Duke of Devonshire
Born January 2, 1920,
died May 3, 2004.
One of Britain's biggest and wealthiest landowners, Andrew Robert Buxton Cavendish, the 11th Duke
of Devonshire, recently reflected that he had been ''much too lucky'' in life.
The beneficiary of a long-standing marriage, and with a passion for racing and art, his vast Chatsworth estate in the heart of the Peak District National Park is one of the most visited stately homes in the country.
The title dates back to 1694 and many of its holders have been prominent politicians, including one prime minister, one leader of the Liberal Party, and one governor-general of Canada. The duke himself served as a minister - in colonial affairs and Commonwealth relations - in the Conservative government of his uncle, Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, between 1960 and 1964.
In 1941, he married Deborah, one of the famously unconventional Mitford sisters - who included writers Nancy and Jessica Mitford and Lady Diana Mosley, wife of Britain's pre-Second World War fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley. The couple had three children, eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
He was never meant to be a duke, and had an elder brother William, Marquess of Hartington, who was killed in action in September 1944. His father died in 1950, leaving the estate with (pounds) 7m in death duties to pay. He and the Duchess of Devonshire survived the crisis by selling off family treasures and opening Chatsworth to the public.
A distant cousin of the Queen, the duke was a close friend of the Prince of Wales, who was a regular weekend visitor to Chatsworth.
The duke and his family's ownership included not only Chatsworth, but Lismore Castle, in Ireland, Bolton Abbey, huge tracts of Eastbourne, two hotels and one of the finest private art collections in the country.
Dame Jean
Maxwell-Scott
Born June 8, 1923,
died May 5, 2004.
Jean Maxwell-Scott was the great-great-great-granddaughter of Sir Walter Scott, and devoted her life to the memory of her distinguished ancestor and Abbotsford House, his home.
On the death of her father in 1954, Jean and elder sister, Patricia, worked to develop Abbotsford by the Tweed to a world market. Within five years, Abbotsford's visitor count exceeded expectations, especially after a promotional trip to the US by Jean and Patricia, also deceased.
Educated at the Roman Catholic Couvent des Oiseaux at Westgate-on-Sea, Jean showed strong leanings towards her lineage and literary heritage from an early age. She treasured the house that was her home, acquainting herself with the extraordinary range of knick-knacks and antiquities with which Sir Walter surrounded himself. She delighted in the creation of the Sir Walter Scott Way, a 92-mile cross-country walk from Moffat to Cockburnspath connecting various places that inspired his poems and novels, formally opening it last year.
Immersed in Border life, she was the patron of the
Trimontium Trust, which was dedicated to the archaeology of the Roman camp near Melrose, and patron of the Dandie Dinmont Club, the breed of dog made famous by her ancestor.
In 1959, she was
appointed lady-in-waiting to Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, a daughter of the Duke of Buccleuch, a near neighbour and fellow
Borderer.
The two shared a love of horses, and Dame Jean was first to receive royal congratulation when Sir Wattie, the horse she jointly owned with Susan Luczyc-Wykorski, and ridden by Olympic dressage rider Ian Stark, twice won at Badminton. In 1988, in Seoul, Scot Stark on Dame Jean's horse took two silver medals.
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