Nocton Hall - Revelations of an Imp - Chapter 9

The Hobarts

In 1764/5, Nocton passed to George Hobart whose father had died in 1756. The Dashwood's stepped aside to give this young man his inheritance and fulfil Sir William Ellys' wish, even though Sarah could have retained the estate until her death. Those who may have blacked Sir Francis' character must recognise this generosity, on their departure from Nocton, they effectively lost an income of over £5,000 per year. Lady Le Despenser died 19th January 1769 and Nocton said farewell to a great lady.

George was 31 when he arrived at Nocton Hall with his wife, Albinia, daughter and coheiress of Lord Vere Bertie, Duke of Ancaster. This marriage on 22nd May 1757 created the possibility of an estate stretching from the southern boundary of Lincoln to Metheringham. A vast area of rich land.

The Duke's seat at Branston Hall rivalled Nocton both in size and beauty. The Bertie countryside was well laid out and rich in fine hardwood. The Park was likewise enhanced with established oak, beech, lime and elm. Lord Ancaster looked upon his hardwood trees as the mouth and nose of mother earth by which his land would breath God's fresh air and fertilize and prosper both stock and ground.

George and Albinia soon moved into the active social rounds of life in the county after they took up residence in 1766. The demands for Hobart's political service had prevented an earlier return to their Lincolnshire estate. On the completion of his work in St. Petersburgh in 1765 as secretary to the Ambassador, these two very good looking aristocrats had everything going for them. George had come from his post in the British Embassy with flying colours and he had proved reliable and conscientious as a Member of Parliament for St. Ives, Cornwall. Albinia had developed a weakness for the gaming tables, but what could her husband say, for she gambled with her own money and credit, backed by the Branston estate, which gave her enormous wealth to risk on a game of chance. George continued to feel nervous of his wife's addiction. It was a relief to escape from London where their home, in what is now referred to as Hobart Place, was adjacent to Buckingham Palace. The countryside of the Nocton estate gave him the greatest satisfaction and to be safely away in the heart of rural England could possibly break his wife's obsession.

The Hobarts entertained at the Hall on a grand scale. A house warming party given on 29th December 1767 let everybody know they were 'in residence'. The party took the form of a masquerade. In mid-winter, their home made a perfect setting for a great ball. The lanterns festooned from the trees on the drive side through the park added a romantic touch to welcome the guests arriving in their coaches. The octagonal lantern tower illuminated the forecourt to give the travellers plenty of light as the coachmen drew their carriages close in the entrance. Footmen gave assistance to the ladies in their magnificent costumes. It would be an unforgivable sin to allow a gracious lady to go 'ass over tip' in the snow. When it did happen, the offender would suffer, not from the anger of a noble Lord, but from his own kith and kin at the staff dining table. The more a footman tried to explain away his crime, the greater the uproarious laughter. The Lincolnshire yeoman has a wicked sense of humour. When the culprit was on the run, there was no let up. First the butler, then the cook, followed by lesser mortals, teased the poor lad amidst giggles and cries of 'Tell us just what you got up to'.

Upstairs, the pomp and ceremony of the early introductions over, the gentle thaw set in to break the shyness of the introverts. The usual flow of alcohol disguised by such as 'a coachman's hat', 'sidesaddle', 'knickerbocker' and 'blacktea', removed barriers between the sexes. The party was away with a swing and the Hall rang to the sound of music with human tittle tattle, unlike anything in the animal world during the softening up period when boy meets girl. Albinia, with her untiring energy, motivated the gaiety and was acclaimed the best party organiser in the county. Among the guests for the December get-together were the Duke of York, the Marquis of Exeter, Lord Nevile, Albinia's parents, Lady Betty Chaplin, Sir Cecil Wray, the Huttons, Sibthorpes, Custs and Amcotts and the high flight of Lincolnshire 'upper-crust'. Albinia created a gasp when disposing of her black cloak with a fitted hood, complete with two ears, she revealed herself as a leopard in a skin tight silk costume. The dress had to stand harsh treatment. Leopards have tails and Albinia's was too tempting to be allowed to dangle. A few adventurous tweeks from the revellers split the delicate fabric and the horseplay enforced a quick change.

