She bore him a child, Mark Sykes, in 1879 and three years later she and the child became Catholics. Tatton had many peculiar dislikes. You might not expect that its important to know how many bags of nails and hinges were ordered, or at what cost, to do up Sledmeres doors, or to hear the details of one ancestor or anothers vexed exchanges with the stonemason, or to learn what was for lunch. There are also some estate accounts, banking bonds, the 1791 purchase for 33,000 of a 1000 acre estate in Ottringham Marsh, the 1785 subscription list for the charitable York Spinning School and some early material for Tatton Sykes (later 4th baronet) including his articled-clerk papers of 1790 and a small number of family letters. Smith, Peter. Embedded in his correspondence is also the correspondence of his wife Edith nee Gorst and his mother Jessica (nee Cavendish-Bentinck). From 1915 the family lived in the house and it served as a troop hospital during the war. The inscription on the monument plaque reads: ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF SIR TATTON SYKES BARONET BY THOSE WHO LOVED HIM AS A FRIEND AND HONOURED HIM AS A LANDLORD. They had seven children, all of whom have an archival presence in this archive. Mark Sykes was elected MP for Central Hull in 1911 and occupied himself for the early part of the First World War establishing the Waggoner's Special Reserve. In almost every way, Sir John Norma Ide Leslie, 4th Baronet, was the quintessential aristocratic gentleman. ), Edith Violet Sykes (Sir, 6th Bt.) We collect and match historical records that Ancestry users have contributed to their family trees to create each persons profile. A deserted medieval village where bodies were once mutilated to prevent them rising from the dead. Chris Beetles. Both the monument and cottage are Historic England Grade II listed. Richard Sykes (16781726) diversified further, concentrating on the flourishing Baltic trade in bar iron, and the wealth of the family was built on this in the first half of the eighteenth century. In addition to excruciating gout he had. He was MP for Beverley 1784-90 and though he supported Pitt during the regency crisis and voted for parliamentary reform he is not known to have spoken in the house. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Sir Tatton Sykes, 4th Baronet (17721863), who had an interest in agricultural techniques and horse racing. An appendix (catalogued as U DDSY2/12) consists of material previously displayed at Sledmere House and there is more of the same correspondence here including some with Picot. He had an engraving done of the vast library he built and sent copies of it to friends (Foster, Pedigrees; Namier & Brooke, The house of commons, iii, p.514; Hobson, 'Sledmere and the Sykes family'; English, The great landowners, pp.28-9, 62-6; Cornforth, Sledmere House, p.4; Syme, 'Sledmere Hall', pp. the Scorbutick Disorder, endless colds (coughed much and my lungs wheezing like a Broken Winded Horse ), toothache (I have had a very great pain in my Teeth Gums and Roof of my mouth much Swelled as well on the right side of my face,) piles (my piles are yet very troublesome but not so much Heat or Inflamation about the Fundament), and very unpleasant rashes (my Wife tells me my back and shoulders are full of red and blue spots with an itching and my armpits full of scurf). It is through this marriage that the Sykes are related indirectly to Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom through George Cavendish-Bentinck to Charles William Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck, the great-grandfather of the Queen. As a famous man in the public eye, Lord Berners had to take precautions if he wished to be alone. Many of the modern surnames in the dictionary can be traced back to Britain and Ireland, Birth, Marriage & Death, including Parish, Operated by Ancestry Ireland Unlimited Company. The fifth deposit, U DDSY5, contains title deeds, manorial records, sales particulars, tenancy agreements and related correspondence, mainly dating from the 19th and 20th centuries, for the following places in the East Riding: Barmby; Beverley; Bishop Wilton; Brandesburton; Bishopthorpe; Burstwick; Croom; East Heslerton; Eddlethorpe; Elloughton; Fimber; Fridaythorpe; Garton; Hedon; Helperthorpe (including papers about a dispute with the vicar of Lutton over grazing rights); Hollym; Howden; Kirby Grindalythe; Kirkburn; Langtoft; Nafferton; North Frodingham; Owstwick; Owthorne; Preston; Sledmere (including papers about the village hall, 1953); Thirkleby; Thixendale; Thorngumbald; Tibthorpe; Wansford; Wetwang; Wharram Percy (comprising a terrier, 1817). He married in 1903 the sister of his mother's lover, Edith Gorst, and their honeymoon took them to Paris, Rome, Constantinople and Jerusalem. A sixth section of 'projects' includes material for his literary projects (for example, notes and proofs of The caliph's last heritage and a letter from H G Wells complimenting him on a book) and other projects such as Edith's hospital in France and the war memorials built at Sledmere. Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. In 1770 he made a very fortuitous marriage with Elizabeth Egerton of Tatton whose inheritance of 17,000 from her father was hugely augmented by her inheriting her brother's Cheshire estates and another 60,000 from her aunt in 1780. U DDSY3 is a very valuable source of material for the social history of eighteenth-century England. He was succeeded at Sledmere by Sir Richard Sykes 7th Baronet (1905-1978) who was succeeded by the current owner Sir Tatton Sykes (8th Baronet). His was a life full of earning and spending vast sums of money, of fast horses and young women and of eccentricities. There are some anonymous notes of proceedings in the parliaments of Mary between 6 July 1553 and 2 April 1554 and Elizabeth between 5 May and 30 June 1572. All rights reserved. He banned the cultivation of flowers in Sledmere village. He was succeeded at Sledmere by his one surviving child, Christopher Sykes (17491801), who was MP for Beverley 178490. But this persecution of the upper classes was all done with a sense of fun. Tatton Sykes was cornered into marriage in 1874 by the very determined mother of (Christina Anne) Jessica Cavendish-Bentinck who was thirty years his junior. William Sykes died just a few months later in August 1697. Sykes was a landowner, racehorse breeder, church-builder and eccentric. The English Eccentrics. The irrepressible Francis Henry Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridgewater. Upon his fathers death in 1863, he inherited the Sykes baronetcy, complete with title, a generous annual income and a luxurious home called Sledmore. These trees can change over time as users edit, remove, or otherwise modify the data in their trees. James Legard claims that the Sykes family had land in the parish of Thornhill near Leeds in the thirteenth century. Letters and papers for 1783-1793 include letters to Christopher Sykes from his family and local gentry, from Henry Maister, the Hull merchant and from John Lockwood, solicitor. The eccentric Duke who adored misanthropy, built 15 miles of tunnels. Goran Blazeski, The Vintage News, November 2016. Sir Tatton Sykes (b.1772), 4th baronet, 'was not a great scholar'. As the picture above commemorates, Lord Berners once invited Penelope Chetwood and her Arab Stallion to tea, having taken literally the gossip that she was inseparable from the horse, and painted their portraits. Youll get hints when we find information about your relatives . Hide Ad. However, the story with official currency is that the family may originally have been from Saxony and were settled in Sykes Dyke near Carlisle in Cumberland during the middle ages. If you would like to view one of these trees in its entirety, you can contact the owner of the tree to request permission to see the tree. William Sykes (15001577), migrated to the West Riding of Yorkshire, settling near Leeds, and he and his son became wealthy cloth traders. She published a novel, a travel journal in Africa during the Boer war and a political commentary on France, but fell further and further into debt and disgrace culminating in Tatton Sykes refusing to pay her debts followed by a very spectacular court case. This database contains family trees submitted to Ancestry by users who have indicated that their tree can only be viewed by Ancestry members to whom they have granted permission to see their tree. In 1770 he made a fortunate marriage with Elizabeth, the daughter of William Tatton of Wythenshawe, Cheshire whose inheritance of 17,000 from her father was hugely augmented by her inheriting her brother's Cheshire estates and another 60,000 from her aunt in 1780. His unfinished draft manuscript is available (volume 12). A younger brother of Sir Mark Masterman Sykes, he was educated from 1784 at Westminster School. The authors childhood was spent in a house stuffed with bric--brac: I particularly loved the large partners desk in the middle of the Library, whose multitude of drawers revealed, when opened, all kinds of curiosities: old coins, medals, bills, pieces of chandelier, seals, bits of broken china, etchings, ancient letters and the charred foot of an early Sykes martyr. Wills are as follows: Elizabeth Cornwell (1609); Jane Cowper (1636); Stephen Bird (1647); Thomas Peirson (1689); William Peirson (1661); Michael Clarke (1681); Richard Ganton (1706); Mark Kirkby (1712); Luke Lillingston (1713); Robert Raven (1717); Richard Sykes (1724); Elizabeth Hobman (1728); Deborah Mason (1730); John Peirson (1731); Mary Sykes (1742); Thomas Andrew (1751); Richard Sykes (1753); Hannah Anderson (1761); Elizabeth Egerton (1763); Isabel Collings (1753); Samuel Egerton (1780); Mark Sykes (1781); Francis Peirson (1781); Decima Sykes (1783); Sarah Peirson (1786); Christopher Sykes (1801); Elizabeth Beckwith (1802); Henrietta Masterman Sykes (1813); Mark Masterman Sykes (1819); Thomas Egerton (1845) and Tatton Sykes (1847). One of the most illuminating of his lists if only because it reminds you how incredibly horrible it must have been living in the 18th century is that of the ailments Sledmeres builder, kindly old Richard Sykes, suffered from. There are letter books kept by his agent and cousin, Henry Cholmondeley and separate letter books kept about horse racing and breeding. A year later he was moved to the Foreign Office where he advised on Arab and Palestinian affairs. U DDSY comprises a very large deposit of estate papers, genealogical material for the Sykes and local families, and personal family papers including correspondence and diaries, largely for the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This database contains family trees submitted to Ancestry by users who have indicated that their tree can be viewed by all Ancestry subscribers.These trees can change over time as users edit, remove, or otherwise modify the data in their trees. Growing up with a father he described as worldly, cynical, intolerant of any kind of inferiority, reserved and self-possessed and serving for 10 years as a diplomat made Lord Berners intolerant of convention and pomposity. Sir Tatton Sykes, 4th Baronet (1772-1863) was an English landowner and stock breeder, known as a patron of horse racing. There are two competing stories of the origins of the Sykes family. But, actually, it is important. His ancestral pile was really something, too. Subscribe to leave a comment. It tends to be opened at eight oclock the evening before World Book Day, to, Karl Lagerfeld from fashion icon to invisible man, Blame, Brexit and the great tomato shortage of 2023, Hancock wanted to deploy new Covid variant and frighten the pants off everyone, Prince Harry and Gabor Mat are a match made in heaven, Is Putin winning? The cousin of Sir Winston Churchill, Sir John was born in New York in 1916. The entire village of Sledmere was relocated. Some of the volumes contain transcripts of material held in original form in the rest of the archive. Where did we find this stuff? A replica of an early 19th-century vessel that sailed across the world. There is a large series of late 19th and 20th century accounts, especially for Sir Tatton and Lady Jessica Sykes, their estates, the estate of Sir Mark Sykes after his death and of his children's shares in the estate. Designed by John Gibbs of Oxford to commemorate Sir Tatton Sykes, 4th Baronet of Sledmere, the foundation stone was laid and construction commenced in 1865. There are a few letters addressed to or relating to his estranged wife, Jessica Sykes. lmondeley (born Sykes), Sophia Frances Pakenham (born Sykes), Elizabeth Beatrice Herbert (born Sykes), Christopher Sykes, Louisa Anne Syk May 4 1913 - Hotel Metropole, London, England, May 5 1913 - Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom, May 5 1913 - Dundee, Angus-Shire, Scotland, United Kingdom, Sir Tatton Sykes 4th Baronet, Mary Ann Sykes (born Foulis), Christina Anne Jessica Sykes (born Cavendish-Bentinck), Miss Sykes (born Ellis), Tatton Benvenuto Mark Sykes, Fitzwilliam Ellis, Martln withdrew, promising further lo pross hls claims. It became, as each inheritor followed his own bent, a lovely area of landscaped parkland, a repository of objets dart, a stud farm, and the home of a library containing a Gutenberg Bible. The Sledmore estate was also home to an entire village where servants and other people lived. The family archives include correspondence with Winston Churchill, Austen Chamberlain, Chaim Weizmann, Arthur Balfour, Francois Georges-Picot, T. E. Lawrence, Nahum Sokolow, C P Scott, W Ormesby-Gore, Sir Ronald Storrs, Alfred Dowling, E G Browne, Francis Maunsell, Grant Dalton and Oswald Fitzgerald.