Background
Born at 42 Wigmore Street, Marylebone, he was the son of Frank Debenham and his wife Emma Folkard née Ridley.
Born at 42 Wigmore Street, Marylebone, he was the son of Frank Debenham and his wife Emma Folkard née Ridley.
Trinity College.
He was responsible for the considerable expansion of the family"s retail and wholesale drapery firm between 1892 and 1927. He effected a merger with Marshall & Snelgrove as well as a takeover of Harvey Nichols. He was noted for his paternalistic attitude towards his staff, providing medical and educational support.
He was also a pioneer in the dairy industry.
The couple had eight children. Debenham had an interest in politics, and was a supporter of the Conservative Party.
Although he considered entering parliament his business interests prevented this. He did enter local politics however.
He was elected unopposed at a by-election on 28 February 1912 for the Conservative-backed Municipal Reform party to represent the Marylebone East division, remaining a councillor until 1919.
On his retirement in 1927 he sold most of his shares in the firm for £1.8M, so severing his family"s connections with the retail chain that still bears his name. He devoted the rest of his life to dairy farming on his estates in Dorset. He was created a baronet, of Bladen in the County of Dorset, in 1931.
He was a member of Street Marylebone Borough Council, serving as mayor of the borough in 1910-1912. He was also a member of the London County Council.
