1.
Castle Hill, Filleigh
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Castle Hill in the parish of Filleigh in North Devon, is an early Palladian country house situated 3 miles north-west of South Molton and 8 miles south-east of Barnstaple. Whose family is earliest recorded as residing in the 12th century at the manor of Whympston in the parish of Modbury in South Devon, the Fortescue family became major land owners, influential in British and West Country history. The house was reconstructed following a disastrous fire in 1934. It was designated a Grade II* listed building in 1967, the park and gardens are Grade I listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. Today the property is leased by Eleanor, Countess of Arran, the only historic residence of the Fortescue family now remaining as a seat of the Earls Fortescue is Ebrington Manor in Gloucestershire, a very modest building in comparison to Castle Hill. The manor of Filleigh has been held by the Fortescue family since the 15th century, although the main seat until the late 17th century was Weare Giffard. An older late Tudor manor house on the site was re-modelled in 1684 by Arthur Fortescue, a plaque to the left of the north entrance front of the main range is inscribed in Latin, Re-Edificat Per Arthur Fortescue AR AD1684. In 1728/9 he appointed Burlingtons favoured builder Roger Morris to reface the house in Portland stone, the former hall was remodelled as a double-height saloon. A circular library was added in the early 19th century, in 1841 the architect Edward Blore added a porte-cochere on the north side of the main range, now demolished and replaced in 1974 by an entrance porch to the design of Raymond Erith. Blore also refashioned the entrance hall and stairs and added a top storey with mansard roof, in 1861 Blore added at the east side of the house service wings and stables, thus considerably elongating the southern appearance of the building beyond the east wing. The service wing is set back from the east wing by the width of the road which passes directly in front of it. Adjoining it on its east end and extending backwards to give the ensemble an L-shape, is Blores stable block, a major fire broke out in the early morning of 9 March 1934 and burned for two days. It destroyed much of the interior and killed two members of staff, the housekeeper and a maid, the 5th Earl had recently installed a central heating system, the boiler of which, situated underneath the library floor, had malfunctioned. After the fire the house was restored to the 18th-century style by Lord Gerald Wellesley, soldier, diplomat and architect, the house is surrounded by landscaped grounds containing many picturesque structures and decorative points-de-vue. This made available a site for the planned landscaping. Other points-de-vue include the Sham Castle, the Triumphal Arch, the Ebrington Tower, a sham castle dating from about 1746, occupies the hill behind the house to the north, possibly inspired by Vanbrugh, and is said to be the feature which gave the house its name. It served for a while as a hall, at which time it was lined with oak panelling from nearby North Aller House. The building was converted into a dwelling house, originally intended for a couple to tend the tame pheasants
2.
Weare Giffard
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Weare Giffard is a small village, parish and former manor in North Devon. The church and manor house are situated 2 1/2 miles NW of Great Torrington in North Devon, most of the houses within the parish are situated some 1/2-mile east of the church. The church is situated on a hillside to the north and slightly above the wide, the Church of the Holy Trinity and the adjacent Weare Giffard Hall are designated members of the Grade I listed buildings in Devon. The historian of Devon Tristram Risdon supposed the name Weare to be derived from a weir which was historically situated in the river to catch fish. The construction of a fish-weir generally required a licence from the feudal overlord, many disputes are recorded in the medieval records over disputes concerning fish-weirs. One of the earliest holders of the manor was the 13th-century Sir Walter Giffard, after whom the manor took its suffix. He left a daughter Emma as his sole heiress who married thrice, Firstly to Hugh Widworthy, secondly to Sir William Trewin, for whom she produced issue, William Trewin, who took the surname de Wear in lieu of his patronymic. Thirdly to Sir Robert Dynham, without issue, stone effigies of an early member of the Giffard family and his wife exist in the Parish Church, now housed separately in arched niches set into the north wall of the nave. The original location of these effigies was in the north transept, the estate of Brightley in the parish of