The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-12-30
~ La MARauIsE DE FoNTENoY.


n married TO an American woman.
I N Eloise Breese, daughter OF the
late William l., Breese, of New
I York. by his union with. Miss
Marie Parsons, OF Columbus, o. (now
/ Mrs Henry b. Higgins, OF London,
! Is one of the three peers entitled TO
the ancient office of lord great cham
beriain OF England, and will assume
It's duties, It's prerogatiyes and Its pre-
cedence--that is to say. the pas" over
all other carlson the death of the
near septuagenarian Lord Darlington
or In the event of q demise of the crown
The office of lord great chamberlain.
which carries with It the control OF
the Palace OF Westminster, including
the Abbey, has been hereditary for
many hundreds OF years. and by viz
tue OF descent is now owned Jointly
by the Earls of Darlington and Of
Ancaster and BY the Marquis of Cho!-
moudeley At the time when their
rights were established by the courts
they agreed among themselves tttat
they would hold nc Office III rotation,
for life and reign. The old Earl of
-Ancdster. who has Just been gathered
TO his fathers was the lord great
chamberlain OF England during the
reign OF Queen Victoria. On her death
the Marquis OF cholmondeley became
lord great chamberlain of England. |
and relnquished the office TO the pres
ent Earl Darlington on the demise OF
Edward VII. In this manner ii Will
come 10 the new LORD Ancaster when |
Lord Darlington relinquishes it. either
through his own death. or through the
advent Of another reign.
Lord Ancaster's earldom Is compare /
lively modern, but his peerdge OF WI |
lougnby d Eresby is one of the Oldest |
in England. The Lordship of Eresby |
was first Instituted by William the
Conqueror in favor OF ono of his com
p1nions in arms, Walter de Bee, from
whose family 1t passed through the
marriage of the last surviving member
of the de Bee family. Alice by name,
10 sir william de Wilioughby. w TI1
accompanied the latter's son, after
wards Edward L., on his Crusade to
the Holy Land II was on Sir VIII
liam's son that the peerage of Will
on July %. 1919 and the new Earl
of Ancaster is the twentYffth Lord
of Eresby of his line.
The sixteenth Lord Willoughby of
by George l.: but the dukedom came
TO an end with the death without Issue
OF the fifth duke, the Barony OF VIII
ioughby of Eresby passing in 1850 to
Lady Priscilla, who married Sir Peter
Rurrell, afterwards created first LORD
liwydyr Their son succeeded his {
father as second Lord Gwydyr and his
mother as twenty-hr Lord Willough
by of lresby His son in turn. the
-wenty-sccond Lord Willoughby Of
t:resty, died without issue, whereupon {
mis- Barony Of Ciwydyr Went TO his I
frst cousin, while the Barony OF VIII ,
oughbY of Eresby, being a peerage 1
~ writ and as such transmissible
trough the female line, passed to his {
,lder sister, Clementina, who had mar |
led Sir Gilbert He0thcote. descended {
rom one of Ike founders of the Bank /
II England eyld who was created LORD /
Nveland. They had an only SON. who J
ucceeded his father, as second Lord {
Aveland and his mother as twenty J
ourth Lord Willoughby of Eresby, and I
ONE eighteen years ago, Earl OF An
aster.
1t is this peer who has just died,
nd it will be seen that through his :
ons life of eighty years he WAS known
" many different names: first as Gill
'ert Heathcote Drummond. then. after 7
he death of his father, as Lord Ave
and and after the demise of his
Nilloughby of Eresby, while six years
fterwards Queen Victoria gave him
he title of Earl of Ancaster. It. Is
cry probable that when another
,ukedom of Ancaster. belonging to
is maternal ancestors, will be re- q
lived in favor of the new earl, by
eason of his wealth, his vast terri
nrial possessions and the political in
uence consequent thereupon.
The American-bo born Countess Of An
aster will now find herself mistress
t many beautiful and historic country
eats. two of which call for more
pecial attention, namely, Grimsthorpe
astle. in Lincolnshire and Drummond .
astle, in Perthshire, Grimsthorpe
astle lies in the district between the
crest and the fens associated by 4
.ingsley with "EIereward the WakenI
owes its creation largely TO that,
harles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, who
the widowed Queen Mary OF
rance. sister Of Henry Will. and who
atertained the latter monarch there -
l5A1 After the death of his royal 4
,nsort, this Duke of Norfolk married -
Baroness of Willoughby| s
Erasby In her own right. He left
az Grimsthorpe Castle, and she in
i'm bequeathed il to her son by
lbsequent marriage. since which time
has always been in the possession
the Willoughby OF Eresby family,
ne Oldest portion of the structure was
tilt as far back as in the reign OF
ingM John, while in the more modern
,rtions the hand of Sir John Van
ugh, the creator of Rlenheim and
many other famous palaces, is ap-
rent The antiquity OF many por-2 tt
ms of tho castle is perhaps best In
Gated by the fact that in the second p'
awning room, for instance, the en-
assure OF the window Is from sin! lll
eight feet deep, Yet in spite OF -
e fact that much of the building Yz