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Reginald Rix, a 67-year-old car dealer and father of fashion designer Henrietta Rix, has failed in his attempt to remove a blue plaque from outside his £3 million Cheshire mansion. The plaque commemorates Sir Henry Royce, co-founder of Rolls-Royce, who lived at the property between 1898 and 1908. Despite Rix’s application for listed building consent to take down the historical marker, Knutsford town council strongly objected, citing its significance as a landmark piece of local heritage. The house, built in 1898, is part of a conservation area and was granted permission for the plaque installation in 2016.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Car dealer Reginald Rix, who owns a £3 million mansion in Cheshire linked to Rolls-Royce co-founder Sir Henry Royce, failed to have a historic blue plaque removed from the property. The plaque commemorates Royce's residency there between 1898 and 1908. Despite his apparent fondness for Rolls-Royce, Rix applied for listed building consent to remove the plaque but was rejected by Knutsford town council due to its significance as a landmark piece of local heritage. The house is situated in an exclusive area and is part of a conservation zone, adding to its historical importance.
Written for “Blue Plaque Controversy England” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 10309 · logged 2026-09-15
A Bentley-driving company boss has failed in his bid to remove a blue plaque commemorating his £3million home’s link to one of the founders of Rolls-Royce.
asserted
boss → drive → Royce
Car dealer Reginald Rix, 67, father of leading fashion designer Henrietta Rix, bought motoring pioneer Sir Henry Royce’s listed historic former home in an exclusive enclave of Cheshire last year.
asserted
Rix → lead → Cheshire
In 2022 his daughter, co-founder of cult fashion label Rixo, which is adored by stars including Kylie Minogue and Margot Robbie, told Vogue magazine of her pride at being driven to her wedding in her father’s vintage 1960s Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud.
asserted
which → adore → Cloud
Yet despite Mr Rix's apparent fondness for the world-famous luxury car brand, he and his wife sought listed building consent to take down a plaque from a gate pillar at the front of Brae Cottage which states: ‘F. Henry Royce co-founder of Rolls-Royce motor cars lived here 1898-1908.’
asserted
founder → seek → cars
However, the application was rejected after Knutsford town council said it ‘strongly objected’ on the grounds that it represented a ‘landmark’ piece of local heritage.
asserted
it → reject → heritage
The house was constructed in 1898 after Sir Henry commissioned Gothic revival architects including Alfred Waterhouse, who designed Balliol College, Oxford and Manchester Town Hall.
asserted
who → construct → College
While living there, the engineer reputedly ‘tinkered’ with his inventions in the cellar – a precursor to his successful partnership with Charles Rolls who he met at the Midland Hotel in Manchester in 1904.
asserted
he → live → 1904
The commemorative plaque – one of five marking key points in the Cheshire market town’s history – was installed after listed building consent was given in 2016.
asserted
consent → mark → 2016
The plaque outside Reginald Rix's £3million Cheshire home has marked the link to Rolls-Royce's co-founder since 2016
Motoring pioneer Sir Henry reputedly ‘tinkered’ with his inventions in the cellar before his historic meeting with Charles Rolls in 1904
Reginald Rix (pictured) bought the house after founding a successful car dealership
The house, situated in a conservation area, is now owned by Mr Rix – who founded Warrington-based Rix Motor Group in 1996 – and his wife Jane.
asserted
who → mark → 1996
While their application does not give their reasons for wanting the plaque removed, in the past it has attracted fans of the marque to the quiet millionaires’ row.
asserted
it → give → row
Interest culminated around the centenary of the brand in 2004 when a procession of Rolls-Royces drew film crews from around the world to the property.
asserted
procession → culminate → property
Applying for consent to remove the plaque, Daniel Waugh, of Dickinson Waugh Architecture, wrote that unscrewing it from the wall ‘will not result in any harm to the building or its significance and will have no impact on the character and appearance of the conservation area’.
asserted
unscrewing → apply → area
The mortar would then be repaired and the plaque handed back to the local council.
asserted
plaque → repair → council
However, in a formal objection, Knutsford town council wrote that it ‘STRONGLY OBJECTS to the removal of the Blue Plaque on the grounds that whilst the listed building is a dwelling, it [is] also a heritage asset that forms part of the history of Knutsford, highlighting a person of national significance and therefore should be protected as a landmark of Knutsford Heritage’.
asserted
that → write → Heritage
In refusing consent, Cheshire East council said: ‘The proposed removal would result in harm to the significance of the property and would undo a positive enhancement undertaken through its previous installation.
‘There is no convincing justification as to why the plaque should be removed in order to outweigh the identified harm of its removal.’
The couple have six months to appeal against the planning department's decision.
asserted
couple → refuse → decision
Mr and Mrs Rix were approached for comment.
asserted
Rix → approach → comment
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