Image ID: 14151

Lord Frederick Sleigh Roberts, of Khandahar, Pretoria and Waterford at Serlby 1903

Serlby Estate ?
Serlby
England

The Photograph shows Lord Frederick Sleigh Roberts, of Khandahar, Pretoria and Waterford (1832-1914) or 'Bobs', as he was popularly known. He was the Wellington of the late Victorian era. The saviour of the British Empire and its honour on a number of occasions in the perpetual colonial wars fought throughout Queen Victoria's reign. A national hero by the time he is shown here in 1903, he had recently subdued the Boers in South Africa and had already become a legend with his epic retreat from Khabul to Khandahar during the Afghan War of 1878. During World War 1, the empire looked to Roberts to win it. However, whilst visiting the troops in France after the equally celebrated retreat from the Marne in August 1914, he contracted pneumonia and died. The photograph is believed to be in the grounds of Serlby Hall, located SW of Bawtry. The estate's origins may be traced to the lost village of Farworth. Farworth was part of the manor of Serlby in medieval times, located in the north of Nottinghamshire. By the time it became fashionable to build gracious country homes and extend the grounds around to include landscaped parklands and 'pleasure grounds', the estate had been purchased by Lord Galway. It is said he bought Serlby Hall both to celebrate his elevation to the peerage and his marriage to the daughter of the Duke of Rutland. Almost immediately, he ordered the villagers of Farworth removed, to create space for his planned gardens and walkways. The whole village, including the church, was razed to the ground - a fact entered in 'The Great Houses of Nottinghamshire and the County Families'. The book, written in 1881 by Leonard Jacks, comments 'Within the pleasure grounds there is a large mound, thickly covered with leafy shrubs and tangled undergrowth. This was once the site of a church, all traces of which have long since disappeared just as the village of Farworth, the smoke of whose quiet cottages curled among the trees near Serlby Hall, has disappeared. Not a vestige of the village remains, but the plough occasionally unearths some remnant of brick or stone which once belonged to the foundations'. An account in White's Directory of 1853 records the house as follows;- The present hall is a square modern edifice stuccoed, forming a very handsome mansion, having the stables and out-offices on the eastern side. The situation is extremely agreeable. On the south front is a spacious lawn, beautifully interspersed with clumps of trees, whilst the north front has a charming prospect over some very luxuriant meadows, watered by the little River Ryton. The principal plantations are on the south-west side, with many avenues and shady walks cut through them, opening to the most striking prospects in the vicinity. The terrace is a part of the grounds always very much admired, not only for its own beauty, but the exquisite view which is seen from it.

Date: 1903

Organisation Reference: NCCN000552

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