George, when looking into ways to improve the estate, conceived an idea of planting a lime avenue on the eastern side of the Hall. It was to be approximately a mile in length and on either side of the open ride, the trees were double planted. This gave the layout a firmer look with the appearance of an extended view well beyond a mile towards the horizon.

In Lord Ripon's time, a hundred years later, these trees had developed into robust timber with a fine canopy, giving a superb view of the avenue from the lounge and dining room windows.

George Hobart's conception had materialised into a noble feature of the park to beautify the Nocton landscape.

Albinia's father, the Duke of Ancaster, influenced by the drainage work of the Earl of Lindsey, a century before when he had increased the acreage of the Lindsey estates in south Lincolnshire by some 24,000 acres, set about a similar operation on the Branston Fen. To make the scheme a permanent success involved major work in raising the dyke embankments in the parishes of Nocton, Potterhanworth and Branston. An Act of Parliament dated 1789 (George III) sanctioned this development. A wind engine was used to eject the water from the fen on these estates, across the raised bank, into the river Witham. For forty years, this innovation kept the water drainage under control.

The first Earl of Ripon did away with the wind engine and replaced this primitive method with a steam engine to power the pumps, but several times the water levels rose high enough to convince the farmers that the latest improvement was not to equal to the fullest force of extreme weather conditions.

In the time of Norman Hodgson, a new and more powerful steam engine was installed to drive water ejection pumps of far greater efficiency. This engineering project was housed in a pumping station on Nocton Fen. A visitor was immediately impressed by the standard of cleanliness in the engine house. Anyone wishing to look around this new drainage wonder, was asked to remove their boots or shoes. The resident foreman in charge, Mr. Kent, observed his glittering and highly polished machinery with great pride.

It was said that when the time came for the ultimate test after a long period of rain, Boston and the surrounding country was flooded by the abnormal rise of the River Witham. Perhaps an exaggerated story, but the local fens on the west bank of the Witham from Branston to Dunston had the dykes pumped dry in half an hour.

George Hobart, when not managing the Nocton estate, remained involved in political work as a active Member of Parliament until 1780, but his anxiety over Albinia's obsession to gamble, remained a continual worry. He made every attempt to help his attractive wife overcome this weakness. Eight children evolved from this marriage, four sons and four daughters, the eldest boy, Robert, born 6th May 1760, was to succeed to the title.

The Earl encouraged Albinia to mix with Lincolnshire society. In 1799 she became Patroness of the Lincoln Stuff Ball which was held annually. This evening of gaiety was first celebrated in 1785 and organised by the Rev. R. G. Bower. The more serious purpose of this annual event was to encourage the use and sale of native wool and to raise money for charity. On the initiation of the Stuff or Colour Ball, 300 guests attended from all over the county and different distinguished individuals acted as patron each year. From 1787-1801 the following personalities fulfilled this function:-

1787 Mrs. Bowyer
1788 Lady Theodosia Vyner
1789 Lady Banks
1790 Elizabeth, Lady Monson
1791 Duchess of Ancaster
1792 Lady Brownlow
1793 Lady Thorold
1794 Lady Mary Milsington
1795 Charlotte, Lady William Beauclerk
1796 Lady Theodosia Vyner
1797 Mrs. Bertie
1798 Hon. Mrs. Fane
1799 Albinia, Countess of Buckinghamshire
1800 Mrs. Chaplin
1801 Maria Janetta, Lady William Beauclerk

The regulation clothes for the evening had to be made of wool and in the colour decided by the patroness. Because of the heat generated by a dress made from top quality wool, the ladies influenced their designs to show as much of their birthday suits as possible, to the satisfaction of their escorts. When in London, Albinia's breakfast parties in her house adjacent to Buckingham Palace were famous as a meeting place for the smart and interesting members of society.

George, ever mindful of a precarious financial crisis developing as Albinia's debts mounted, set to work with a will to extend the Norton estate and take in a further 4,500 acres of land still lying waste on the heath and fen. The old custom to fence in after a certain time to call your own, increased the estate to over 7,000 acres.
___________________________________________________