Chittlehampton, about 10 miles east of Weare Giffard, was acquired by Sir Roger Giffard on his marriage to Margaret Coblegh, the heiress of Brightley. Over the porch of Brightley Barton, now a large farmhouse, Roger was a son of Sir Thomas Giffard of the manor of Halsbury, about 13 miles west of Weare Giffard. The Giffards of Halsbury appear to have been a line of the Giffards of Weare. Bartholomew Giffard of Clovelly, married Joan de Halsbury, the heiress of Halsbury, the 13th-century Testa de Nevill lists the manor of Clovelly as being held by Sir Roger Giffard from his overlord Sir Walter Giffard of Wear. The senior male line at Clovelly died out in 1303 on the death of Sir Matthew Giffard, the last of in the male line of the de Wear family was William de Wear, who died c. The senior line of the Denzell family became extinct in the line on the death of John Denzel, serjeant-at-law and Attorney-General to the Queen Consort. It was a branch of this family which had acquired Weare Giffard by marriage to the heiress of Weare. Richard Denzell had one son, also named Richard, by his wife the de Wear heiress, the arms of Denzell were, Sable, a mullet in chief and a crescent in base argent. These arms survive sculpted on a bench-end, c,1510, in Weare Giffard Church and also sculpted in stone on the monument to Sir Richard de Pomeroy, in Berry Pomeroy Church. The Denzell arms are shown in the second quarter of the arms of Richard Fortescue on his monumental brasses in Filleigh Church
3.
Whigs (British political party)
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The Whigs were a political faction and then a political party in the parliaments of England, Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Between the 1680s and 1850s, they contested power with their rivals, the Whigs origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute monarchy. The Whigs played a role in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and were the standing enemies of the Stuart kings and pretenders. The Whigs took full control of the government in 1715, and remained dominant until King George III, coming to the throne in 1760. The Whig Supremacy was enabled by the Hanoverian succession of George I in 1714, the Whigs thoroughly purged the Tories from all major positions in government, the army, the Church of England, the legal profession, and local offices. The Partys hold on power was so strong and durable, historians call the period from roughly 1714 to 1783 the age of the Whig Oligarchy. The first great leader of the Whigs was Robert Walpole, who maintained control of the government through the period 1721–1742, his protégé was Henry Pelham, who led from 1743 to 1754. Both parties were founded on rich politicians, more than on votes, there were elections to the House of Commons. The Whig Party slowly evolved during the 18th century, later on, the Whigs drew support from the emerging industrial interests and wealthy merchants, while the Tories drew support from the landed interests and the royal family. The term Whig was originally short for whiggamor, a term meaning cattle driver used to describe western Scots who came to Leith for corn. In the reign of Charles I the term was used during Wars of the Three Kingdoms to refer derisively to a faction of the Scottish Covenanters who called themselves the Kirk Party. It was then applied to Scottish Presbyterian rebels who were against the Kings Episcopalian order in Scotland, Whig was a term of abuse applied to those who wanted to exclude James on the grounds that he was a Roman Catholic. The fervent Tory Samuel Johnson often joked that the first Whig was the Devil, the Whigs, under Lord Shaftesburys leadership, wished to exclude the Duke of York from the throne due to his Catholicism, his favouring of monarchical absolutism and his connections to France. They believed the Duke, if allowed to inherit the throne, would endanger the Protestant religion, liberty, the first Exclusion Bill was supported by a substantial majority on its second reading in May 1679. In response, King Charles prorogued Parliament and then dissolved it and this new parliament did not meet for thirteen months, because Charles wanted to give passions a chance to die down. When it met in October 1680, an Exclusion Bill was introduced and passed in the Commons without major resistance, Charles dissolved Parliament in January 1681, but the Whigs did not suffer serious losses in the ensuing election. The next Parliament first met in March, at Oxford, but Charles dissolved it only after a few days, when he made an appeal to the country against the Whigs, and determined to rule without Parliament. In February, Charles had made a deal with the French King Louis XIV, without Parliament, the Whigs gradually crumbled, mainly due to the Rye House Plot
4.
