Clockwise, from
far left: The 2nd
Duke and Duchess
of Richmond;
inside Goodwood
House; the 11th
Duke; the ballroomUncommon Birds, the first time the artists had ever
painted real birds on porcelain. In 1802, the 3rd Duke
held the first public horseracing meet on top of the South
Downs, and similar events continue there to this day.
Like many great aristocratic families, the story of the
Dukes of Richmond is one of boom and bust. When the
3rd Duke died, he left enormous debts prompting his
nephew and heir to move to Brussels, where the cost of
living was much cheaper. It was on the night of 15 June
1815 that his wife, Charlotte, hosted the famous Duchess
of Richmond’s Ball. Just after supper a messenger arrived
to tell the Duke of Wellington that Napoleon had crossed
the border into Belgium. Immediately, all the officers had
to leave the ball to join their regiments for the Battle of
Quatre Bras the next day, and the Battle of Waterloo two
days later. Some officers were still dressed in their formal
wear on the battlefield and several were tragically killed.
A fortuitous inheritance from the 4th Duke of
Richmond’s brother-in-law, the 5th Duke of Gordon,
put the family’s finances back on track. It included
the acquisition of 260,000 acres of north-east Scotland
centred on the historic Gordon Castle. The family then ³