Not far from where I live is Kirby Hall, a place I've known quite intimately since I was a boy. Many a childhood bike ride was planned for various reasons at different times of the year to this Elizabethan family home, which is still owned by The Ear
l of Winchilsea, and managed by English Heritage.
I went to school in Corby with the son of the gardener which would often give us exclusive access to one of our county's greatest little secrets. In the autumn my friend and I would cycle out to Kirby for some of the biggest conkers on the planet!
In 1984, with a posse of photographers, make-up folk, management, a lovely red Porsche and heaps of props it became the backdrop to our band's single and album cover.
In 1998 I became an extra in the Miramax adaptation of Jane Austin's Mansfield Park. I can still see me standing for hours next to one of my greatest heroes, the late Sir Harold Pinter, the two of us waiting patiently by the fireplace in the great ballroom.
It's hard sometimes to remember that this was once a great family home.
Yet this week, almost by fluke, a little envelope came into my possession which had a date-stamp of July 5, 1834. It had been posted from London and was addressed to the Reverend James Hogg of Kettering (Geddington) and had been signed "Winchilsea".
This was the signature of George William Finch-Hatton, the 10th Earl of Winchilsea and the 5th Earl of Nottingham. He'd been born at Kirby Hall in 1791 and to cut a very long story very short, he'd gone into politics, and on March 21, 1829, at Battersea Fields in London, he fought a duel with the Duke of Wellington, who, at that time had been Prime Minister for one year.
It was because of their disagreement over the Catholic Relief Bill of 1829 and the language used by Winchilsea toward the Duke.
Incidentally, both men survived. I think it was a classic case of handbags at dawn. Yet very few men would have survived such a contest with the Iron Duke.
Just one little signature on a little piece of paper had led me to this almost forgotten piece of local political history.
Oh, and Winchilsea would have claimed the cost of the postage on his
expenses . . . I'm serious!
