Near Newbold Pacey

Newbold Pacey, Warwickshire

Took a lunchtime drive over to Ashorne today. The urge to go had not been overwhelming. As I peered out from my office window the sky was uniformly drab with sunshine excluded by the thickest wall of cloud. It had occured to me that a better way to spend the hour would be to eat something and to stay put and warm, but to my stomach's dismay, the thought was only fleeting.

On setting off the plan was to drive the shorter distance to Bishops Tachbrook, but I went that extra mile owing to a knowledge of minor stately halls in that area and the sense that where there's a hall there's some parkland. As it turned out, after wandering past Ashorne Hall (the owners of which are keen to ensure travellers depart not one inch from the designated path) the better looking and only freely accesible parkland was that belonging to Newbold Pacey Hall.

Back at base, I thought I'd while away a little time and make some enquiries concerning Newbold Pacey Hall and its occupants. Seems in the late 18th century, when the hall as seen today was first constructed, it was held by the Skipwith family, in particular Sir Thomas George Skipwith. The Skipwiths struck me as an interesting, well connected lot, so I thought I'd include a few lines with this blip.

Sir Thomas George Skipwith, 4th Baronet, was an English politician. He was the eldest son of Sir Francis Skipwith, 3rd Baronet and Ursual Cartwright of Newbold Pacey Hall. Skipwith was educated at Rugby School and at Trinity College, Cambridge, according to the Abbé Grant, 'a most sensible and clever man'. He travelled to Rome en route to Greece, Constantinople and Asia Minor in December 1764, and may have been there again in 1766.

Skipwith married Selina Shirley in 1785 when Selina was aged 33 and Skipwith was 50. Both had a knack for having their portrait painted by artists who have passed to us today as among the finest of their generation and respective nations. Selina was painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds in May 1787, and Skipwith was painted by Gilbert Stuart. According to a Christie's catalogue I discovered, his portrait is datable to around 1784 and is stylistically comparable to Stuart's portrait of the artist John Singleton Copley painted the same year. Lady Skipwith had a reputation as a skilled horsewoman, and outlived her husband by 42 years.

The Reynolds
The Stuart