George Herbert Strutt

George Herbert Strutt (21 April 1854 – 17 May 1928), was a cotton mill owner and philanthropist from Belper in Derbyshire. Strutt became a High Sheriff. At these estates he built cottages and pony paths, enlarged the existing house and a dam in Glen Galmadale to hold water that could be used to keep the River Galma in flow (and fish) when there was a drought. The Strutt family were able to take cruises to Oban and nearby islands on the 150 ton steam ship, Sanda, Strutt kept there. Given the inaccessibility of the estate, a boat of some form was essential.

He was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Derbyshire in 1901, and was High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1903.

In 1907, he completed a long debate with the education authorities and was able to fund an elementary school for the children of Belper and its surrounding Derbyshire villages. The school was opened on 7 May 1909 by the Duke of Devonshire. The Herbert Strutt School cost Strutt £20,000 and included large playing fields and stained glass in the library showing the Strutt coat of arms. In 1910, he funded a public swimming pool in Belper and within four years he gave an additional £5,000 to expand the school's facilities. The school went on to become a Grammar school before it merged with two secondary modern schools to create the Belper School. The school's name and Strutt's gift are remembered in the name of a primary school in Belper. The school building is now a community centre.

He died of pneumonia, aged 74, at Ballater in Scotland on 17 May 1928.

After Strutt's death, the estate at Glensanda was inherited by his son Arthur and then shared, in 1930, with Arthur's New Zealand wife, Patricia. Arthur died in odd circumstances. He went out one morning in 1977 and never returned; five years later he was presumed to be dead. On the Monday following his memorial service his body was found. His clothed skeleton was discovered half a mile from his home by forestry workers, but it was too late to ascertain his cause of death.

Portraits of Strutt and "Mrs George Strutt", both by Frank Ernest Beresford, are owned by Belper Town Council and Derby Art Gallery respectively.