Charles Edward Keyser

Charles Edward Keyser DL FSA (10 September 1847 – 23 May 1929 ) was a British stockbroker and authority on English church architecture. In his later life, he became Lord of the manor of Aldermaston in the English county of Berkshire.

Biography

Charles Keyser was born in Paddington, London, to financier Charles Keyser (d. 1892) and Margaret Blore (daughter of Edward Blore). Keyser attended Eton College, before studying law at Trinity College, Cambridge. He gained his B.A. in 1870 and his MA in 1873. At this time, he lived at Warren House in Stanmore with his sister, Agnes.

Leaving Warren House in approximately 1890, Keyser bought Merry Hill House in Bushey. He purchased an old non-conformist chapel on Lower Paddock Road, in nearby Oxhey Village, to serve St Matthew's parish. However, the location lacked popularity as a place of worship. He subsequently leased the building to the newly-founded Oxhey Conservative Club. When the building was extended in 1923, it was renamed Keyser Hall after its benefactor; Charles himself performed the opening ceremony.

While living in Hertfordshire, he captained the Hertfordshire County Cricket Club for eight years.

In 1879, Keyser was appointed as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries due to his writings and lectures on English church architecture. In 1883, he wrote for the South Kensington Museum about buildings in Great Britain with mural paintings. a student of Keyser's maternal grandfather. Keyser had been told of the estate's sale by his sister, Agnes, who said that it reminded her of her stay at Sandringham House. and High Sheriff of Berkshire. He was initiated into Isaac Newton University Lodge, later rising to Grand Warden of England and Deputy Provincial Grand Master of Hertfordshire. and three daughters: Dorothy Margaret (1884–1963), Muriel Agnes (1886–1977) and Sybil Violet (1889–1966). In the 1891 census, all four Keyser children were listed as living at St George Hanover Square. In the following census, Keyser's daughters were recorded at 37 Portman Square.