Simon Yorke

Simon Yorke (24 June 1903 – 7 May 1966) was a Welsh landowner and soldier.

Simon Yorke was born in Erddig, Denbighshire, the eldest son of Philip Yorke (1849-1922) and his second wife Louisa Matilda (née Scott). He was the fifth bearer of that name in the family, descended from Simon Yorke of Dover (1606-1682), the grandfather of the Earl of Hardwicke. Simon's education took place at Moorland House in Heswall; Cheltenham College, and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge; and in 1927 he graduated with a BA in Forestry. Upon the death of his father in 1922, Simon inherited the Erddig estate, and in 1937 was High Sheriff for Denbighshire. Following the outbreak of World War II, despite being a lieutenant in the Denbighshire Yeomanry, Yorke enlisted with the North Staffordshire Regiment as a private soldier. He had no interest or desire for promotion, choosing to remain a sapper.

As the squire of Erddig, Simon Yorke had a troubled relationship with his tenants, denying their requests to have electricity or a telephone for their farms. He became increasingly reclusive, and visitors (especially official ones) were reportedly not welcome. However, despite not being a huntsman himself, Simon often enjoyed following the hounds on his estate with his bicycle. With the estate's income never very high and in decline since his father's time, staff were laid off, and Erddig began to fall into decay. Its condition was made worse by its proximity to Bersham Colliery, when a collapsed mine shaft caused the house to sink slightly at one end.

Simon Yorke was found dead in Erddig Park on May 7th, 1966, from heart failure. He was buried in Marchwiel Churchyard, unmarried and without a direct heir. Erddig was inherited by his brother, Philip Scott Yorke, who gifted the estate to the National Trust in 1973.

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