acquire land for this purpose, but up to the time of his demise a convenient plot had not come on the market.
In politics, Mr Harrod was an ardent Liberal, and while residing at Culverwood he did a great deal to promote the interest of his party. He was a generous supporter of Liberal efforts in the Eastbourne Division, and was, indeed, at one time regarded as the probable candidate for the Division. [Eastbourne finally acquired a Liberal MP eighty-five years later, in 1990!] Mr Harrod’s ambitions did not extend in that direction, and so he declined when overtures were made.
He did not participate very actively in sporting pursuits, although he was very fond of shooting. The Heathfield Park Cricket Club found in him a warm supporter, and at nearly all the matches he was an enthusiastic spectator, closely following the fortunes of the summer game.
It continued later, ‘one who during his comparatively brief residence amongst them, had won their affections by his kindly disposition towards those who not so fortunate in fighting life’s battles’.
The Drapers’ Record said:
Mr Harrod was a most energetic worker and his personality was so charming that many of his customers would not be served by anybody but himself. He had a smile for everybody, and took an immense interest in the well-being of his assistants, and it is to his indomitable energy and business-like enthusiasm that the success of the immense concern in the Brompton Road is, in a great measure, due.
It reported, contrary to what had been said elsewhere, that, ‘He intended to stand for Parliament, but bad health put an end to his ambitions in that direction.’
The news reached Devon, and there were reports in the Somerset Press following his death. Headed, ‘IN MEMORIAM’, it read:
By the death of Mr C.D. Harrod, J.P., which took place in London on Tuesday, residents of Tiverton and the district have lost a sincere friend. It is about sixteen years since Mr Harrod sold the large commercial undertaking, now known as Harrods Stores, to a syndicate of businessmen, and came into the West of England to live. His first establishment was at Allerford House, Selworthy, where he took a keen interest in local matters. When in 1894, Morebath Manor came into the market he bought it, and shortly afterwards entered into occupation. From that day onwards, until 1902, when for reasons of health Mr Harrod left the district to live at Culverwood, Cross in Hand, Sussex, he threw himself heartily into all movements for the benefit of the community [the date of 1894 is wrong].
In various spheres, Mr Harrod made himself very useful during the time he lived at Morebath Manor. He represented the parish on the Tiverton Board of Guardians and Rural District Council; and was deeply interested in all social questions, spending much of his time in trying to find a means of checking the exodus from the rural districts. For several years he kept the Bampton, Morebath, and Oakford Ploughing Match in existence. After he left the locality the annual event soon fell through.
Soon after his acquisition of the Morebath estate Mr Harrod was placed on the commission of the peace for the counties of Devon and Somerset. He sat regularly on the county justices’ bench at Dulverton, and also occasionally at Bampton and Tiverton. He was held in high esteem by his tenants and all who came into contact with him, and he was a generous supporter of local charities and philanthropic movements.
When the war in South Africa broke out [1899], Mr Harrod initiated a public subscription in association with the local branch of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Families Association, himself giving £100 [about £8,000 in today’s terms], and devoting much time and labour to the administration of the fund. He paid the expenses of administration out of his private purse, in order that the whole of the sum subscribed [in total about £850] should go for the benefit of the wives and children of our brave defenders.
Mr Harrod was a firm believer in the advantages of education, and was ever ready to assist in efforts to spread the light. For some time he was Chairman of the Tiverton District Technical Education Committee. He was also a benefactor of the Tiverton Technical School.
Mr Harrod will be much missed in the Tiverton district by the Liberal Party. It was mainly through his help that the
Tiverton Liberal Club was founded nine and a half years ago. Mr Harrod was elected the first President of the Club, and has each year since then been re-elected, taking the greatest interest in the club throughout. Mr Harrod was several times asked to become the Liberal candidate for the Tiverton Division, but always declined by reason of ill health. He was the means of keeping up the registration for several years, also of appointing a Liberal agent, and (to a large extent) of securing Mr W.H. Reed, J.P., C.C., as the Liberal candidate.
As a light token of appreciation of his services to the Tiverton Liberal Club, the club members on February 15th 1902, presented Mr Harrod with a silver salver. Mr Harrod was deeply touched with the gift, and shortly after leaving the town he made the members a return gift of a full-sized billiards table. When the news of Mr Harrod’s death became known to the members of the Club on Wednesday last, they were deeply moved, and in the evening Mr John Searle (Hon. Sec. of the club) sent a letter to Mrs, and the Misses Harrod expressing sympathy with them in their bereavement and the regret of the Liberal Club at losing ‘such a generous friend, so sterling a Liberal, and so true a specimen of an English gentleman.’ The flag of the club remained at half-mast all last week.
Always a keen supporter of Sunday schools – he once acted as Superintendent of the Trevor Chapel School, just opposite his business – Mr Harrod took a prominent part in the religious life of his country home, extending support to the various Nonconformist places of worship in the Morebath district, as well as to the Church.
Mr Harrod’s last visit to Tiverton was on the occasion of the presentation of the freedom of the borough to Mr John Coles in June 1904. He was present at the luncheon in honour of Mr Coles, and briefly responded to the toast of ‘The Visitors’.
The Jewel of Knightsbridge Page 21