The Scandalous Lives of the Lincolnshire Nobles and Gentry
£15.00
In stock (can be backordered)
Description
A5 paperback
224 pages plus index,
Numerous black and white illustrations
Lincolnshire is a huge county, marked out by several great houses and many lesser halls, manors and genteel dwelling places. But who lived there, what did they get up to – and why have so many of these houses now vanished from the landscape?
Adrian Gray tells the enthralling story of how these great and supposedly ‘noble’ families became embroiled in scandal. In many cases, he finds there was little ‘gentle’ about the gentry. He explains how their rise to prominence often resulted from violence, bribery and opportunistic marriages to some hapless heiress. He then shows how some of these families wasted their huge wealth and status in gambling, adulterous relationships, costly divorces and political bribery at election time. The result is that some families, such as the earls of Winchilsea, have entirely vanished from the Lincolnshire scene.
You will meet the ‘fishing kings’ of Grimsby, whose rise to a peerage was often followed by a fall, one of England’s most corrupt bishops, many who used their titles to seduce credulous young women, and characters such as Lady Albinia Bertie of Branston – whose title did not protect her from a court appearance for running an illicit gambling den.
ADRIAN GRAY is a well-known author of books about Lincolnshire and its people. He has a degree in history from Cambridge University and is active in heritage tourism across the region.
Additional information
Weight | 0.323 kg |
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