Tributes to charity champion Duncan Fairfax-Lucy who sold the top of Ben Nevis
A MEMBER of the Fairfax-Lucy family who made headlines for his carefully considered sale of the mountain Ben Nevis, has died at the age of 92.
Duncan Fairfax-Lucy was born in London, the son of Captain Ewen Ramsay Fairfax-Lucy and Margaret Westall King, on 18th September 1932.
He spent his childhood and the war years near Cambridge, attending prep school in the area before later going to Eton College.
After National Service, he qualified as a chartered accountant, working for many years for a housing trust in London, then as bursar to what is now called The Queen’s Foundation in Edgbaston, Birmingham.
It was while in London he met future wife Janet in 1962 and the couple married at Holy Trinity Brompton on 26th September, 1964.
They lived in London until 1974 and then to Tonbridge. This was followed by a move to Charlecote at the start of the 1980s, before a further move, to Wellesbourne, in 2006.
They had two children Angus and Anna, and three grandchildren, Hugo, Emma and Kendra.
Janet died in 2017.
Angus said: “While living in the village of Charlecote (though not at Charlecote Park), he officially opened the refurbished village hall on 8th March, 1980 and passed away exactly 45 years later on the same day.”
The couple enjoyed entertaining at home and Duncan was also a keen reader.
They were very active in Charlecote Church, serving on the Parochial Church Council and, after retirement, Duncan was a lay reader.
He also supported numerous charities, being a notable supporter of The Leprosy Mission, where he was a trustee from 1995-2001.
Those charitable instincts were highlighted in the story of how he sold the family’s remaining interests in Ben Nevis.
They had owned the whole site since the middle of the 19th Century but a previous generation had sold off the lower reaches in the 1920s to Alcan for a hydro-electric powered aluminium smelting operation.
Angus explained: “He was a landowner in Scotland, once owning the summit of Ben Nevis and a portion of its upper reaches.
“Interested in conservation and wanting to maintain the mountain for public access, he decided to sell it in 2000 to the John Muir Trust, a Scottish conservation charity, to protect its wild character and manage visitor impact, such as maintaining the summit path and clearing litter.”
The price he sold it for was seen as below the market value and his decision to favour the trust was widely applauded at the time.
Scottish daily newspaper The Herald asked him about what it termed, ‘the comparatively low price’ reported as £450,000 and he told them: “I didn’t want to make a fortune out of the sale, but I want to make sure that the public will benefit.
“I felt the John Muir Trust were the right people to take it on for the future.”
The trust director Nigel Hawkins told the same paper: “The owner approached the trust and asked if we would be interested in buying it. He did not want it to go on the open market although his family have owned it for generations.
“Mr Fairfax-Lucy has been a member of the John Muir Trust for several years and liked the way we operated as a conservation body working directly with the local communities.
“He thought that was exactly what was needed for the Ben, so he approached us and he has agreed a very fair price.”
It also quoted Dr Michael Foxley, chairman of the Highland Council's land and environment committee, who paid tribute to the Fairfax-Lucy family: “What a pleasant change to see a landlord seeking out a responsible new owner without trying to attract the interest of international land speculators or sucking the last possible penny from the public purse.”
Angus said his father had died at home from natural causes and would be greatly missed by all the family, including his two sisters, Jennifer and Alison.
