Description of 33-H The Saving of a Yorkshire Estate
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This nine-page document by J.T. Ward traces the history of the Lane Fox families of Bramham Park from the time Henry Fox established the family's fortune by marrying Frances Lane in 1691. His son George, who married Harriet Benson, daughter of Robert Benson, Lord Bingley, in 1731, succeeding to most of the Benson estates as well having succeeded to the large Lane estates.
He changed his surname to Fox-Lane in 1751 and in 1762 also became Lord Bingley until his death in 1773 when the title became extinct. The estate passed to his nephew James Fox Lane who unfortunately became a friend of the Prince Regent resulting in a financially crippling life style . On his death in 1821 he made generous provision for his wife and the younger sons leaving the estate, starved of capital, to his 28 year old eldest son George (now generally known as Lane Fox) who had increasing difficulty in finding funds to meet the considerable sums needed for estate repairs and improvements.
Despite his efforts things got steadily worse until, at his death in 1848, his son inherited a debt of nearly quarter of a million pounds. The son Lane Fox now started the long task of saving the estate. He lived relatively frugally and the situation was embarrassing for one of the largest landowners in Yorkshire and Ireland but in the end he reluctantly decided that the last hope of saving his estate was to sell some portions of it.
In 1855 he started selling sizeable acreages and mineral rights and the process continued steadily until the 1980s but by 1883 the long fight to save the estate had succeeded. This notable achievement by careful management, sensible sales and personal moderation allowed Bramham to remain a great estate and his grndson to restore and return to Robert Benson's great house.
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