Author: Gerald Stunt

Publisher:

Published: 2015-12-04

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 9781519668783

The extraordinary characters who lived at Perry Hall, Staffordshire, come alive in this profusely illustrated account of the Stamfords and the Goughs. Amongst others, we are told of : Sir WILLIAM STAMFORD -- an intellectually brilliant judge in Tudor Queen Mary's reign. YOUNG HARRY GOUGH -- who sailed to China at the age of eleven and went on to become a wealthy merchant and director of the East India Company. His sister married a governor of St. Helena; his little brothers were pages to Queen Anne. RICHARD GOUGH -- a prolific author and the pre-eminent antiquarian of the eighteenth century. JANE GOUGH -- a spirited young bride who kept a revealing diary. Squire JOHN GOUGH -- a surly character, often in conflict with neighbours and relatives, and litigious in the extreme. Mercilessly vilified as "a Wretch born in Despite of Nature fostered by the blackest Demons of Malignity, and permitted by Providence to exist as a Libel upon Mankind." One chapter forensically explores the origins of the Maryland Goughs, who purported a descent from the Staffordshire Goughs. The inescapable conclusion is that the founder of Perry Hall Mansion (and his father) deliberately deceived their contemporaries by avowing a much more distinguished ancestry than is revealed by the facts. A high-definition photographic supplement closes this book. It reproduces, with full commentary, the rare Edwardian postcards of the Perry Hall Estate published by Frank Nightingale, an outstanding local photographer. The 144 pages of this book are enlivened with paintings, engravings, lithographs, maps and photographs--many illustrations are in full colour. This particularly fine local history publication, fully referenced by the author and meticulously edited by Peter Allen, Chair of Barr & Aston Local History Society, also records the rise and fall of the grand Elizabethan mansion in which they lived and loved. The moat in Perry Hall Park, now a municipal leisure area, is almost all that remains of an extensive landed estate, whose distinguished occupants made their mark far and wide. The FOREWORD by Professor Tony Seaton signs off : "This is a beautifully designed book that I have much enjoyed reading. It is a labour of love by the author and his editor friend, both new to publishing, but clearly masters of the art."