discoverbritainmag.com 13ENGLISH ECCENTRICS➤NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/JOHN MILLAR/MARY EVANS PICTURE LIBRARY/ISAAC74/ALAMY/STEFANO BALDINI/BRIDGEMAN IMAGESE
ccentricity is defined as being
unconventional to the point of being
slightly strange, and the perception is that
the English do it best. This belief has been
held so fast by so many for so long that it’s something
of a cliché. Yet the truth is, the English really do have
a long and fruitful history of being eccentric. And it is
perhaps among the aristocracy that this characteristic
is most rampant.
Why? Perhaps their glut of time and money allows
them to live exactly as they’d like, unencumbered by
trivial and tiresome matters like work. Membership of
the upper class brings with it a sense of freedom to be
entirely oneself and indulge every peccadillo without
having to worry about who might be watching. Being
eccentric is surely the ultimate privilege.
How the English manifest their eccentricities
varies, although often a common theme throughout
history is treating animals like humans. Born in
1756, the 8th Earl of Bridgewater famously preferred
dogs to people, even eating formal dinners with
them. His ancestral seat was Ashridge House in
Hertfordshire, just 30 minutes from London and
used today as a wedding and conference venue,
with the surrounding 5,000-acre estate in National
Trust care and open to the public.
The Earl had an education traditional for
aristocratic males – Eton, then Oxford – but he spent
much of his time in Paris at Hotel Egerton, which he
owned. Wherever he went, his dogs would be treated
like royalty, transported in carriages furnished with
silk cushions. In precipitous conditions their minders
would produce an umbrella under which the canine
charge would trot.
This was only the tip of the iceberg when it came
to the luxuries the Earl bestowed on his beloved
pooches. Not for them scraps of leftovers and a fetid
bed in the hall. Each evening, the dogs of Hotel
Egerton were dressed by their own personal footmen
in outfits which included polished leather boots.
They wore linen napkins around
their necks and sat at the table
with their master, eating from
silver dishes.
It did not matter that they were
dogs – the Earl had high standards
when it came to table manners
and all hell broke loose when
two of his pack, Bijou and Biche,
lacked decorum while dining.
Labelling them “blackguards”,
the Earl summoned his tailor.
His punishment for the uncouth
canines was the humiliation
of being dressed in yellow coats
and short breeches like their
master’s valets. Not only this,
they were banished to an
anteroom, unable to see their
master for a week.Walton Hall in Wake eld,
the former home of Charles
Waterton [inset below]010-018_DB_English Eccentrics3_AprMay20.indd 13 26/02/2020 12:discoverbritainmag.com 13ENGLISH ECCENTRICS➤E
ccentricity is defined as being
unconventional to the point of being
slightly strange, and the perception is that
the English do it best. This belief has been
held so fast by so many for so long that it’s something
of a cliché. Yet the truth is, the English really do have
a long and fruitful history of being eccentric. And it is
perhaps among the aristocracy that this characteristic
is most rampant.
Why? Perhaps their glut of time and money allows
them to live exactly as they’d like, unencumbered by
trivial and tiresome matters like work. Membership of
the upper class brings with it a sense of freedom to be
entirely oneself and indulge every peccadillo without
having to worry about who might be watching. Being
eccentric is surely the ultimate privilege.
How the English manifest their eccentricities
varies, although often a common theme throughout
history is treating animals like humans. Born in
1756, the 8th Earl of Bridgewater famously preferred
dogs to people, even eating formal dinners with
them. His ancestral seat was Ashridge House in
Hertfordshire, just 30 minutes from London and
used today as a wedding and conference venue,
with the surrounding 5,000-acre estate in National
Trust care and open to the public.
The Earl had an education traditional for
aristocratic males – Eton, then Oxford – but he spent
much of his time in Paris at Hotel Egerton, which he
owned. Wherever he went, his dogs would be treated
like royalty, transported in carriages furnished with
silk cushions. In precipitous conditions their minders
would produce an umbrella under which the canine
charge would trot.
This was only the tip of the iceberg when it came
to the luxuries the Earl bestowed on his beloved
pooches. Not for them scraps of leftovers and a fetid
bed in the hall. Each evening, the dogs of Hotel
Egerton were dressed by their own personal footmen
in outfits which included polished leather boots.
They wore linen napkins around
their necks and sat at the table
with their master, eating from
silver dishes.
It did not matter that they were
dogs – the Earl had high standard
when it came to table manners
and all hell broke loose when
two of his pack, Bijou and Biche,
lacked decorum while dining.
Labelling them “blackguards”,
the Earl summoned his tailor.
His punishment for the uncouth
canines was the humiliation
of being dressed in yellow coats
and short breeches like their
master’s valets. Not only this,
they were banished to an
anteroom, unable to see their
master for a week.
Walton Hall in Wake eld,
the former home of Charles
Waterton [inset below]