Mevagissey
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Mevagissey is a village, fishing port and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated five miles south of St Austell. The parish population at the 2011 census was 2,015, the village nestles in a small valley and faces east to Mevagissey Bay. The inner and outer harbours are busy with a mixture of pleasure vessels and working fishing boats, however, tourism has supplanted fishing as the dominant industry in recent years. Mevagissey village centre consists of streets with many places to eat. The outer areas are built on the slopes of the surrounding hillsides and are mostly residential. The first recorded mention of Mevagissey dates from 1313, although there is evidence of settlement dating back to the Bronze Age, the old name of the parish was Lamorrick, and it was part of the episcopal manor of Tregear. The church was dedicated to Saints Meva and Ida in 1259 by Bishop Bronescombe, the Norman church was cruciform and some Norman work remains but the church was more or less rebuilt in the 15th century. In the Commonwealth period the tower became ruinous and the bells were taken down, according to tradition there has been a church on the same site since about 500 AD. Meva may well be the same as St Mewan and Issey is also the saint of St Issey. Mevagissey is home to three Cornish holy wells, the Brass Well and Ladys Well are both situated in the manor of Treleaven, the other holy well is within the gardens of Mevagissey House, the old vicarage. Towards the end of the 17th century, Porthhilly merged with the hamlet of Lamoreck to make the new village and it was named Meva hag Ysi, after two Irish saints, St Meva and St Issey. The modern Cornish name is Lannvorek, after the old parish name, at this time the main sources of income for the village were pilchard fishing and smuggling and the village had at least ten inns, of which the Fountain and the Ship still remain. Andrew Pears, the founder of Pears Soap was born in the village in 1768, the current harbour is built on the site of a medieval quay. The first Act of Parliament allowing the new port to be built was passed in 1774, the inner harbour, consisting of the current East and West Quays, was constructed from this time. An outer harbour was added in 1888, but seriously damaged in a blizzard in 1891, the outer walls were rebuilt by 1897. The harbour was given charitable trust status in 1988, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution stationed a lifeboat at Portmellon in 1869, but in 1888 moved it to Mevagissey. It was kept afloat in the harbour for a few years, the following year a new boat, the James Chisholm, was installed
5.
Cornwall
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Cornwall is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, Cornwall has a population of 551,700 and covers an area of 3,563 km2. Cornwall forms the westernmost part of the south-west peninsula of the island of Great Britain, and this area was first inhabited in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods. It continued to be occupied by Neolithic and then Bronze Age peoples, there is little evidence that Roman rule was effective west of Exeter and few Roman remains have been found. In the mid-19th century, however, the tin and copper mines entered a period of decline, subsequently, china clay extraction became more important and metal mining had virtually ended by the 1990s. Traditionally, fishing and agriculture were the important sectors of the economy. Railways led to a growth of tourism in the 20th century, however, the area is noted for its wild moorland landscapes, its long and varied coastline, its attractive villages, its many place-names derived from the Cornish language, and its very mild climate. Extensive stretches of Cornwalls coastline, and Bodmin Moor, are protected as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Cornwall is the homeland of the Cornish people and is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, retaining a distinct cultural identity that reflects its history. Some people question the present constitutional status of Cornwall, and a nationalist movement seeks greater autonomy within the United Kingdom in the form of a devolved legislative Cornish Assembly. On 24 April 2014 it was announced that Cornish people will be granted minority status under the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The modern English name Cornwall derives from the concatenation of two ancient demonyms from different linguistic traditions, Corn- records the native Brythonic tribe, the Cornovii. The Celtic word kernou is cognate with the English word horn. -wall derives from the Old English exonym walh, the Ravenna Cosmography first mentions a city named Purocoronavis in the locality. This is thought to be a rendering of Duro-cornov-ium, meaning fort of the Cornovii. The exact location of Durocornovium is disputed, with Tintagel and Carn Brea suggested as possible sites, in later times, Cornwall was known to the Anglo-Saxons as West Wales to distinguish it from North Wales. The name appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 891 as On Corn walum, in the Domesday Book it was referred to as Cornualia and in c.1198 as Cornwal. Other names for the county include a latinisation of the name as Cornubia, the present human history of Cornwall begins with the reoccupation of Britain after the last Ice Age. The area now known as Cornwall was first inhabited in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods and it continued to be occupied by Neolithic and then Bronze Age people. The Common Brittonic spoken at the time developed into several distinct tongues
6.
