18 discoverbritainmag.comENGLISH ECCENTRICSasylum in 1903 but her son George persisted with the
claims, even alleging the death of his grandfather had
been faked. The allegations rocked high society, went
through the courts and even caused Druce’s coffin
to be dug up, complete with his body inside.
The 15,000-acre Welbeck estate has been home
to the Dukes of Portland since 1607, when it was
acquired by the 1st Duke, who was the son of
Queen Elizabeth I’s friend Bess of Hardwick.
Today tours of the State Rooms take you from
the Portland Collection gallery via the 5th Duke’s
Welbeck Village to the heart of the estate, Welbeck
Abbey. Sadly, the underground palace is closed
to the public.
Those who champion English
eccentricity – and why wouldn’t
they, given that it is for the
most part rather charming and
the furthest one could hope to
be from humdrum – needn’t
fear its extinction just yet.
One only needs to consider
Lord Bath, who keeps a harem
of “wifelets” at Longleat,
his grand Elizabethan pile
decorated with psychedelic
murals, to be assured that
this particular trait is alive
and kicking. ■underground tunnels he built under his Welbeck
estate, which was set in Nottingham’s Sherwood
Forest, the supposed home of Robin Hood.
And these were not merely dark passageways akin
to cellars or warrens. The Duke built the components
of a subterranean palace: a library, a billiard room,
a glass-topped garden and tunnels more than a mile
in length. He even built a vast ballroom, although
given his penchant from solitariness this was perhaps
something of an error. It is said he found the space
useful as a roller-skating rink for one.
The Duke’s need for privacy (or perhaps evasion)
seems to have been compulsive; he had feasts of roast
chicken posted through a letterbox in his bedroom
door, and he had doors built on the bed itself so no
one would be any the wiser as to where he was.
As if this wasn’t extraordinary enough, the plot
thickened exponentially after the Duke’s death in- Some 18 years later he was accused of using his
tunnels as part of an intricate double life. Anna Maria
Druce claimed her late father-in-law, the furniture
salesman Thomas Charles Druce, had in fact been
an alter ego for the Duke. She was admitted to an
HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES/CHRIS MATTISON/ALAMYBelow: The reclusive
5th Duke of Portland
Bottom left: The skylights of
the 5th Duke’s subterranean
palace can be seen in this
aerial view of Welbeck estateBeing upper class brings a sense
of freedom... And being eccentricis surely the ultimate privilege
010-018_DB_English Eccentrics_AprMay20.indd 18 25/02/2020 14:18 discoverbritainmag.com
ENGLISH ECCENTRICS
asylum in 1903 but her son George persisted with the
claims, even alleging the death of his grandfather had
been faked. The allegations rocked high society, went
through the courts and even caused Druce’s coffin
to be dug up, complete with his body inside.
The 15,000-acre Welbeck estate has been home
to the Dukes of Portland since 1607, when it was
acquired by the 1st Duke, who was the son of
Queen Elizabeth I’s friend Bess of Hardwick.
Today tours of the State Rooms take you from
the Portland Collection gallery via the 5th Duke’s
Welbeck Village to the heart of the estate, Welbeck
Abbey. Sadly, the underground palace is closed
to the public.
Those who champion English
eccentricity – and why wouldn’t
they, given that it is for the
most part rather charming and
the furthest one could hope to
be from humdrum – needn’t
fear its extinction just yet.
One only needs to consider
Lord Bath, who keeps a harem
of “wifelets” at Longleat,
his grand Elizabethan pile
decorated with psychedelic
murals, to be assured that
this particular trait is alive
and kicking.■underground tunnels he built under his Welbeck
estate, which was set in Nottingham’s Sherwood
Forest, the supposed home of Robin Hood.
And these were not merely dark passageways akin
to cellars or warrens. The Duke built the components
of a subterranean palace: a library, a billiard room,
a glass-topped garden and tunnels more than a mile
in length. He even built a vast ballroom, although
given his penchant from solitariness this was perhaps
something of an error. It is said he found the space
useful as a roller-skating rink for one.
The Duke’s need for privacy (or perhaps evasion)
seems to have been compulsive; he had feasts of roast
chicken posted through a letterbox in his bedroom
door, and he had doors built on the bed itself so no
one would be any the wiser as to where he was.
As if this wasn’t extraordinary enough, the plot
thickened exponentially after the Duke’s death in
- Some 18 years later he was accused of using his
tunnels as part of an intricate double life. Anna Maria
Druce claimed her late father-in-law, the furniture
salesman Thomas Charles Druce, had in fact been
an alter ego for the Duke. She was admitted to an
HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES/CHRIS MATTISON/ALAMYBelow: The reclusive
5th Duke of Portland
Bottom left: The skylights of
the 5th Duke’s subterranean
palace can be seen in this
aerial view of Welbeck estateBeing upper class brings a sense
of freedom... And being eccentric
is surely the ultimate privilege