Finch Hill House - Douglas, Isle of Man
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member Mike_bjm
N 54° 09.143 W 004° 29.031
30U E 403093 N 6001492
This plaque commemorates the official opening of Finch Hill House on 7th July 2001.
Waymark Code: WM12QKG
Location: Isle of Man
Date Posted: 07/03/2020
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Weathervane
Views: 4

This grand opening took place on Saturday 7th July 2001.

His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex CVO officially opened Finch Hill House as the headquarters of the Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission ("FSC").

The FSC was established in the wake of the collapse of the Savings and Investment Bank in 1982 which had highlighted the need for more effective financial supervision.
(visit link)

The Commission was an independent Statutory Board established under the Financial Supervision Commission Order 1983 and had as its regulatory objectives the following:
• to secure an appropriate degree of protection for the customers of persons carrying on a regulated activity,
• to reduce financial crime, and
• to support the Island’s economy and its development as an international financial centre. (visit link)

Finch Hill House is today (2020) the main offices of the Isle of Man's successor financial regulatory The Isle of Man Financial Services Authority.

The commemorative plaque is set on the wall to the righthand side of the main entrance to the building and is inscribed as follows:
"Finch Hill House
Opened By
HRH The Earl of Wessex CVO
7th July 2020"


This Grand opening came during Princess Edward's visit to the Isle of Man to represent The Queen at the Island's National Day Celebrations on 5th July 2001.

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
"Prince Edward, earl of Wessex, in full Edward Anthony Richard Louis, earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn, (born March 10, 1964, London, England), youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, duke of Edinburgh.

Edward had three older siblings: Charles, Anne, and Andrew. He attended Gordonstoun School, a spartan boarding school in Scotland, and studied history at Jesus College, Cambridge. After Cambridge, he joined the Royal Marines but resigned his commission in 1987 in the middle of commando training. He worked briefly for musical theatre composer Andrew Lloyd Webber before setting up his own theatrical production company. This collapsed in 1991 with debts of £600,000 (almost $1 million). In 1993 he set up Ardent Productions, Ltd., which survived, mainly through making programs about the royal family’s past history, though seldom earning profits, until it folded in 2009. Despite these ups and downs, Edward won respect for his attempts to be the first child of a British monarch to seek a career in the private sector.

On June 19, 1999, Edward married Sophie Rhys-Jones (now Sophie, countess of Wessex), a public-relations consultant. On the wedding day, the queen bestowed on Edward the title earl of Wessex and Viscount Severn (the senior title represented a geographic reference that could be found only in history books, for Wessex had ceased to be a formal region of England many centuries earlier). Edward and Sophie had two children, Louise (born 2003) and James (born 2007)."
(visit link)
What was opened/inaugurated?: Finch Hill House

Who was that opened/inaugurated it?: HRH The Earl of Wessex CVO

Date of the opening/inauguration?: 7 July 2001

Website about the person: [Web Link]

Website about the location: Not listed

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