Devon
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Devon, also known as Devonshire, which was formerly its common and official name, is a county of England, reaching from the Bristol Channel in the north to the English Channel in the south. It is part of South West England, bounded by Cornwall to the west, Somerset to the northeast, combined as a ceremonial county, Devons area is 6,707 km2 and its population is about 1.1 million. Devon derives its name from Dumnonia, which, during the British Iron Age, Roman Britain, the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain resulted in the partial assimilation of Dumnonia into the Kingdom of Wessex during the eighth and ninth centuries. The western boundary with Cornwall was set at the River Tamar by King Æthelstan in 936, Devon was constituted as a shire of the Kingdom of England thereafter. The north and south coasts of Devon each have both cliffs and sandy shores, and the bays contain seaside resorts, fishing towns. The inland terrain is rural, generally hilly, and has a low density in comparison to many other parts of England. Dartmoor is the largest open space in southern England at 954 km2, to the north of Dartmoor are the Culm Measures and Exmoor. In the valleys and lowlands of south and east Devon the soil is fertile, drained by rivers including the Exe, the Culm, the Teign, the Dart. As well as agriculture, much of the economy of Devon is linked with tourism, in the Brittonic, Devon is known as Welsh, Dyfnaint, Breton, Devnent and Cornish, Dewnens, each meaning deep valleys. One erroneous theory is that the suffix is due to a mistake in the making of the original letters patent for the Duke of Devonshire. However, there are references to Defenascire in Anglo-Saxon texts from before 1000 AD, the term Devonshire may have originated around the 8th century, when it changed from Dumnonia to Defenascir. Kents Cavern in Torquay had produced human remains from 30–40,000 years ago, Dartmoor is thought to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunter-gatherer peoples from about 6000 BC. The Romans held the area under occupation for around 350 years. Devon became a frontier between Brittonic and Anglo-Saxon Wessex, and it was absorbed into Wessex by the mid 9th century. This suggests the Anglo-Saxon migration into Devon was limited rather than a movement of people. The border with Cornwall was set by King Æthelstan on the east bank of the River Tamar in 936 AD, the arrival of William of Orange to launch the Glorious Revolution of 1688 took place at Brixham. Devon has produced tin, copper and other metals from ancient times, Devons tin miners enjoyed a substantial degree of independence through Devons Stannary Parliament, which dates back to the 12th century. The last recorded sitting was in 1748, agriculture has been an important industry in Devon since the 19th century
7.
Chough
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Two species of chough constitute the genus Pyrrhocorax of the Corvidae family of birds. These are the chough, and the Alpine chough. The white-winged chough of Australia, despite its name, is not a true chough but rather a member of the family Corcoracidae, the choughs have black plumage and brightly coloured legs, feet, and bills, and are resident in the mountains of southern Eurasia and North Africa. They have long wings and perform spectacular aerobatics. Both species pair for life and display fidelity to their breeding sites and they build a lined stick nest and lay three to five eggs. They feed, usually in flocks, on short grazed grassland, taking mainly invertebrate prey, supplemented by vegetable material or food from human habitation, especially in winter. Changes in agricultural practices, which have led to population declines and range fragmentation, are the main threats to this genus. The first member of the genus to be described was the red-billed chough and his genus Upupa contained species that had a long curved bill and a short blunt tongue. These included the bald ibis and the hoopoe, birds now known to be completely unrelated to the choughs. The Alpine chough was described as Corvus graculus by Linnaeus in the 1766 edition of the Systema Naturae, Chough was originally an alternative onomatopoeic name for the jackdaw, Corvus monedula, based on its call. The similar red-billed chough, formerly common in Cornwall, became known initially as Cornish chough and then just chough. There are eight generally recognised extant subspecies of red-billed chough, the greater subspecies diversity in the red-billed species arises from an early divergence of the Asian and geographically isolated Ethiopian races from the western forms. The closest relative of the choughs as indicated by a study of molecular phylogeny is the ratchet-tailed treepie, the genus Pyrrhocorax species differ from Corvus in that they have brightly coloured bills and feet, smooth, not scaled tarsi and very short, dense nasal feathers. Choughs have uniformly black plumage, lacking any paler areas as seen in some of their relatives, the two Pyrrhocorax are the main hosts of two specialist chough fleas, Frontopsylla frontalis and F. laetus, not normally found on other corvids. The Australian white-winged chough, Corcorax melanorhamphos, despite its similar shape and habits, is distantly related to the true choughs. Choughs breed in mountains, from Morocco and Spain eastwards through southern Europe and the Alps, across Central Asia and the Himalayas to western China. The Alpine chough is also found in Corsica and Crete, and the red-billed chough has populations in Ireland, the UK, the Isle of Man, both species are non-migratory residents throughout their range, only occasionally wandering to neighbouring countries. The red-billed chough more typically breeds in mountains above 1,200 m in Europe,2,000 m in North Africa and 2,400 m in the Himalayas
8.