[2]. One woke unvaryingly at five, walked four miles up and down the library, had milk, fruit tart and mutton fat for breakfast and never ate bread. He was a crucial figure in Middle East policy decision-making during the first world war and his papers are a very rich source of material on war policy (Adelson, Mark Sykes, chpts.10-15; Dictionary of National Biography; Hobson, 'Sledmere and the Sykes family'). Discover the meaning and history behind your last name and get a sense of identity and discover who you are and where you come from. Estate papers are as follows: a sale catalogue for Bishop Wilton (1917); a sale catalogue for Eddlethorpe (1916); an enclosure award for Wetwang (1806); other miscellaneous estate papers including nineteenth-century daybooks and ledgers for Sledmere, some household accounts for Christopher Sykes (1785-1811) and Mark Masterman Sykes (1814-1823), labour expense books from 1839, the private account book of the Reverend Mark Sykes (1767-1781) and vouchers from 1846. Letters to Tatton Sykes, 5th baronet (1826-1913), include some from solicitors, the archbishop of York, the East Riding bank, from agents and local gentry. Advertisement. The couple eventually separated, with Sir Tatton disowning his wife's future debts. Miscellaneous family diaries and journals include one of a tour of Italy in 1852. He also owned one of the 18 known copies of the Gutenberg Bible. Sir Tatton ordered that all the flowers here be destroyed too. However, far from being a harmless eccentric, history has not looked favourably on Sir Tatton. The internal viewing room is no longer open to the public. U DDSY3/1 comprises 77 letters to Richard Sykes detailing the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. Another wore up to eight coats at once, and considered the constant eating of cold rice pudding to be the key to eternal life. His harsh childhood turned him into a rather withdrawn man who was an uncomfortable landlord. 2023 Atlas Obscura. Start a free family tree online and well do the searching for you. He banned the cultivation of flowers in Sledmere village. As was the way at the time, this was followed by university in Cambridge and then into the British Army. Richard Sykes and his second wife died within days of one another, in 1726. Sir Tatton Christopher Mark Sykes, 8th Bt. Sir Tatton Sykes, 5 th Baronet (1826-1913) was another aristocrat with strong opinions on pretty much everything. Topics include mention of the death of Capability Brown and the Hull Bank. The current baronet of the Sledmere House, Yorkshire, is Sir Tatton Sykes 8th Baronet, who has three brothers. The earliest correspondence in the Sykes archives relates to Richard Sykes (16781726), from his factors in Danzig and local gentry. His correspondence includes two letters from the archbishop of York and about 270 letters from a wide range of people including William Carr of York and Henry Maister of Hull. Originally listed as a second appendix to the main deposit of U DDSY2, and now at U DDSY3/10, are 22 bound typescript volumes of transcripts of family papers which were probably put together when Mark Sykes was working on his family history. The Big House is a complete cracker. U DDSY4 also contains files of estate improvement schemes (1961-1983); maps and plans (late 17th century-1929), including maps of seventeenth-century roads from York to Whitby and Scarborough and a 1737 printed plan of London in 1578 (in 7 parts); rentals and rent accounts (1796-1956) and material relating to the Sledmere stud which spans the dates 1801-1979 but is largely twentieth century. London: Faber & Faber, 2005. He collected especially first printed editions of the classics, the jewel in his collection being a late fifteenth-century edition of Livy which sold for 400 guineas in 1824. The watercolour portrait of Sir Tatton Sykes(1772-1863) shown in half-length profile, wearing a long dark brown coat, leather gloves, riding boots and top hat, and atop a horse holding a walking cane, painted in the very distinctive Richard Dighton style and almost certainly by the artist himself, . Or theres Venetia Cavendish-Bentinck, married to a millionaire and yet so tight-fisted she bought bacon on a sale-or-return basis, recycled left-over milk from the cats dish for her guests, and tried to entertain Catholics on Fridays because fish was cheaper than meat. His descendants had other health regimes. You don't have to be a professional jockey to ride in Britain's oldest horse race. We encourage you to research and examine these records to determine their accuracy. Papers for estates in the West Riding of Yorkshire are as follows: Crofton (1700) the marriage settlement of James Langwood and Sarah Watson; Knottingley (1624-1655); the manor court roll for Leeds Kirkgate (1560-1561); a plan of Crow Trees Farm in Levels (early 19th century); Monk Bretton (1800); the purchase of Rothwell by Daniel Sykes (1690); Sherburn in Elmet (1736-1762); correspondence with Timothy Mortimer and sale documents for Sutton (1788-1789). The rest of the deposit is constructed of letters and papers of the family arranged roughly chronologically. the union was far from a happy one and soon ended, leaving the eccentric aristocrat all alone. Lord Berners, who was famous for entertaining distinguished