Skeffington Hall
I have in my possession an interesting newspaper article from the 1960s that shows a picture of Skeffington Hall, which is situated in the village of Skeffington, Leics., adjacent to the Church of St. Thomas A Beckett. According to my records the hall was originally constructed in 1450 and was the birthplace of Thomas Skeffington, Bishop of Bangor and Sir William Skeffington, Lord Deputy of Ireland. It was later owned by a William Farrell whose son, Sir William Farrell-Skeffington 1st Bt., adopted the Skeffington surname and later sold the hall to the Tailby family in 1815. William Ward Tailby (1825-1914) was a keen huntsman and formed the Fernie Hunt in 1856 and Sir Richard Sutton 2nd Bt., who was Master of the Quorn Hunt also resided at Skeffington Hall at one time.
The caption that appeared alongside the picture in the newspaper is as follows:
“Skeffington Hall, the home of the Skeffingtons and the Tailbys and now owned by Count Emanuelle Armand, who bought it in 1938 from Major Noel Furlong. Its ballroom has a wonderful oak floor, the planks of which reach from one end of the room to the other and are said to have been cut from one tree, which grew in the grounds. Dr. Pevsner’s recent book refers to the hall as: ‘An interesting and very puzzling house, the architectural history of which is yet to be disentangled and written’.”
Unfortunately, I have been unable to trace any information concerning Count Emanuelle Armand, other than I believe him to have belonged to the French nobility. However, I have had more success in identifying Major Noel Charles Bell Furlong (1812-1963) who was born in Fermoy, County Cork, Ireland on Christmas Day, hence the choice of forename. He was the son of Charles John Furlong JP and Emily Bell and he went on to be a well-known owner and trainer of racehorses. One of his geldings successfully won the Grand National at Aintree twice, in consecutive years. This record was last achieved back in 1870. His horse was named Reynoldstown and was bred by Richard Ball of Reynoldstown, Naul, Dublin. Major Furlong purchased the Irish gelding when it was five years old and it went on to win the prestigious race in both 1935 and 1936. The amateur jockey who rode the 1935 winner was Major Furlong’s son Frank (Francis Charles Furlong 1911-1944) who later sadly died in action whilst a test pilot of the Supermarine Spitfire. He was in the Fleet Air Arm.
The headline in the ‘Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News’, dated Friday 12th April 1935 appeared as follows: ‘‘The National Winner at Home’. “Major Noel Furlong’s stables at Skeffington Hall, Leics was home to Reynoldstown His son Frank Furlong rode him to victory in this year’s Grand National.”
The other amateur jockey who successfully rode Reynoldstown victory the following year, 1936, was Frank’s close friend from Sandhurst by the name of Fulke Thomas Tyndall Walwyn (1910-1991) who went on to be one of the most successful National Hunt trainers of all time. Born in Wrexham, North Wales, he later went on to train horses belonging to HM Queen Elizabeth II, The Queen Mother and earned himself the CVO.
It was interesting to note that during my research I established not only another local family connection but also a tenuous link to Royalty. Fulke Walwyn’s widow was the former Catherine de Trafford (1928-2023), daughter of Sir Humphrey de Trafford (1891-1971) and the Hon. Cynthia Cadogan (1896-1966) who lived at Hothorpe Hall, Theddingworth, Leics. Catherine’s eldest sister, Ann (1918-1987) was the mother of Andrew Parker-Bowles – first husband of H.M Queen Camilla!
I had no idea when I came across this rather faded newspaper cutting from the 1960s. that it would reveal such a variety of interesting facts emanating from a picture of Skeffington Hall.
Glyn Hatfield
Kibworth Community Hub
