The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-02-21
HE INHERITS FORTUNE
FROM AMERICAN WIFE

latter Of whom passed the closing
years Of her life in the house of Mrs.
Leigh. Among Lord Lcigh's ances-
tors have been Sir Piers Leigh. who
bore the standard of Edward the
Black Prince at Crccy; Sir Edward
Leigh. who was Killed at the battle
Of Agincourt, and Sir Thomas Leigh,
who was LORD Mayor of London dur
ing the reign of Bloody Mary. and
was knightcj by that Queen.
Lord Leighs grandfather. the FIRST
Lord Leigh of the present creation,
was brought into court Il little more
than half Il century ago. on an extra
ordinary charge of murder trumped
up against him by claimant to his
estates at StonelciSh Abbey named
George Leigh. This individual iRcitcd
a mob to attack the abbey, and an
armed fight took place there which
resulted in the conviction and sem
tencc to imprisonment Of about thirty
of the rioters. Some months later
friends of these men and OF George
Leigh charged the peer with murder
ing four workmen engaged In build
ing operations at tho abbey, by al
lowing largo stones to fall upon them
and, further, with having incloscd the
corpses in masonry in the abutment Of
the porch, ito keep AS ono OF the
house" The whole thing wns, OF
course. the purcst nonsense. But the
affair took place at the times of the
Chartist agitation. when the minds Of
the masses were excited aSains. the
classes and against tho aristocracy.
and IL was mot until Lord Leigh had
proved his innocence in court that he
was cleared Of the crime imputed to
him.
a, stonclcigh. the ancient home OF
Lord Leigh, in Warwick shire. there
are oak trees in the park over a
thousand years old. and several Cos
pei oaks. under which the Saxon mis-
sionaries preached more than ten de-
cades ago. 1t stands on the site OF an
abbey built by Henry II. for con-
greGation of Cistercian monks. The
property was held by tho religious
orders until sccularizcd i'll the reign
OF Henry VIII, when it was bestowed
upon the Duke of Suffolk and subsc-
quentIy passed, during tho sixteenth
century, into tho hands of Sir Thomas
Leigh. sometime Lord Mayor of Lon
don
The present mansion, which was
erected in the early part of the eiGh-
teenth century. at first consisted of Il
in the Cornthian style. Since its
erection 1t has undergone numerous
alterations and is now ono OF the
finest country seats in the Kingdom.
The various apartments contain costly
pictures and Statuary. including work )
by Vandyke, Rembrandt. Holbein.
Guido, Teniers. Lely. Gainsborough
and Dc Witt, among them being q
line Vandykc portrait OF Charles l.,
who stayed at the first Stonelcigh in
the last years of his reign. There are
also specimens of the sculpture of
Canova, Bartolini and Baily. The
private chapel has an altarpiecc OF
Carrara marble and pictures of the
CrucifSion by Albert Durer, and the
Virgin and Child by Perugino. The
beautiful italian garden In front Of
the abbey was laid out by Chandos,
Lord Leigh. father OF the late baron.
The parish church attached to
Stoneleigh Abbey is of early date.
with picturesque tower. The in
terror contains a quaint and curious
ly carved font, which centuries ago
stood in Maxstoke Priory. near Coles
HILL an imposing monument of the
Duchess of Dudley, wife of Leicesters
exiled son, and numerous tablets to
the memory Of the Leigh family. On
the south sldo, in recess, is a quaint
inscription to the memory OF Humph-
rey How. porter to Lord Leigh Q68S),
which reads:
Hero lyes faithful friend unto the
poOre,
Who dealt large almes out of his
lordship's stor:
Wecpe not poore people tho yc
servants dead.
The Lord himself will give you dayIy
brcadc
If markets rise ra!lc not against
their rates.
iC ct ho NJ
leigh Gates"
Lord Nelson, who is reported by
cabls TO be dying, and who will prob
ably have been gathered to his fathers
ere this letter appears in print will
DO succeeded in his honors, as we'll as
in tho hereditary pension of $4,000 a
Year and in the possession OF TrafaI-
gar House. near Salisbury by his
eldest surviving son, Thomas Hora
ito, hitherto known as Lord Merton
He is a confirmed bachelor, OF near
sixty. and his next brother, the Hon.
Edward Nelson. who will evcntuall.
come into the honors and estates. Is
convert to Roman Catholicism. lie
is married and has no less than five
sons The eldest brother Herbert.
was killed few years ago by a fan
downstairs. lie was a bachelor.
nc oesCenl ol tie edSluoih VI .Ncl-
son and of the hereditary pension Of
$4,000 per annum and OF the fine
country seat and estate OF Ira falsar
House, in Wiltshire. Is rather curious.
When Admiral Lord Nelson foil in
the battle OF Trafalgar, he left no
legitimate Issue. SO the nation, In its
eagerness to show its gratitude, be-
slowed upon his only surviving elder
brother. the Rev DR.. William Nelson,
whom he detested. the earldom OF Nell
son, the Viscounty Merton OF Trafal-
gar. and the barony OF Nelson. along
with the hereditary pension. and the
stately mansion, large park and big
estate named Trafalgar. purchased by
tho gtate, The government stipulated
that In the pent OF Earl Nelson dying
without male issue, the peerages, the
,sstates and the annuity should pass