guests, once taunted a renowned social climber, Sibyl Colefax, by sending her an invitation to a tiny party for Winston [Churchill] and GBS [George Bernard Shaw] There will be no one else except for Toscanini and myself, with the address and his name deliberately illegible. There are two wills: Timothy Mortimer (1788) and Robert Bewlay (1780). Other copies of letters include one from Austen Chamberlain in 1916 and one to Lord Curzon about the work of the Mesopotamian Administration Sub-Committee. The grounds were landscaped and 1,000 acres (4.0km2) of trees planted. The sixth Baronet was a traveller, Conservative politician and diplomatic adviser. This is a book of such warmth, brio and lightness of touch that niggling at its imperfections feels like going to Sledmere and wondering aloud why they dont get rid of the old-fashioned furniture and go to Ikea. Welcome to the crazy world of John Mad Jack Mytton. The Daily Telegraph. 18 March 1826 - Sledmere, East Riding Of Yorkshire , England, 04 MAY 1913 - Sledmere House, Yorkshire, England. Where did we find this stuff? With one single test, you can discover your genetic origins and find family you nenver know you had. was born on 24 December 1943. He was awarded his Doctorate in Divinity in the same year he inherited Sledmere, 1761. Meet Lord Rokeby, the original hipster with water on the brain. The Daily Telegraph. Around family histories there is often a whiff of the vanity project, and having no special interest in country houses or the aristocracy, I was bracing myself for something badly written, dull and snobbish. Christopher Sykes, second son of the fourth Baronet, was a Member of Parliament. A tenth section comprises material used by Shane Leslie in the 1920s for his book on Mark Sykes and amongst this are cartoons, obituary material including 24 letters of condolence to Edith Sykes, two letters from T E Lawrence and one from H J Greedy at the War Office. Tatton Sykes died a year later, leaving their son to succeed (Sykes, The visitors' book, pp.36ff; Hobson, 'Sledmere and the Sykes family'). Sir Tatton Sykes truly hated flowers. Sykes 4th Baronet. The detail illuminates and enlivens rather than being nerdy Sykes is neither an architecture nor a garden bore, but a good-natured generalist. It is now run by the oldest son of Richard Sykes, Tatton Sykes, the 8th baronet, who succeeded when his father died in 1978 (Cornforth, 'Sledmere House', p.32; obit. His very first act upon moving into his ancestral home was to order the servants to destroy all the flowers in the garden. He adopted the surname of Tatton-Sykes by deed poll in 1977. Miscellaneous earlier diaries include one for Mark Kirkby (1673-1692) and one of Tatton Sykes, 4th baronet. When Mark Sykes died in 1783, therefore, he was succeeded at Sledmere by his one surviving child, Christopher Sykes, who also inherited his father's baronetcy awarded in the last months of his father's life (Foster, Pedigrees; Hobson, 'Sledmere and the Sykes family'). Hertfordshire Life, November 15th 2016. He married a woman he remained devoted to, delighted and enlightened his children, and worked himself so hard he died just short of his 40th birthday, while helping negotiate the peace after the first world war. Husband of Virginia, Lady Sykes and then M.A. Letters and papers for 1604-1766 include some seventeenth-century manorial records for Knottingley and for Knutsford and Bucklow in County Chester. Can you really ride a horse 400 miles in 61 hours? And it looked like he was going to enjoy a quiet final few years until he hit the age of 80. However, bored with the job he produced two more books, Dar-ul-Islam and D'Ordel's Pantechnicon (Sykes, The visitors' book, pp.156-87; Hobson, 'Sledmere and the Sykes family'; Adelson, Mark Sykes, passim). There is also a letter book for Richard and Mark Sykes. As the eldest son of the 4th Baronet of the same name, Sir Tatton Sykes was born into enormous wealth and privilege in 1826. When objections were raised to his plans to build the Faringdon Tower, Lord Berners responded that the great point of the tower is that it will be entirely useless. WWII artifacts, including the building itself. He was captured in May of 1940 and spent the rest of the conflict in a prisoner-of-war camp. Colonel Sir Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet (born Tatton Benvenuto Mark Sykes; 16 March 1879 - 16 February 1919) was an English traveller, Conservative Party politician and diplomatic adviser, particularly about matters respecting the Middle East at the time of the First World War. Correspondence in U DDSY4 spans pre-1801-1979 and includes estate letter books (1919-1948); subject files (1925-1979), a few letters of Sir Tatton and Lady Sykes of the 1870s and copies of