Ken Livermore recalls a tale about Levi Jackson, the
handyman on the estate, who received an invitation to the Golden Wedding
celebrations, but felt unable to accept as he hadn't got a decent suit to go
in. He mentioned this to his friend Bill Clarke who said, "Well, I've got
a brand new suit upstairs’, and explained that it was a blue serge made out of
naval officers uniform material. "You can borrow that if you like. You're my
build". So Levi went and thoroughly enjoyed himself.
A week or two after the party was over, Levi came round to return the suit and Bill asked, "How did Sir Lancelot's party go then?" Levi replied, "I'd got a drop too much to drink. There was plenty of drink there" he said, "I got a drop too much, and I lost me gold watch and chain." Bill Clarke said he was very sorry hear about it and his wife brushed the suit and put it away. Mr.Livermore's tale continues; Years later, after the death of Levi Jackson, Bill got the suit out again to send it "to the clearance or something or other, cause he never used to get dressed up you know." His wife fetched it down and Bill Clarke tried it on, felt in the pockets and "there were this gold watch - either in....I’m not sure if it were the weskit pocket or whether it was in a trouser pocket, but he'd put it in there"...
Miss Emma Smith, the butler, recalled that at the Golden Wedding party she saw someone on the staff hide a bottle in the grandfather clock in the hall for use later, but she removed it. All in all, it must have been a lively affair!
All the local newspapers did articles about the celebration.
Notable is the mutual goodwill expressed between the Watnall farming community
and the Rollestons. This is from the Nottingham Journal on Friday, 26th
February, 1932
Sir Lancelot Rolleston entertained his tenants to a happy
Golden Wedding feast. Bells rang out in the church steeples of Greasley and
Eastwood last night to celebrate one of the happiest anniversaries in the
history of Notts., the Golden Wedding of Colonel Sir Lancelot and Lady Maud
Rolleston. The fact that Sir Lancelot and Lady Maud chose to mark their Golden
Wedding by a dinner at which over a hundred of their tenants met on an equal
footing is one of the many proofs that in Watnall landlord and tenant are still
bound very firmly together by the old traditional ties. Their dependence on the
land was emphasised by Sir Lancelot in his speech in which he thanked his
guests on behalf of himself and Lady Maud for their many presents,
congratulations and expressions of good will.
"Our politicians", he declared, “after many disappointments
have learned the lesson that they ought to have learned long ago, that the
nation cannot be prosperous unless agriculture is in a good state. I have never
been one of those landlords who want to get rid of their land ", he
continued, "The best way is to stick to your land whether you are a farmer
or owner.”
The toast, "The King" was proposed by Sir
Lancelot while Mr. Robert Steeples, a well known local farmer, asked the
company to drink the health of their hosts. Mr. Steeples referred to the many
public offices which Sir Lancelot held, and also dwelt on the affection and
esteem in which Lady Maud was regarded by all who knew her. The toast was
accorded with hearty cheers for host and hostess. In addition to the tenants,
the guests included Mr. lan Rolleston, son of Sir Humphrey Rolleston and 2nd
cousin of Sir Lancelot, Miss Kinta Rolleston (niece) the Earl of Carnwath,
(Lady Maud's brother) and Countess of Carnwath, Mrs Salmond, and Colonel and
Mrs. P.R. Clifton. The dinner was followed by community singing, the soloist
being Miss Maud Bostock, soprano. The instrumental trio was led by Mr. J.
Armstrong, the former conductor of the Nottingham Theatre Royal Orchestra, who
had played at Sir Lancelot and Lady Maud's Silver Wedding celebrations.
Amongst the many presents on view in the sitting room were a pair of Persian rugs from the tenants of the estate, travelling rugs from indoor and outdoor staffs of the Hall, and a lunch case from the Watnall Women's Institute, of which Lady Maud is the president, and a letter case, pens and a book from the children who attend her Sunday School.
The Notts Evening Post covered the event joyfully but
certainly with a hint of what today sounds like the effusive and deferential style
of the period :
SIR LANCELOT AND LADY MAUD ROLLESTON. GOLDEN WEDDING CELEBRATIONS. HAPPY WATNALL EVENT. HALF A CENTURY OF PUBLIC SERVICE.
The old Notts. village of Watnall rejoiced to-day in the
golden wedding of Sir Lancelot and Lady Maud Rolleston, for it was on February
25th, 1882, that Mr. Lancelot Rolleston (as he then was) married at Torquay
Lady Emma Maud Dalzell, sister of the 12th Earl of Carnwath. The bridegroom
(whose father was M.P. for South Notts.) was then 35 years of age.
His family, a branch of the ancient Staffordshire family
of Rolleston, became prominent during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when Ralph
Rolleston married the elder daughter and co-heir of Sir Richard Bingham, of
Watnall. Since the early part of the 17th century, Watnall Hall has
been the family seat. Jacks, the well-known historian, traces their descent to a
Ralph Rolleston, who settled at Lea, in Derbyshire, in the time of Edward III.
In the service of his fellow men, Sir Lancelot—who was
educated at Wellington College and Christ Church, Oxford—never spared himself,
and in spite of—or perhaps because of—a life spent more strenuously than that
of most men, he is described to-day as “the youngest man, for his age, in the county.”
He has been chairman of Quarter Sessions since 1911 and a magistrate for 61 years.
