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Hugh Thomas Fattorini
15th July 1934 – 25th June 2005
Hugh Thomas Fattorini, company director, rare book collector and administrator of Skipton Castle, was born in Ilkley on 15th July 1934, the younger son of Wilfred Fattorini and Molly (née Spencer), both of Skipton. He was educated at Moorfield School in Ilkley, where the family first lived, before they moved to Addingham in 1940. He later attended Gilling Castle Preparatory School and Ampleforth College. He was a successful athlete and enjoyed rugby and cricket. As a school librarian he developed his interest in books, which was to last throughout his life.
National Service followed in 1953; he was commissioned in the Royal Artillery and served in the Anti-Aircraft Regiment, training at Oswestry and Tonfanau in Wales. He was stationed finally at Edinburgh Castle, one of his duties being in charge of the One o’clock Gun. In September 1955 his mother died, shortly before he went up to Trinity College, Oxford to read History. Following his graduation, in the autumn of 1958 he began working with his elder brother Tom in the family mail order business in Manchester, which took its name from the family, while their father oversaw the badge, medal and insignia works, Thomas Fattorini Ltd., at Birmingham, which is now being run by the 6th generation of the family, having been established in 1827 in Skipton.
In 1967 Hugh married Frances Robertson, the elder daughter of Mr and Mrs James Robertson of Ilkley, in St. Stephen’s Church, Skipton. Their first home was in Cheshire, where their two elder sons Andrew and Tim were born. In 1971, the mail order business having been sold, the family returned to Yorkshire. The following year they moved into Skipton Castle, which had been purchased by Hugh’s father Wilfred Fattorini in 1956. Here Hugh’s two younger sons, Richard and Julian, were born.
Settling in Skipton, Hugh began collecting and dealing in antiquarian books, his special interest being British ornithological books with hand-coloured illustrations, about which he became an authority. The collection was sold in 1995. For 18 years, from 1974-1992, he served as a non-executive director on the Board of Skipton Building Society, and he served from 1984 to 1987 on the committee of the Society for the History of Natural History at the Natural History Museum in London. He was also a Patron of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society.
Hugh became Administrator of Skipton Castle in the late 1980s, in charge of the day-to-day running, succeeding his father Wilfred, who died in 1992. Hugh was deeply interested in the history of the castle and the historical figures associated with it. He wrote and published the first colour guidebook and arranged for the illustrated tour sheet to be translated into 8 languages. He was honoured to give H.R.H The Prince of Wales a tour of the castle during the Prince’s visit to Craven in 1988. Hugh was keen to preserve the castle for future generations to enjoy and it gave him great pleasure to welcome visitors from around the world and share with them his knowledge of the castle and his love of the Dales.
Above all, he was a faithful member of the Catholic Church and was a regular worshipper at St Stephen’s Church with his family. He is survived by his wife and their four sons.
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Deaths
