The Welton News and Views back catalogue contains a collection of ‘spotlight’ articles on people with a historic connection to Welton. Lord Chesham was one of these figures.
If you have walked back up into Welton from the canal via Crockwell Farm and crossroads, you may have noticed the headstone set just behind the hedge and across a cattle grid at the entrance to Welton Grange Farm, just on the bend of the gated road.
The headstone commemorates the death of Lord Chesham after a fall from his horse, however there is more to this than meets the eye.
The inscription reads:
This cross marks the place where C. Compton W, 3rd Baron Chesham
met his death while hunting with the Pytchley Hounds
9th November 1907, aged 56
Erected by his friends …
Except of course that this was NOT the place where Chesham fell!
In fact, Lord Chesham fell from his horse near Daventry Reservoir, in a field which was at that time part of Monksmoor Farm. An eyewitness account of the accident reported:
‘It was a fine Saturday afternoon with a field of anything from 700 to 800 [?] with about 200 second horsemen. Lord Chesham was taking a fence near Daventry Reservoir when the horse put his foot in a blind ditch. Lord Chesham was thrown bodily, landing on the back of his neck which was dislocated, and he died instantly. His body was taken to Holdenby House.’
With the passing of time, hedges were grubbed up, Daventry expanded, and the headstone was moved to a corner of the farmyard.
Who was Lord Chesham?
Born in 1850 in Piccadilly, Lord Chesham was Charles Compton William Cavendish, 3rdBaron Chesham and a prominent British Army officer, courter and Conservative politician. He had fought in the Boer War in South Africa.
He belonged to one of England’s most powerful aristocratic dynasties – the Cavendish family, led by the Dukes of Devonshire. He was directly related to Sir Wiliam Cavendish and his wife, Bess of Hardwick, famed for Bolsover Castle and Hardwick Hall.
Lord Chesham was succeeded by his second son, John who was just 13 years old at the time, his eldest son having pre-deceased him, killed in the Boer War aged 21.
During his lifetime, he served in the Coldsteam Guards and, after his retirement from the regular army, became Lieutenant-Colonel of the Buckinghamshire Yeomanry. He was reportedly a charismatic man, liked by his peers and those who worked for or served alongside him. It was in this role within the Yeomanry that he raised a regiment to fight in the Boer War (1880-81 and 1899-1902).
Following a string of humiliating defeats in the second (and bloodier) Boer War during December 1899, Cavendish, alongside the Earl of Lonsdale, offered to raise a volunteer regiment of mobile, mounted infantry to counter the fast-riding Afrikaaner Boer commandos. Led by Cavendish, the battalion sailed in January 1900 – indicating that the regiment was swiftly raised and mobilised.
The 10th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry, to give them their full title, were engaged at the Relief of Kimberley, Battle of Lindley and in a range of operations to dislodge Boer forces from the rocky hills or ‘koppies’ across central South Africa. Cavendish was mentioned twice in dispatches for bravery.
During his tour of duty, Lord Chesham’s wife, Lady Beatrice, and his daughter, Lilah, travelled to South Africa and were instrumental in funding and organising the Imperial Yeomanry Hospital to care for the thousands of sick and wounded volunteer soldiers. Lady Beatrice was awarded the Royal Red Cross for her efforts.
So how did the headstone come to be placed on Welton Grange Farm?
Amongst the many volunteers from his friends from the farming and hunting communities were members of two local families: the father of Gilbert Tebbitt and a Mr John Nichols, uncle to a Welton resident of the 1980s, John Nichols, of Crockwell farm.
For his part in the Boer War, Mr G. Tebbitt was awarded the Queen’s Medal. He also received a beautifully carved pipe bearing the insignia of the Imperial Yeomanry and the years 1900-1901 as well as 37th Company. At the base of the bowl were his initials: G.W.T. It is thought that this pipe was given by local people as a memento of his service to his country.
It is thought that Mr Tebbitt was out hunting with Lord Chesham on the day of his death. Given their close association, it seems probable that it was Mr Tebbitt who arranged for the headstone to be moved to Welton Grange farm from its rather neglected position in the yard of Monksmoor Farm. Since Welton Grange Farm was home of the Tebbitt family from 1907, we can surmise that the headstone was moved some time after 1907.
Lord Chesham is buried in Latimer in Buckinghamshire, and there is another memorial to him, a stone column and trough, in Brixworth – erected by friends and fellow members of the Pytchley Hunt.
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