Matthew Aylmer, 1st Baron Aylmer
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Admiral of the Fleet Matthew Aylmer, 1st Baron Aylmer was an Irish Royal Navy officer. Aylmer saw action at the Battle of Bantry Bay in May 1689, at the Battle of Beachy Head in July 1690, Aylmer became Commander-in-Chief of the Navy on 12 November 1709. Following the accession of George I and the appointment of the Townshend Ministry and he was also appointed Governor of Greenwich Hospital, in this post he founded the Royal Hospital School for the sons of seamen. Promoted to commander on 19 January 1679, he became commanding officer of the sloop HMS Chatham, Aylmer was a young officer of the “courtier type” who benefited from the patronage of the Duke of Buckingham. Indeed, he was perhaps the chief of the cabal, Aylmer followed up the letter with a visit to the Princes headquarters and arranged that Lieutenant George Byng and Captain Anthony Hastings should accompany him during the visit. The Princes warm response to the captains led to the Royal Navy switching allegiance to the Prince. Aylmer transferred to the command of the third-rate HMS Mary in December 1688 and was present at the French victory at the Battle of Bantry Bay in May 1689 at a stage of the Nine Years War. His brother George Aylmer was killed during the battle, Aylmer transferred again, this time to the command of the second-rate HMS Royal Katherine in Spring 1690 and was present at the French victory at Battle of Beachy Head in July 1690. He transferred to the command of the third-rate HMS Monck in the North Sea in Summer 1691, as Second Captain to Admiral Edward Russell, he saw action again at the tactically indecisive Battle of Barfleur in May 1692. As a captain, Aylmer was quite deferential to his Spanish partners during the War, samuel Pepys believed that Aylmer should have been hanged for his habit of dipping his colours to Spanish Admirals. He also became Whig Member of Parliament for Portsmouth at a by-election in 1695 but had to stand down when the House of Commons declared the by-election void in January 1696, nevertheless, he was elected Whig Member of Parliament for Dover in December 1697. In around 1700 he acquired Walletts Court Manor at Westcliffe in Kent as a property in which he would live in retirement and he also had a property at No.12 Great Piazza in Covent Garden. Following the death of Prince George, which brought Russell back to the Admiralty, Aylmer was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy on 12 November 1709. He lost his Dover seat at the election in 1710 which produced a landslide victory for the Tory party in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell which Aylmer had supported. The same day he was also appointed Ranger of Greenwich Park, alymer recovered his seat in Parliament at Dover at the general election in 1715 which saw the Whigs win an overwhelming majority in the House of Commons. He went on to become a Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty on the Admiralty board led by the Earl of Berkeley in April 1717, Aylmer died at Queens House in Greenwich on 18 August 1720 and was buried at St Alfeges Church in Greenwich. In circa 1680 Aylmer married Sarah Ellis, they had a son, england in the Mediterranean, A Study of the Rise and Influence of British Power Within the Straits 1603-1713, A Study of the Rise and Influence of the British Power Within the Straits, 1603-1713. Marshall, P. J. Proceedings of the British Academy – Biographical Memoirs of Fellows, the English Navy in the Revolution of 1688
9.
