Robert Thomas Flower, 8th Viscount Ashbrook
Robert Thomas Flower, 8th Viscount Ashbrook (1 April 1836 - 9 March 1919) was an Irish aristocrat, Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army, and inventor.
Biography
Early life
Robert Thomas Flower was born on 1 April 1836 at Castle Durrow, Durrow, County Laois, Ireland.[1][2] His father was Henry Jeffrey Flower, 5th Viscount Ashbrook (1806–1871) and his mother, Frances Robinson (1803-1886).[1] He had three sisters and two brothers, Henry Jeffrey Flower, 6th Viscount Ashbrook (1829–1882) and William Spencer Flower, 7th Viscount Ashbrook (1830–1906).[1][3]
Career
He gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the service of the 4th Battalion in the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment.[1]
He invented an easy-to-use handloom for the unskilled and disabled, and a latch-hook needle that speeds up the weaving process.[2] The techniques were used by Yvo Richard Vesey, 5th Viscount de Vesci (1881–1958), who opened a carpet factory and hired women to do the weaving.[2] The carpets were sold at Harrods in London and at Marshall Field's in Chicago.[2] They furnished the Mansion House, Dublin, the grandstand at Ascot and RMS Titanic.[2]
He became the 8th Viscount Ashbrook and the 9th Baron Castle-Durrow on 26 November 1906.[1]
Personal life
He married Gertrude Sophia Hamilton, daughter of Reverend Sewell Hamilton, on 18 July 1866.[1] They had five children:
- Hon. Frances Mary Flower (married Henry Ernest White).[1][3]
- Hon. Eva Constance Gertrude Flower (unknown-1928).[1]
- Hon. Gertrude Flower (unknown-1956).[1]
- Llowarch Robert Flower, 9th Viscount Ashbrook (1870-1936).[1]
- Hon. Reginald Henry Flower (1871-1938).[1]
He resided at 22 Adelaide Crescent in Hove, East Sussex in the 1860s.[4] From 1869 onwards, he resided at Knocknatrina House in County Laois, Ireland.[3]
He died on 9 March 1919.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 The Peerage: Lt.-Col. Robert Thomas Flower, 8th Viscount Ashbrook
- 1 2 3 4 5 Christopher Winn, I Never Knew That About the Irish, Random House, 2010
- 1 2 3 Abandoned Ireland: Knocknatrina House
- ↑ Judy Middleton, The Encyclopaedia of Hove & Portslade, Brighton & Hove Libraries, 2002, Vol. 1, p. 15
| Peerage of Ireland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William Flower |
Viscount Ashbrook 1906–1919 |
Succeeded by Llowarch Flower |