Born at South Ferriby on 27 September 1814, the son of John Nelthorpe of Ferriby, John was still at Eton when his uncle died. On reaching twenty-one, the young Sir John received a Commission as Cornet in the North Lincolnshire Yeomanry.
On 24 May 1838, Sir John married his first cousin, Fanny Maria the daughter of the Rev Sir Charles and Lady Anderson who had caused such ructions in his uncle’s household. In the same year he bought a number of striking pictures including one by Melchior de Hondecoeter of geese, ducks and a hoopoe.
He now set about his lifetime’s work of improving the estate. He bought beech, birch, box, elm, holly, larch, lime, mountain ash, oak, poplar, Scotch fir, silver fir, Spanish chestnut, spruce, sycamore, witch elm and yew. It is these planting that provide the basis of the mature woodlands throughout the Scawby Estate today.
Sir John also established brickyards at Twigmoor, South Ferriby and Legsby. Indeed, there had been a tradition of brick manufacture on the south bank of the Humber, dating back to the middle of the 18th century.
He set in motion a building programme of “model” dwellings based on a standard design the estate’s workforce, many examples of which can be seen in the village, characterised by the estate’s familiar colour scheme of deep green and cream.
Like his grandfather before him, Sir John was meticulous in recording his business transactions. A huge raft of documents still exist, ranging from printed letting agreements between 1838 and 1872 to receipts for tenants’ dinners for the period 1838 to 1861, which took place annually at different inns throughout the region.
In 1839, the upper fish pond at Scawby was cleaned, a cascade costing £202-7-2 and a new boat was bought for £12-5-0. Three years later, the lodge at the Scawby Brook entrance was built for £524-7-6. The fencing walls amounted to a further £60-9-7.
In 1842 Sir John was appointed High Sheriff of Lincolnshire, but 1857 saw him fined twenty-five pounds for failing to attend as a Grand Juryman at Lincoln Assizes.
Sir John died at Scawby on 22 November 1865 and was buried seven days later. As he had no children, the Nelthorpe name, in this branch, came to an end.
His nephew, Robert Nassau Sutton-Nelthorpe, remembers him as slight and distinguished in appearance with short Dundreary whiskers, and that he shot and rode well.
In short, his industrious nature successfuly mirrored the advent of the Victorian era.