Noble Obelisk - Kirk Braddan Cemetery - Braddan, Isle of Man - Obelisks on Waymarking.com

The 12-foot white-marble headstone for the Noble family is to be found close to the chapel door in the Kirk Braddan Cemetery. The headstone consisting of a square-sectioned, slightly tapering plinth surmounted by a square-sectioned tapering obelisk. There are incised inscriptions on three sides of the plinth which are as follows:

Front Face:
'IN MEMORY
OF
HENRY BLOOM NOBLE J.P., C.P.,
ONLY CHILD OF JOHN NOBLE
AND MARY HIS WIFE.
BORN AT CLIFTON WESTMORELAND
IN THE YEAR 1816
DIED AT VILLA MARINA, DOUGLAS
ON 2ND MAY 1903
AGED 86

HE MADE A LARGE FORTUNE
AND BEQUEATHED IT FOR
CHARITABLE PURPOSES.'

Left Face:
'IN MEMORY
OF
REBECCA NOBLE
WIFE OF HENRY BLOOM NOBLE
BORN ON 21ST MAY 1819
DIED ON 8TH JANUARY 1888
IN HER 69TH YEAR'

Right Face:
'IN MEMORY
OF
JOHN NOBLE
WHO DIED AT CUMBERLAND
ON 19TH FEBRUARY 1850
AGED 71 YEARS

ALSO OF
MARY NOBLE
HIS WIFE
WHO DIED AT VILLA MARINA, DOUGLAS
ON 13TH NOVEMBER 1870
AGED 96 YEARS'

'Henry Bloom Noble JP CP, born in Cumbria, was a philanthropist and businessman who at the time of his death was the richest resident of the Isle of Man. Noble bequeathed a large amount of his vast fortune to the people of the Isle of Man, resulting in numerous civic amenities such as recreation grounds, swimming baths, a library and a hospital

Henry Noble was born in the village of Clifton, Westmorland (now part of Cumbria) on 18 June 1816, the only son of John Noble and Mary (née Bloom). It is said that he came from a poor failed farming family, his father finding work as a customs official.

Wine & Spirits. His first connection with Douglas was due to his association with Alexander Spittall, father of James Spittall, a Douglas advocate. The elder Spittall was a wine and spirits merchant, whose principal place of business was Whitehaven, Cumbria, although he had a branch established in Douglas. Noble was employed by Spittall as a clerk, rising to the position of manager in 1835, moving to Douglas with his mother. The Nobles took residence in a house belonging to Spittall on the south side of St Barnabas' Square. Noble did not stay in the employ of Spittall for very much longer, but set up in the wine and spirits business on his own behalf; his first shop was on Fleetwood Corner.' (visit link)

In the "New History of the Isle of Man: Volume V The Modern Period 1830-1999" edited by John Belcham (ISBN: 0-85323-726-3) Henry Bloom Noble is described as 'the most successful 'rags to riches' entrepreneur of the century[on the Isle of Man]. He began in the wine and spirits trade in Douglas, as an in-comer servicing the needs of gentlemanly stranger-residents, before diversifying his interests and acquiring great wealth but never holding public office.

Henry Bloom Noble was a leading light in the Isle of Man's first limited liability company the Isle of Man Banking Company Limited which is today (2020) is part of the The Royal Bank of Scotland/NatWest.

More on the life and legacy of Henry Bloom Noble can be found at the follow links:
(visit link)

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Date Created/Placed: 1903 Address: Kirk Braddan Cemetery, Braddan Road, Braddan, Isle of Man. Height: 12ft Illuminated: no Website: Not listed

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