George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton
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George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton PC, known as Sir George Lyttelton, Bt between 1751 and 1756, was a British statesman and patron of the arts from the Lyttelton family. Lord Lyttelton was the son of Sir Thomas Lyttelton, 4th Baronet, by his wife Christian, daughter of Sir Richard Temple and he was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. He was Member of Parliament for Okehampton from 1735 to 1756, in 1741 he was also elected for Old Sarum, but chose to continue to sit for Okehampton. He was one of the politicians who opposed Robert Walpole as a member of the Whig Opposition the 1730s and he served as secretary to Frederick, Prince of Wales, from 1737, and as a Commissioner of the Treasury in 1744. After Walpoles fall, Lyttelton became Chancellor of the Exchequer, in 1756 he was raised to the peerage as Lord Lyttelton, Baron of Frankley in the County of Worcester. Lord Lyttelton was a friend and supporter to Alexander Pope in the 1730s, james Thomson addresses him throughout his poem The Seasons, and Lyttelton arranged a pension for Thomson. He wrote Dialogues of the Dead in 1760 with Elizabeth Montagu, leader of the bluestockings, the former work is part of a tradition of such dialogues. Henry Fielding dedicated Tom Jones to him, Lyttelton spent many years and a fortune developing Hagley Hall and its park which contains many follies. The hall itself, which is in north Worcestershire, was designed by Sanderson Miller and is the last of the great Palladian houses to be built in England and he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1744. In the 1740s, Lyttelton and Gilbert West went to Oxford, there, they agreed to research two key points of Christianity, with the aim of proving them false. Lyttelton set out to prove that Saul of Tarsus was never converted to Christianity. Each planned to do a job, taking a year to establish his case. But as they proceeded, they concluded that Christianity was true. West eventually wrote Observations on the History and Evidences of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Lyttelton wrote a lengthy text titled Observations on the Conversion and Apostleship of St. Paul. In a Letter to Gilbert West, Esq, West became convinced of the truth of the Resurrection, and Lyttelton of the genuine conversion of Saint Paul on the basis of it. Lord Lyttelton married firstly Lucy, daughter of Hugh Fortescue, in 1742, after her death in 1747 he married secondly Elizabeth, daughter of Field Marshal Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, in 1749. He died in August 1773, aged 64, and was buried in Christ Church Cathedral and he was succeeded by his eldest son from his first marriage, Thomas. Leigh Rayments Peerage Pages Burkes Peerage and Baronetage, s. v
10.
Hagley Hall
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Hagley Hall is a Grade I listed 18th-century house in Hagley, Worcestershire, the home of the Lyttelton family. It was the creation of George, 1st Lord Lyttelton, secretary to Frederick, Prince of Wales, poet and man of letters, the estate fell into disrepair and incurred a mounting debt beginning in the 1970s. The 11th Viscount Cobham was forced to sell off large tracts of land to keep it afloat. His brother and successor Christopher Charles Lyttelton, 12th Viscount Cobham began restoration works in both the house and the park. The park is open to the public and part of the house is available as a venue for hire, as of 2012, the hall is the family home to Christopher Charles Lyttelton, 12th Viscount Cobham and his wife Tessa. Prior to the construction of the current Palladian mansion by the 1st Lord Lyttelton, the fashion for Neo-Palladian houses had started in London between 1715 and 1720. It spread out to the provinces and did not reach Worcestershire until the 1750s, the two finest examples of this style in Worcestershire were Croome Court built between 1751 and 1752 and Hagley Hall designed by Sanderson Miller between 1754 and 1760. Notable Neo-Palladian features incorporated into Hagley Hall include the exterior and the corner towers with pyramidal roofs. A catalogue of the collection was published in 1900, on Christmas Eve 1925, a disastrous fire swept through the house destroying much of the Library and many of the pictures. Despite boiling lead pouring from the roof through the house, all those within managed to escape, at the height of the blaze when nothing more could be salvaged from inside, the 9th Viscount was heard to mutter my lifes work destroyed. He and his wife restored the house, except for the staff quarters on the top floor. To the north of the Hall, and separated from it only by the narrow Hall Drive, is the stable block. The buildings are grouped around two courtyards, the stable block no longer serves its original purpose, but is now operated as a business park for small local businesses. A short walk to the west of the Hall facing its rear facade, is the church of St John the Baptist. The old section of the churchyard includes the Lyttelton family plot where many owners of Hagley Hall, immediately to the north-east of the parish church, are the grounds of Hagley Cricket Club, with its separate clubhouse. The house is set in 350 acres of landscaped deer park grazed by fallow deer of several colours, Wychbury Hill, although part of the Estate, is kept open to public. There has been a park at Hagley since the reign of Edward III of England in the 14th century, the present landscape was created from about 1739 to 1764, with follies designed by John Pitt, Thomas Pitt, James Athenian Stuart, and Sanderson Miller. Hagley and Croome Court have more follies and other similar features than any estate in Worcestershire, the follies at Hagley include Hagley Obelisk on Wychbury Hill, built in 1764 for Sir Richard Lyttelton
11.
