Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster
Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster,, styled Viscount Belgrave between 1831 and 1845, Earl Grosvenor between 1845 and 1869, and known as The Marquess of Westminster between 1869 and 1874, was an English landowner, politician and racehorse owner. He inherited the estate of Eaton Hall in Cheshire and land in Mayfair and Belgravia, London, and spent much of his fortune in developing these properties. Although he was an MP from the age of 22, and then a member of the House of Lords, his main interests were not in politics, but rather in his estates, in horse racing, and in country pursuits. He developed the stud at Eaton Hall and achieved success in racing his horses, winning the Derby on four occasions.
Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster
Eaton Hall as designed by Alfred Waterhouse
St Mary's Church, Eccleston as designed by G. F. Bodley
Grosvenor in about 1878
Eaton Hall is the country house of the Duke of Westminster. It is 1 mile (2 km) south of the village of Eccleston, in Cheshire, England. The house is surrounded by its own formal gardens, parkland, farmland and woodland. The estate covers about 10,872 acres (4,400 ha).
Eaton Hall from the east, showing the modern Hall at left and the Victorian Eaton Chapel at right
The estate showing the Samwell Hall in 1708. The former house can be seen in the bottom right corner.
The entrance front of the Samwell house
Hall as designed by William Porden