Christopher Beaumont
Seigneur of Sark
Assumed office
3 July 2016
Preceded byMichael Beaumont, 22nd Seigneur of Sark
Succeeded byHugh Rees-Beaumont
Personal details
Born
Christopher Beaumont

4 February 1957
Sark
SpouseSarah Beaumont (m. 1980)
ChildrenSibyl Rees-Beaumont (b. 1994)
Hugh Rees-Beaumont (b. 1996)
Parent(s)Michael Beaumont, 22nd Seigneur of Sark and Diana La Trobe-Bateman
EducationClifton College
OccupationArmy officer

Christopher Beaumont, 23rd Seigneur of Sark (born 4 February 1957) is the present Seigneur of Sark in the Channel Islands. He is a former British Army officer.[1]

Biography

Beaumont is the son of John Michael Beaumont and Diana Beaumont (née La Trobe-Bateman), he was born on 4 February 1957 in Reigate.

Beaumont was educated at Broadwater Manor House School in Worthing, Clifton College and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, before taking up a career as a regular officer of the British Army. He succeeded as Seigneur of Sark on 3 July 2016, on the death of his father Michael Beaumont.[1][2] He then returned to live on the island.[3]

Seigneurship

On 5 July 2016, the Sark Newspaper published an article which noted the new Seigneur's "impressive CV" and commented "Keen observers suggest that he is a man who will not be swayed by past convention. When on Sark he has often been seen to visit cafés and restaurants which are otherwise rigidly boycotted by members and supporters of Sark's one ruling party. For now, the people of Sark can only wait and hope that their new Seigneur will work to build a secure and prosperous future for each and every Islander." The newspaper hoped Beaumont would re-occupy La Seigneurie, the traditional residence of the Seigneur, and appealed for an economic plan to address local unemployment.[4]

In an interview with the BBC on 15 July 2016, Beaumont defended Sark's feudal structure and the Island's legislature, the Chief Pleas, saying: "There's a perfectly good, working Chief Pleas, and it gets my full support."[5] Constitutional reforms in 2008, which had the approval of his father the 22nd Seigneur, had devolved some of the feudal authority of the Seigneur to the legislature.

In 2009, after ill-health triggered Beaumont's parents to move out of the Seigneurie to a smaller cottage on the estate, they arranged for tenants to live in the Seigneurie for ten years, in return for making renovations.[6]

Beaumont and his family moved into the Seigneurie in 2017and have worked to restore its garden and grounds, which are now a visitor attraction.

The future of Sark

Since 2023, Beaumont has been a director of the Sark Property Company, a company that has been set up to mobilise potential investment for Sark. Its intention is “to build a company that has the financial resources and the expertise to carry out multi-generational investments in Sark.”[7]

Beaumont has said that Sark needs a long-term plan for its future and hopes his work with the Sark Property Company can help provide this. [8]

In a letter to residents of Sark in April 2023, Beaumont said: “As part of the process the [Sark Property] company, in collaboration with key stakeholders, would like to see an independent, objective assessment of what the island needs and what aspirations the community has.”[9]

That assessment was carried out by The Prince’s Foundation in the spring of 2023, with a full report made available to all.[10]

Beaumont has advocated changes to Sark’s laws to prevent people claiming tax residency in Sark without needing to be present on the island for a set period of time, and believes that the provision of affordable housing is a key part of the island’s future.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 "Michael Beaumont: Tributes paid to the Seigneur of Sark". BBC News. 4 July 2016. His son, Maj Christopher Beaumont, has inherited the title from his father and will become the 23rd Seigneur.
  2. ↑ "New Seigneur to arrive in Sark". ITV News. 5 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  3. ↑ Buenaventura Hector (12 August 2016). "L'insòlit cas de l'illa de Sark" [The strange case of the island of Sark]. Ara magazine (in Catalan). Retrieved 12 December 2016. I no ens oblidem que Sark és un estat en si mateix, l'últim que queda del ducat de Normandia. Enmig de l'illa hi tenimla Seigneurie, una esplèndida mansió amb uns fastuosos jardins que serveix de residència habitual del senyor (o dama) de Sark i la seva dinastia (des de fa uns mesos, Christopher Beaumont, el vint-i-tresè senyor de Sark). El senyor, juntament amb el senescal i els cheurs pliaids (els terratinents que formen el Parlament) són la màxima autoritat de l'illa.
  4. ↑ "Who is the man who has inherited the most powerful position in Sark?" (PDF). Sark Newspaper. No. 101. 5 July 2016. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016. An impressive CV of the new Seigneur's career can be found on https://uk.linkedin.com/in/christopher-beaumontb2a5907. A sparsely populated https://www.facebook.com/christopher.beaumont.39 provides a little more information but beyond this there is very little to be found in the public domain on Major Beaumont. Keen observers suggest that he is a man who will not be swayed by past convention.
  5. ↑ "Seigneur 'disappointed' at criticism of Sark government". BBC News. 15 July 2016. His son has said he is fully supportive of Sark's government, Chief Pleas.
  6. ↑ Lauren Collins (29 October 2012). "Sark Spring: A feudal feud in the Channel Islands". The New Yorker. Retrieved 12 December 2016. One night, Susan and David Synnott, an expatriate couple near their sixties, invited me to dinner at the Seigneurie, where Beaumont has allowed them to live, free of charge for ten years, in exchange for undertaking renovations.
  7. ↑ "About the Sark Property Company". Sark Property Company. Sark Property Company. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  8. ↑ "Sark seigneur looks to create plan for island's future". BBC. BBC. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  9. ↑ Beaumont, Christopher. "A New Development Plan" (PDF). Sark Property. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "Sark Community Engagement: Report of Findings" (PDF). Sark Property Company. The Prince's Foundation. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  11. ↑ Hannah, Kit (5 June 2023). "Focus: The £100m dream for Sark". Bailiwick Express. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
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