letters of Mark Sykes (1907-1911). Sir Tatton Sykes, 5th Baronet (13 March 1826 - 4 May 1913). He was a crucial figure in Middle East policy decision-making during the first world war and his papers are a very rich source of material on policy. To the shock of his family and friends, he chose to spend the landmark birthday in Ibiza, partying at a world-famous nightclub. Colonel Sir Tatton Benvenuto Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet (16 March 1879 - 16 February 1919) was an English traveller, Conservative Party politician and diplomatic adviser, particularly with regard to the Middle East at the time of the First World War.He is associated with the Sykes-Picot Agreement, drawn up while the war was in progress, regarding the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire by . Spy (Sir Leslie Ward)'s preliminary sketch of Sir Tatton Sykes for Vanity Fair, London, 1879. Joseph had bought estates around West Ella and Kirk Ella. Pedigrees and genealogical material include information on the Tyson, Thoresby, Clifford, Norton, Boddington, Cutler, Boulter, Peirson, Bridekirk, Kirkby and Sykes families as well as the Fitzwilliam family of Sprotborough and the Scott family of Beverley. In 1918 he was reporting on Armenian refugees and problems of Middle East resettlement. Eighteenth-century material includes pamphlets, an inventory of the plate of Mark Kirkby, an account of the funeral of Mary Sykes who died unmarried at the age of 35 in 1744, a tract on the origins of venereal disease, some recipe and household medicinal books, the 1751 enquiry into the lunacy of Ann Barnard, lists of tenants, post-mortem results on Thomas Tatton and Mrs Egerton (who died as a result of childbirth), a description of a meteorite which fell in Thwing, the details of a house purchase by John Lockwood, the sale catalogues of the library and fine art collections of Mark Masterman Sykes in 1824, the correspondence and papers in parliament about the trial of Warren Hastings, some copies of 'The English Chronicle' and the 'Universal Evening Post' and nineteenth-century catalogues and racing calendars. They frantically bought land and enclosed huge areas for cultivation with artificial fertilizers. I must eat my pudding, he told his rescuers, I must eat my pudding. He later conceived the notion he would die at 11.30 am. Sir Tatton Sykes's Monument Stephen Horncastle Designed by John Gibbs of Oxford to commemorate Sir Tatton Sykes, 4th Baronet of Sledmere, the foundation stone was laid and. Mark Tatton Richard Tatton-Sykes (Sir, 7th Bt. Correspondence covers finance, estate and legal affairs, and there is a separate and extensive series of legal papers concerning the estate and personal affairs of Sir Tatton and Lady Jessica Sykes (including their divorce and Lady Sykes' debts), the estate of Sir Mark Sykes and the Sledmere Stud. 43-6; Pevsner & Neave, York and the East Riding, p.693; Popham, 'Sir Christopher Sykes at Sledmere' I & II). Winner will be selected at random on 04/01/2023. He is said to have built the workhouse in Leeds and he left a vast personal fortune which included 10,000 to each of his daughters. Richard Sykes took this programme of expansion further. Other miscellaneous items include a 1587 manuscript giving the names of all ports and landing places on the coasts of England and Wales, copies of some documents of interest for the English Civil War (for example, copies of letters to General Monck and minutes of the Council of State about subscription to the Covenant), a transcribed copy of Sir Thomas Herbert's account of the last two years of Charles I and his execution, some seventeenth-century printed material and some information about the Sykes family during the seventeenth century. U DDSY4 is a small deposit containing miscellaneous estate papers, some family correspondence and twentieth-century office diaries. Theres a Sternean quality to some of the stories here, not least the obsessive building of fortifications in the garden with which the young Sir Mark Sykes amused himself. Sledmere was built midway through the 18th century by the authors great-great-great-great-great-grandfather a prosperous Hull merchant named Richard Sykes on the site of an old Tudor grange on an unpromising bit of land in the Yorkshire wolds. 218, 220; Hobson, 'Sledmere and the Sykes family'). However the Sledmere estate is still one of the largest landed estates in Yorkshire and its impact on the wolds is very visible. By the 1750s the Sykes family shared 60% of Hull's pig iron trade with Hull's other leading eighteenth-century merchant family, the Maisters. Such was his dedication to rice pudding that, even though he travelled across the world a great deal, he always took his rice-pudding cook with him.