In 1877 and in 1913 he occupied the position of High Sheriff, and in was made a
county alderman. Only once has he stood for Parliament; that was in 1886, when he
was defeated in the Mansfield Division by Mr. C. G. Savile Foljambe ( a Liberal),
who afterwards became Lord Hawkesley. There are people who still recall that
Sir Lancelot proceeded to nearly all his meetings on horseback.
HUNTING ACTIVITIES. Until after his service in the Boer War
he had always been a keen rider. At Oxford he hunted draghounds, and afterwards
he took over the South Notts. country with Mr. Percy Cooper, of Bulwell Hall,
while at a later date he undertook the Mastership of the Rufford. Sir Lancelot has
always been one of the strongest supporters of the Volunteer movement. On
September 15th 1868, he joined the South Notts. Hussars as a cornet,
in 1873 he was made lieutenant, in 1875 captain, in 1895 major, in 1896 lieutenant
colonel, and in 1896 colonel. When the South African War broke out he took command
of the South Notts Imperial Yeomanry until he was severely wounded at Lindley. For
his war services he was awarded the D.S.O., and in 1911 he was knighted. Rarely
has the honour been more richly deserved. In 1928 he succeeded the late Lord
Galway as chairman of the County Council.
Lady Maud was born at Bruges, and spent much of her early
life in travel. She accompanied Sir Lancelot to South Africa, where she acted
as commandant of a hospital which she had organised at Kimberley [NB - That
is the Kimberley in South Africa not Kimberley in Notts]. Her many activities
have included the secretaryship of the Notts. Soldiers’ and Sailors’
Association and the presidency of the National Council of Women. She is also
greatly interested in rescue and preventive work among women.
 |
| The Rollestons and their old friend the Duke of Portland at their Golden Wedding presentation at the Shire Hall, Nottingham. His wife the Duchess of Portland is mentioned in one of Lady Maud's letters above. |
A FULL-TIME JOB. COUNTY COUNCIL A GREAT BUSINESS ORGANISATION. “It is difficult to explain how vastly the work of the County Council has grown,” said Sir Lancelot in an interview. “When I first began, the County Council consisted of a lot of country people who locked after things in their spare time—quite capably, too, although not all of them were fitted for such a job. Now the County Council has become a great business organisation, and as chairman, it is nothing less than a full-time job for me. Not all of that time should be necessary either, as there are members whose chief concern seems to be talking. In the old days we were more concerned with doing, and the work was got through much quicker. The introduction of the ‘new blood’ has added to the strain of the work.”
Sir Lancelot has no explanation to offer of how he
continues to keep abreast of the times, travel around the county, sit on
committees, and conduct negotiations at 85 years of age. He has trained himself
to keep active and in touch with affairs, and as in the case of Lady Maud, the troubles
of a cottager on his estate, are of just as much concern to him as the making
of the biggest road a car ever travelled over. It would be difficult to find a
couple whose interests are more in common. Lady Maud has kept out of County
Council affairs and politics, as far as possible, but she is none the less concerned
with her husband’s duties These she puts second only to her own activities with
the National Council of Women, the village church, and the Women's Institute.
Outside Watnall it is not generally known that Lady Maud
has regularly, for years held the Sunday School of the village church in her
house, where she has a weekly attendance of over 40. It is rare, indeed, for
another teacher to be needed to help her with the class. Small wonder that with
the children, “the people at the Hall” are the fairy godfather and fairy godmother
of Watnall’s village life. To-day, everyone rejoiced with the golden wedding party,
although most of the local organisations have already expressed their wishes in
tangible form. The Women's Institute have given Lady Maud, their president. a
handsome present, and the boys and girls of the village Sunday school have given
their teacher gifts subscribed for and purchased by themselves. The indoor and outdoor
staff at the hall have expressed their good wishes in the form of a fine pair
of travelling rugs, while the tenants on the estate have given a pair of Persian
rugs that now grace the library.
Sir Lancelot and Lady Maud will return their thanks to
the donors at the Ball to-night, when the whole of the tenants on the estate
will attend a dinner, which is to be followed by community singing. It will be
one of the happiest events in the whole history of Watnall—a village that has
been built up on Rolleston traditions. To his wife it will be “just the climax
of 50 happy years” and all Nottinghamshire will echo the wish that their wonderful
partnership may long be continued on the lines that have made their name
admired.
The house party at Watnall Hall includes Mr.lan Rolleston
(son of Sir Humphry Rolleston and second cousin of Sir Lancelot); Miss Elma Rolleston
(niece), the Earl of Carnwath (Lady Maud’s brother) and Countess of Carnwath,
and Mrs.Salmond.
A sad footnote is that one of the guests mentioned, Ian Rolleston, would be murdered by rioters in Zanzibar 4 years later...
"The acting Resident Commissioner (Mr. Ian Humphrey Rolleston), son of Sir Humphrey Rolleston, Physician Extraordinary to the King, died of wounds today sustained in a demonstration by an Arab mob against the law to prevent the adulteration of exportable copra. The rioters attacked with swords a group of police officers, three of whom were cut down and severely wounded, one subsequently dying of his Injures. Armed police later restored order. Seventy-five demonstrators have been imprisoned.".
Ian Rolleston was also the great uncle of Frank Gardener the current (2021) BBC Security Correspondent. Frank Gardener's middle name is Rolleston and he's been on the BBC genealogy program "Who Do You Think You Are" looking at, amongst other things, the diplomatic/espionage history of the family. It's often available to watch here on the BBC iPlayer.
Sources : "Watnall Hall and the Rollestons" RA Horton 2000; Notts Evening Post and Nottingham Journal archives.
All of the other "Tales From Watnall Hall" series are available here
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