Baron Clinton
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Baron Clinton is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1298 for John de Clinton, the peerage of Baron Clinton was created in 1298 for Sir John de Clinton, 1st Baron Clinton, a knight who had served in the Scottish and French wars. The peerage was created by writ, which means that it can descend through both male and female lines and it is thus one of the most ancient English titles still in existence. The first Barons great-great-great-grandson, the fifth Baron, fought on the Yorkist side in the Wars of the Roses and he was attainted in 1461 but late restored to his title. His great-great-grandson, the ninth Baron, was created Earl of Lincoln in 1572, the titles remained united until 1692 upon the death of his great-great-great-grandson, Edward de Clinton, fifth Earl of Lincoln and 13th Baron Clinton. Lady Margaret had married Hugh Boscawen, MP, of Tregothnan in Cornwall, in 1746 he was created Baron Fortescue, of Castle Hill in the County of Devon and Earl Clinton, with remainder to the heirs male of his body. The Earl was childless and on his death the earldom of Clinton became extinct and he was succeeded in the barony of Fortescue by his half-brother, the second Baron Fortescue. Margaret Rolle was the widow of Robert Walpole, 2nd Earl of Orford and the daughter of Samuel Rolle and she was succeeded by her son, George Walpole, third Earl of Orford and sixteenth Baron Clinton. He was childless and on his death in 1791 the earldom passed to his uncle, the barony which had been dormant since 1791 was successfully claimed in 1794 by the late Earl of Orfords cousin Robert George William Trefusis, who became the seventeenth Baron Clinton. He was fourth in descent from Bridget Rolle, the sister of Samuel Rolle and daughter of Robert Rolle by Lady Arabella Clinton, Bridget Rolle had married Francis Trefusis of Trefusis in Cornwall, and had issue Samuel Trefusis, whose great-grandson was the 17th Baron Clinton. The latters younger son, the nineteenth Baron, represented Callington in the House of Commons and he was succeeded by his son, Charles Henry Rolle Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis, 20th Baron Clinton. He served as Under-Secretary of State for India from 1867 to 1868 in the Conservative administrations of the Earl of Derby, in 1867 Baron Clinton assumed by Royal licence the additional surnames of Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes, which were those of his father-in-law. His son, the twenty-second Baron, held office in the coalition government of David Lloyd George. On his death in 1957 the barony fell into abeyance between his two daughters Hon. Harriet Trefusis and Hon. Fenella Trefusis, the abeyance of 1957 was terminated in 1965 in favour of Gerald Neville Mark Fane Trefusis, the twenty-third Baron Clinton and present holder of the title. He is the son of Captain Charles Nevile Fane, eldest son of the aforementioned Hon. Harriet Trefusis and her husband Major Henry Neville Fane. Baron Clinton had already in 1958 assumed by deed poll the surname of Trefusis. The Duke and Duchess of York spent part of their honeymoon there, the 1st Baron resided at Maxstoke Castle, Warwickshire, the inheritance of his wife. The 5th Baron exchanged it for lands in Northamptonshire, the 9th Barons chief seat was in Lincolnshire on an estate which was the inheritance of his wife Elizabeth Blount
