BLOFELD, Sir John Christopher Calthorpe 1932-2025
Richard R
From the Telegraph of 9 Dec 2025: BLOFELD Sir John Christopher Calthorpe, formerly Judge of the High Court, died peacefully at home on Sunday 30th November after a short illness, surrounded by his family. He was 93. Husband to the late Judith Ann Blofeld and partner to Candia Gladstone, father of Charlotte, Tom and Piers. Grandfather of Zephyr, Alexander, Will, Rufus and Robbie. He was deeply loved. His Funeral will be in Norwich Cathedral, at 2 p.m. on Friday 23rd January.
He was s of Thomas Robert Calthorpe BLOFELD CBE 1903-86 (who he succ. as) head of that gentry family of Hoveton House and Grizel Blanche 1903-92 d of Christopher Rede TURNER 1877-1967 of Postwick Lodge, Norfolk (s of Maj-Gen Sir Alfred Edward TURNER KCB 1841-1918) and Jill Helen 1881-1952 d of Henry (Harry) PICKERSGILL-CUNLIFFE 1858-1919 sometime head of that gentry family (now DUBERLY) of Straughton Manor and Arlette Isabel REYNOLDS 1859-1940. He m 1962 Judith Anne Howie MITCHELL 1934-2013 d of Alan Forster MOHUN 1908-77 by his 1933 m to as her 1 h Enid HURST (Mrs James Mitchell, her 2 h adopted Judith), and had issue (Sir John’s yr bro was the cricketing journalist Henry Blofeld. His partner is Candia Mary nee Pumphrey, widow of Christopher Gladstone d 2012 4xgt gs of Thomas GLADSTONE 1732-1809 f of Sir John Gladstone 1 Bt):
1. Thomas (Tom) Henry Calthorpe b 1964 (who succeeds his father as family head): ?m __ and had issue
?1.1 RUFUS JOHN FELPERING b 2007 reg Q3 Norwich
?1.2 Robbie b _
2. Piers Edward John Calthorpe b 1968: m 1997 reg Q3 Powys, Chloe b 1969 d of Malise Walter Maitland Knox Hore RUTHVEN b 1942 (gs of 1 Earl of GOWRIE 1872-1955 and bro of 2 Earl and second in line to the earldom) and Ianthe d of Lt-Cdr Robert Hugh HODGKINSON DSC RN of Bembridge, IoW and Eleanor KEARSLEY, and had issue
2.1 Zephyr Samuel Ruthven b 1995 reg Q2 Westminster
2.2 Alexander Finn Ruthven b 1998 reg Q1 Norwich
1. Charlotte Ann b 1962: m 2002 reg Q4 London Geoffrey C s of Geoffrey MATTHEWS of London, and had issue
1.1 William Mark Blofeld MATTHEWS b c2003 reg Q1 Hammersmith
S R Eglesfield
Jonathan
Richard R
Obit in the Times of 18 Jan 2026:
E X T R A C T
Sir John Blofeld obituary: Judge who crossed paths with Stones and 007
High Court judge and Norfolk landowner whose family name was the unwitting inspiration for James Bond’s nemesis, dies aged 93
John Blofeld, an Old Etonian whose estate in Norfolk had been acquired by his family in 1537, was not, it seemed, the obvious barrister to act for Marianne Faithfull when she and Mick Jagger were arrested by the Chelsea drug squad in 1969. He was not a noted aficionado of her music and had never partaken of cannabis or its derivative, hashish. So he thought he had better try it.
Blofeld, who was to take silk a few years later and would become a High Court judge and be knighted, was acting as a junior for Faithfull… The upshot was that Jagger was fined £200 and Faithfull (obituary, January 30, 2025), whom Blofeld came to like, was acquitted…
Blofeld was considerably more accustomed to such exotic individuals than to aberrant drug-taking. He had attended the same prep school, Sunningdale in Berkshire, as a Scaramanga, whose name appealed to Ian Fleming, another old boy, for a villainous character in his James Bond books. Like Blofeld’s father and both his sons, Fleming became a member of Boodle’s in St James’s. Henry Blofeld, John’s younger brother, is of the view that the author alighted on the family name for another villain when leafing through the membership list. “Ian gave a yelp of delight, had a glass of champagne and never looked back,” he said.
In adult life John Blofeld had no interest in 007 and was not a filmgoer. He tended to converse primarily about subjects that interested him and preferred PG Wodehouse. There are competing stories for the Bond link, but few doubt that Ernst Stavro Blofeld derived from the Blofeld family.
John Christopher Calthorpe Blofeld was the son of Thomas Blofeld and Grizel (née Turner) and was born on the family’s estate, Hoveton House, Norfolk, in 1932... He shared rooms with Tam Dalyell, his fellow Etonian and a future MP, and canvassed with him for the Labour Party…
…Blofeld’s wife, Judith Ann (née Mitchell) predeceased him in 2013 and he is survived by his partner, Candia Gladstone, and the children from his marriage: Charlotte is a Jungian psychotherapist; Tom created a children’s adventure park called Bewilderwood and writes children’s books; and Piers is a literary agent. Blofeld was born in the night nursery and died in the day nursery at Hoveton House with his sister, Anthea, 96, and Henry, 86, by his side.
His knighthood, awarded after he became a High Court judge, was featured on television as by chance a documentary was being made about the duties of the Queen. After being tapped by Her Majesty’s sword, the discourse was heard on air. “Is there a lot of crime about these days?” the Queen asked him. To which Blofeld replied with more tact than Ernst Stavro might have done: “I’m rather afraid there is, ma’am.”
Sir John Blofeld, High Court judge, was born on July 11, 1932. He died on November 30, 2025, aged 93
The obit also mentions his brother Henry Calthorpe ‘Blowers’ BLOFELD OBE b 1939, the cricket commentator. They were 5 cousins once removed of the former British PM the LP Baron CAMERON OF CHIPPING NORTON b 1966: https://groups.google.com/g/peerage-news/c/JDE03QHlqhI/m/UOs6lGFG-_YJ