| It begins
in 1731 when a poor Cornish girl gave birth to an illegitimate
son, William Stephens. He was a business genius and
he found wealth in the ruins of Lisbon in Portugal.
 |
| Gardener Alex Rogers at work at Lynford
Hall. |
After an earthquake destroyed the city,
William Stephens saw a way in which he could make more
lime than the Portuguese could by using a low quality
coal shipped from England, rather than wood, which was
in short supply there.
William forged valuable links between the Portuguese
dictator and English coal merchants to create a business
that boomed and then, rather spectacularly, bust.
A brilliant organiser, he was later forced by the Portuguese
into managing a flagging glass factory and, ironically,
it was there he made his fortune after being granted
the country’s monopoly on glass manufacture.
Childless when he died, William’s holdings went
to his brother John James, then over the next few decades
it was inherited by a cousin, Charles, who had made
a fair packet himself. He eventually handed the combined
families’ fortune on to his son, Stephens.
It was when Stephens died that the fortune became of
public interest, said Mrs Roberts.
“There were bits of newspaper cuttings which tell
the story very well but have long since gone from public
consciousness. We had whole families involved. Family
trees join Stephens into totally unconnected trees and
I was trying to find out which didn’t belong.
Most who still consider themselves to be descendants
are not.
“Stephens had written for him a very bad will
by an out-of-work lawyer, who made a lot of money out
of it. Stephens meant it to provide for his wife for
her lifetime and his four uncles – a poor clergyman
and three bankrupt businessmen – who were supposed
to share and share alike,” said Mrs Roberts.
 |
| Consultant Justin Bone opens up the curtains
in the Duvernay Restaurant. |
But the lawyer, Meaburn Tatham, wrote
the money should be divided amongst “such issue”
for his four uncles’ descendants, failing to define
“issue” leaving it open to interpretation
– and chaos eschewed.
When the courts ruled in 1871 Stephens’ money
be held until descendants could prove their claim, Tatham
wrote to potential beneficiaries saying he would take
on their representations. Many did employ him, making
him a busy, and wealthy, man.
In the confusion following Stephens’ death, lawyers
even tried to sell Lynford Hall, offering it to Queen
Victoria, who was looking for a country estate for her
son. Apparently she considered the offer, but decided
instead on the larger Sandringham estate in 1862.
Meanwhile Yolande was still living in Lynford Hall,
with its fabulous gardens, which were a riot of colour
and containing expensive statues.
She was largely left to her own devices for several
reasons – social snobbery was the worst of them
as she had been Stephens’ mistress before marrying
him. This gave most Norfolk gentry the ammunition to
ignore her or look down on her.
She died at Lynford in 1894 and her body was taken to
her chapel in Cambridge for a requiem mass was held.
Then the coffin was taken to Grove House in Roehampton,
Wandsworth, where she was buried with her husband.
With her death, Lynford Hall, which she bequeathed to
a close friend, was sold at auction, but the garden
ornaments were ruled to be part of the Lyne Stephens’
fortune.
Lynford Hall still stands, although its gardens are
bare of too many ornaments. With its 50 bedrooms and
grand reception rooms – it may have been too large
for Yolande’s purposes, but it is very well employed
today as a hotel and conference room.
- Glass: The Strange History of the Lyne
Stephens Fortune can be obtained from Templeton
Press, 42, The Common, Langley Burrell, Chippenham,
Wiltshire, SN15 4LQ. Price £19.95, plus £2.95
postage and packing. Cheques payable to Templeton
Press.
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