PinkDalek wrote:Clitheroekid wrote:Please sir, can I be first to identify it as Polesden Lacey, near Dorking?
Bookham, Danno, Great.
Both Correct!
And as you probably know, Polesden Lacey was famed for its parties organised by Margaret Greville (born Anderson) the daughter of William McEwan, who (eventually) married her mother Helen when Margaret was 21 years old. Well - he clearly didn't like to rush such matters.
And Dame Margaret Greville was the hostess with the mostest in the first half of the 20th century. Money (originating from the McEwan's Edinburgh brewery) was clearly no object and her list of guests started at the top end of Royalty.
From Wikipedia:- "She bequeathed all her jewels to Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother), including a diamond necklace reputedly belonging to Marie Antoinette, a pair of diamond chandelier earrings and selection of tiaras and a ruby necklace by Boucheron, all of which are in possession of the British Royal Family. The Greville Emerald and Diamond Kokoshnik tiara was worn by Princess Eugenie at her October 2018 wedding to Jack Brooksbank."
And, some would say more importantly, she bequeathed Polesden Lacey to the National Trust.
Her father also spent some of his beer money on the McEwan hall - used for graduations at the University of Edinburgh.
So some good does seem to emanate from drinking beer - although my teetotal grandfather may have disagreed.