Downton Abbey may be fiction, but it is accurate in showing how the great country houses of England once dominated the countryside, socially, politically and economically. They were an expression of the elevated status of their owners, and the centres of the social and political life of their county and in some cases of the nation. Their owners were the employers of numerous servants, the landlords of extensive acres of local farms, and the valued customers of many rural shops and traders. The local churches (often located in the grounds of the country houses) were shrines to the families that dominated them, with rows of elaborate statues and memorial plaques to each aristocratic generation. The imprint of these families was found in pleasure as well as death - many local pubs and hotels bear their name and coats of arms.
As in fiction, this all changed in the first half of the 20th Century, as the great houses were demolished, transferred to the National Trust, or otherwise disposed of. Farms were sold to pay off debts, and the people living in the English countryside became commuters to nearby towns instead of dependents on their local great house. This is an astonishing social change, little commented on by historians. To try and understand the scale of this, I looked at the great country houses owned by aristocratic families in Worcestershire at the start of 1900, and what has happened to them since.
My researches are incomplete, but I have been able to identify four earls, one viscount and one baron who at the start of that year had their main country seat in the County. These were:
▸ George William Coventry, the 9th Earl of Coventry, who owned Croome Court, South-East of the City of Worcester. This was one the most important great houses in England, having the first garden ever designed by Capability Brown. In 1900, the Earl held various senior political appointments in the Royal Court, was Lord-Lieutenant of the County and later in that year became Colonel-in-Chief of the Worcestershire Regiment. In the Second World War, Croome Court became the residence of the Dutch royal family and a military base for research on radar. The Coventry family sold Croome in 1948, and it is now managed by the National Trust.
▸ William Humble Ward, the 2nd Earl of Dudley, who lived in Witley Court in the North-West of the County. This was a vast and beautiful palace that had once been the home of Dowager Queen Adelaide. The Earl later became Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland and Governor-General of Australia. In 1928, he sold Witley Court, which burnt down in 1937. This is now a spectacular ruin, maintained by English Heritage.
▸ Robert George Windsor-Clive, the 1st Earl of Plymouth, who lived at Hewell Grange, a great house he ordered built in Tardebigge in the North-East of the County. The Earl was a former Lord Mayor of Cardiff and had been Paymaster-General in the Government, and was later to become First Commissioner of Works. In County society, he was Lieutenant-Colonel of the Worcestershire Yeomanry. Hewell Grange was sold and became a borstal in 1946 and is now a prison.
▸ William Lygon, the 7th Earl Beauchamp, who lived at Madresfield Court, near Malvern. This was built in the 16th Century, with subsequent extensions. In 1900, the Earl was Governor of New South Wales, where he became unpopular after making several undiplomatic remarks. He later became a cabinet minister and supported several progressive causes until he was outed as a homosexual in 1931. The title became extinct on the death of the 8th Earl in 1979. Madresfield Court is still owned by the Lygon Family and is not open to the public.
▸ Charles George Lyttleton, the 8th Viscount Cobham (and also the 5th Baron Lyttleton), who lived at Hagley Hall in the North West of the County. This is a fine 18th Century building with an excellent garden, and is still the home of the present 12th Viscount. The 8th Viscount had been an MP for East Worcestershire before succeeding to the title, and lived at Hagley Hall. His predecessor, the 7th Viscount promoted settlement in New Zealand, where the City of Christchurch has a Hagley Park and a port of Lyttleton.
▸ Augustus Frederick Arthur Sandys, 4th Baron Sandys, who lived at Ombersley Court, a fine 18th Century house North of Worcester. The Sandys are an ancient family with a long record of public service, but I have not been able to find much information about 4th Baron. The present 8th Baron is also the Marquis of Downshire, who inherited the Sandys title from a distant cousin, and may live in one of his other properties.
There were of course many other great houses in Worcestershire in 1900, occupied by wealthy landowners who not members of the aristocracy. They included the Chateau Impney (now a hotel), Hanbury Hall (now National Trust), Hindlip Hall (now a police headquarters), Lea Castle (now demolished), Stanford Court, and Westwood House (now split into flats).
So, as far as I can tell, Viscount Cobham is the only descendent of all these aristocrats who still lives in his historic country seat. This is no easy undertaking with such an old building. In an article in the Birmingham Post in 2013, the Viscount estimated that it costs £200-300,000/year to maintain Hagley Hall. I wish him all success - I have happy memories of watching a performance of The Barber of Seville in the long gallery of the Hall.
