page_title: Arthur Capell, 6th Earl of Essex
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: Arthur Capell, 6th Earl of Essex / Career
caption_attribution_description: South side of St. Mary's Church, viewed from the High Street, Watford, Hertfordshire, UK.
context_page_description: Arthur Algernon Capell was an English aristocrat who succeed to the title Earl of Essex in 1839.
context_section_description: The 6th Earl enjoyed a number of philanthropic and leisure pursuits and took a keen interest in a wide range of subjects. In the 1860s, he developed an enthusiasm for the new game of croquet. The gardens of Cassiobury House, the Capell family seat in Watford, Hertfordshire, was one of the first places in Britain in which croquet was played, and the Earl hosted lavish croquet parties there. A particular variant of the game was developed there, as detailed in Rules of the Eglinton Castle and Cassiobury Croquet, published in 1865 by Routledge, and the Earl even launched his own Cassiobury brand croquet set, made in his own sawmills in Watford.
  Capell took an interest in the practice of homoeopathy which was growing in popularity at the time. He supported the activities of the British Homeopathic Association and served as a Vice President of the London Homeopathic Hospital.
  Like many landowners of his time, the Earl also took an active interest in agriculture and developed a model farm, Home Farm, to the north of Cassiobury House. He was first president of the West Hertfordshire Agricultural Society, and in August 1864 he held first exhibition of the Watford and Leavesden Horticultural Society in the gardens at Cassiobury. He also held positions of Lay Rector of the Parish and president of the Watford and Bushey Volunteer Fire Brigade. The Earl also opened up the grounds of Cassiobury to the local residents of Watford, allowing the public free access to the park, on the condition that they did not hold picnics there (opening grounds to the public was now a common practice among landowners, such as at the parks of Arundel Castle, Hatfield House, Blenheim Palace and Alnwick Castle, all of continue to offer free access to local residents today). The park played host to cricket matches and parades of the Hertfordshire Yeomanry.
  The prime minister of the day, Sir Robert Peel, offered to the Earl the position of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, an appointment he declined due to ill health.
  The 6th Earl was also an amateur painter, and a watercolour by Capell depicting the grand staircase at Cassiobury House now hangs in the Watford Museum.
caption: Capell is buried in the Essex Chapel at St Mary's Parish Church, Watford
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