# Eccentric British Noble **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 31, 2019, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eccentric-british-noble/845658 "2019-12-31T05:50:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eccentric-british-noble/845658/1 "2019-12-31T05:50:13Z")
I vaguely remember seeing some article with pictures of some British noble [but not Duke level] that was effectively a hippy - he had long hair and his stately house was less than stately - it had really funky statuary and murals. Ring any bells anybody? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eccentric-british-noble/845658/2 "2019-12-31T06:07:38Z")
The current Marquess of Bath, who came to fame for his private life while still Viscount Weymouth, the heir in waiting. [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander\_Thynn,\_7th\_Marquess\_of\_Bath](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Thynn,_7th_Marquess_of_Bath) ---
**Author:** ![Nansbread1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Nansbread1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nansbread1)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eccentric-british-noble/845658/3 "2019-12-31T11:23:41Z")
The man with an endless stream of wifelets. If you wanted to see how womankind can be blinded by money see how many queue up to be in the harem of this ugly man. At one time he had 75 in his harem > **[SEBASTIAN SHAKESPEARE: Loins of Longleat mourns live-in 'wifelets'](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3197286/SEBASTIAN-SHAKESPEARE-Loins-Longleat-mourns-live-wifelets.html)** > > The delightfully dotty Marquess of Bath, pictured, became known as much for the exotic ‘wifelets’ he gathered at Longleat as the wild creatures he nurtured at the 10,000-acre estate. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eccentric-british-noble/845658/4 "2019-12-31T16:25:13Z")
Some mention must be made of the 3rd Earl of Harrow, [Screaming Lord Sutch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screaming_Lord_Sutch). ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eccentric-british-noble/845658/5 "2019-12-31T16:59:56Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Some mention must be made of the 3rd Earl of Harrow, [Screaming Lord Sutch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screaming_Lord_Sutch). As your own cite says, he wasn’t actually a peer. The Marquess of Bath is probably the one **aruvqan** saw in the article, although his stately home, [Longleat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longleat), is actually lovely. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eccentric-british-noble/845658/6 "2019-12-31T19:14:53Z")
Gotta give the guy credit for not restricting himself to wifelets in their 20’s, like American one-percenters… ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eccentric-british-noble/845658/7 "2019-12-31T20:59:00Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > The current Marquess of Bath, who came to fame for his private life while still Viscount Weymouth, the heir in waiting. > > [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander\_Thynn,\_7th\_Marquess\_of\_Bath](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Thynn,_7th_Marquess_of_Bath) We have a winner \ ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eccentric-british-noble/845658/8 "2019-12-31T21:34:32Z")
> [@Nansbread1](#): > > The man with an endless stream of wifelets. > > If you wanted to see how womankind can be blinded by money see how many queue up to be in the harem of this ugly man. > > At one time he had 75 in his harem > > [Loins of Longleat mourns last of his live-in 'wifelets' by SEBASTIAN SHAKESPEARE | Daily Mail Online](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3197286/SEBASTIAN-SHAKESPEARE-Loins-Longleat-mourns-live-wifelets.html) He wasn’t that ugly in his youth and it’s a fair bet that life with him at Longleat was pretty much one long party with the stimulant of your choice freely available. Money is a great aphrodisiac but personality is probably more important. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2019, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eccentric-british-noble/845658/9 "2019-12-31T22:15:54Z")
And nobility, for those who go in for that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eccentric-british-noble/845658/10 "2020-01-01T15:45:45Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I vaguely remember seeing some article with pictures of some British noble [but not Duke level] that was effectively a hippy - he had long hair and his stately house was less than stately - it had really funky statuary and murals. From my reading of English history, there must be thousands of “eccentric British nobles” who fit this general description. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eccentric-british-noble/845658/11 "2020-01-01T20:07:07Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > From my reading of English history, there must be thousands of “eccentric British nobles” who fit this general description. [The best eccentric aristos are Brits, obviously](https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-best-eccentric-aristocrats-are-british-obviously) - _“From the sex-mad Lord Bath to the EDM-addicted ‘Lord of the Dance’ and tunnel-loving ‘Robert The Fox,’ British aristos are the best—and craziest.”_ Power and wealth without responsibility - what’s not to like? ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eccentric-british-noble/845658/12 "2020-01-02T09:28:18Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > Power and wealth without responsibility - what’s not to like? Power? Nah, at least not political power. Wealth? Depends. A surprisingly large number of peers live under surprisingly modest material conditions, and rely on a job like other commoners to make a living. Granted, these are typically younger peerages of lower rank (especially baronies), which, unlike the very ancient dukedoms, don’t come with land holdings. But the cliché of the British peerage consisting mostly of people squandering their inherited millions which have been passed on for generations does definitely not capture reality. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eccentric-british-noble/845658/13 "2020-01-03T00:57:26Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > Power? Nah, at least not political power. Wealth? Depends. A surprisingly large number of peers live under surprisingly modest material conditions, and rely on a job like other commoners to make a living. Granted, these are typically younger peerages of lower rank (especially baronies), which, unlike the very ancient dukedoms, don’t come with land holdings. But the cliché of the British peerage consisting mostly of people squandering their inherited millions which have been passed on for generations does definitely not capture reality. Dukedom’s don’t “come with landholdings”. Generally, a (non-royal) dukedom would only have been conferred on someone who already had substantial landholdings, but the title and the landholdings are distinct and can be separated over time, and there are examples of dukes whose ancestral estates were sold or dissipated long ago, and who live in, um, reduced circumstances - the Duke of Manchester, for example.