Sometimes our history project hands us a puzzle that we have to unpick bit by bit. That’s what happened early on in the Welton Community History Project, when two intriguing photographs surfaced — both taken in the grounds of Welton Manor in the 1920s, confirmed by the current owner who recognises his garden!
In the first photo, taken around 1923/24, a young boy lies on the grass. In the second, taken a couple of years later, the same boy stands centre right in a cloak and crown. The story passed down with the images was extraordinary: this child was said to be Peter Romanov, a boy who had supposedly witnessed his parents’ execution during the Russian Revolution, and who had stayed at Welton Manor.
The source of this tale was Eric Fleming — yes, the Eric Fleming of the wonderful Welton paintings fame — who appears as the small boy on the far left of the first photograph. His daughter Noreen relayed the story of the Russian child’s background, passed down from him.
That was all we had. No explanation as to why a Russian aristocratic boy might be living in rural Northamptonshire. No proof he was a Romanov. Just two photographs and a rumour. So we started digging……. could we find a Russian prince?
Discovering the Russian Connection
Our first breakthrough came when we were shown documents relating to Welton Manor. The deeds revealed that between 1923 and 1927 the house was owned by Dame Sybil Edith Mary Romilly Nicholson — a name that caught our attention.
Sybil, born in 1880, was married to Admiral Sir Douglas Romilly Lothian Nicholson. She was extremely wealthy and owned Welton Manor in her own right. Her background turned out to be crucial. As a child she lived at Bude Castle in Cornwall, owned by her uncle Charles Morgan Cowie. She later took over the castle’s lease in 1930.
And here’s where things get interesting: the family were known supporters of White Russian émigrés fleeing the revolution. Bude Castle’s records mention visits from Russian princes and members of the Tolstoy family.
Suddenly, the idea of a Russian child at Welton didn’t seem so far‑fetched.
Why Welton?
With Sybil’s roots in Cornwall and her social life centred around London’s upper circles, Welton might seem an odd choice as a place to buy a manor house. But her maiden name — Romilly — provides a clue.
Sybil was related by marriage to both Clementine Churchill and Lord Wimborne (Ivor Churchill Guest), Winston Churchill’s cousin and political ally.
Lord Wimborne owned Ashby St Ledgers Manor and was so closely associated with the village that he became Baron Ashby St Ledgers in 1910. It was he who commissioned Edwin Lutyens to work on Ashby Manor.
It’s feasible that Sybil knew the area through him. During her ownership of Welton Manor, her husband was serving as a Vice‑Admiral and was likely away from home for long periods. We have evidence that he did spend some time here, the cutting below suggesting they were valued parishioners. But given the demands on her husband’s time, it makes sense that they may have chosen a home near to family.
Perhaps Lord Wimborne recommended Welton as a peaceful retreat — or maybe Sybil simply fell in love with it while visiting her relatives.
Sybil’s companion
Although the Nicholsons had no children of their own, we discovered through Ancestry that Sybil had — formally or informally — adopted Maria “Maroussia” Pavlovna Tolstaya‑Miloslavsky, a member of the Tolstoy family (remember the reference to the Tolstoys in Bude Castle’s records). Maria’s father had been Chamberlain to Tsar Nicholas II.
Maria appears alongside Sybil in the 1921 census; Lady and Admiral Nicholson, Maria and the Nicholson’s chauffeur, Arthur Woodley, were staying at the Balmer Lawn Hotel near Brockenhurst in Hampshire at that time. This was a highly sought after, privately owned country house hotel, frequented by King George V and Winston Churchill. It still exists today.
Maria travelled and lived with Lady Nicholson for most of her life, never marrying. We can probably conclude that she was with Sybil in Welton in 1923, although we don’t yet have definitive evidence. However, we have been told by the Tolstoy family that Maria brought ‘pageantry and ballet’ to the children living at Bude castle – that feels like a fairly accurate description of the photos taken at Welton Manor. Was it her hand at work?
Their companionship continued after the Admiral’s death. The pair lived together in Kensington until Sybil died, according to electoral registers. This 1944 clipping from Good Morning, a Cornish publication, refers to Lady Nicholson and her companion Countess Tolstoy.
Identifying “Peter”
So we have Lady Nicholson, her Welton connection, and her links to Russian aristocracy. We also know of her close and long term relationship with a Tolstoy. But who was the mysterious boy?
We were sure that a Russian child stayed at Welton Manor — Lady Nicholson’s classified advert in the 1920s, taken in combination with the photos and local knowledge, would seem to suggest it.
Searches of Russian émigrés in Britain at the time reveal no mention of a “Peter Romanov”. But after going down a few rabbit holes, we managed to make contact with the archivist at Bude Castle who casually dropped a huge clue, revealing that Count Dmitri Tolstoy – Maria’s nephew – had lived with the Nicholsons between 1920 and 1926. We know, of course, that for three of those years the Nicholsons were in Welton.
We subsequently contacted Dmitri’s grand-daughter, Alexandra and she confirmed that it was known in the family that her grandfather had lived with the Nicholsons at Bude, although she had no knowledge of Welton.
Dmitri’s early life was marked by danger and displacement, fleeing with his English nanny Lucy Stark who realised he would be murdered if they didn’t leave Russia. Dmitri’s father had been missing for two years and his mother had died in 1916. Lucy convinced an English chaplain in Moscow to write a false birth certificate, rendering Dmitri her illegitimate son.
They boarded a train to Finland and Lucy warned her charge that when interrogated, it was vital he did not reveal his true name. Despite being only seven, Dmitri played his part and they miraculously got past the border guards and into Finland, from where they took a ship, The Dongola, to England.
Do you see a likeness? Our boy on the left and Dmitri on the right
The evidence supporting Dmitri
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We’re still piecing some parts of the story together, but for now, the evidence points us pretty confidently towards the idea that Welton once hosted not a young Russian prince as originally thought – but the grandson of the man who wrote War and Peace.
Are you convinced? Or are our arguments, like Bude Castle itself, built on shifting sands? Comment below if you can add anything to this story or to give your thoughts.
With thanks to Noreen Stowe, Peter Swanson, Rachel Harris-Gardiner and Alexandra Tolstoy for their invaluable help in unravelling this remarkable story.
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