Tributes as well-known farmer and fundraiser dies aged 86
A well-known farmer and charity fundraiser has died at the age of 86.
John Phillips, who kept the Wodehouse between Wombourne and Sedgley, had served for more than 20 years as a deputy lieutenant of Staffordshire.
Mr Phillips died peacefully on January 6, three years to the day since the death of his wife of 52 years, Carolyn. He leaves a son, Henry, a daughter, Julia, and six grandchildren.
He had lived at the Wodehouse for almost 40 years.
Mr Phillips and Carolyn were well known for the spectacular gardens at the Wodehouse, which they regularly opened to the public raising thousands of pounds for local charities.
He also served as chairman of Wombourne Cricket Club, and hosted events to raise funds for St Benedict Biscop's church, the British Red Cross, and South Staffordshire Conservatives.
Henry said he and his wife Yasmin would take over the running of the 13th-century Wodehouse and its estate, which featured in the 1980s ITV sitcom The Other 'Arf starring John Standing and Lorraine Chase.
Mr Phillips was born in Chelsea in 1935, the son of portrait painter Patrick Phillips and his wife Susannah.
Henry said that the family moved to Lechlade in the Cotswolds when Patrick served in the Second World War, and it was this time that gave John a love for the countryside.
"He always told great stories of fishing on the Leach and the Thames, catching crayfish and chasing butterflies," said Henry.
"These were key factors in the route he would choose to take through life and the development of his character."
After completing his National Service in Africa and Malaya, Mr Phillips attended agricultural college in Cirencester, and began farming in Oxfordshire in the 1960s.
He met Carolyn in 1965, and the couple married in 1967, moving to the Wodehouse in 1982.
"Moving to the Wodehouse was a huge event for the whole family," said Henry.
"While living at the Wodehouse, my dad threw himself into running the estate, looking after the house, and gardening.
"He and my mum spent countless hours and days working on it.
"They loved nothing more than opening it up for others to enjoy."
Henry said his father also had a love of travelling and country sports.
"I have lost count of the number of youngsters who he invited for their first ever day's shooting at the Wodehouse," he said.
