Wimpole Timeline – 19th + 20th centuries.

1790 – Soane is commissioned to make alterations to Wimpole – these include the
addition of Home Farm, the Yellow Drawing Room and improvements across the
estate.

During the 1790s, Lord Hardwicke aimed to be a model estate owner and employer:
he instituted prizes for the best-kept cottage gardens and was a leading advocate
of agricultural change. Lady Hardwicke founded a Sunday school and would not allow
a beerhouse on the estate.

1801 – Lord Hardwicke appointed the first post-Union Viceroy of Ireland. An
observer of him commented that Hardwicke “had more advanced the strength of
government, and its credit, than could be well conceived”. He was rewarded with the
Order of the Garter before returning to London, then to Wimpole in 1806.

1814 – Lord Hardwicke briefly holds the Presidency of the Board of Agriculture.

From 1834 when he succeeded his uncle, Lord Hardwicke held the Lord-Lieutenancy
of Cambridgeshire, and he and his brother fought valiantly for the agricultural
interest of the county.

When Sir Robert Peel returned to office in 1841, Lord Hardwicke was appointed
Lord-In-Waiting to the Queen. He then accompanied the King the Prussia on his
visit in 1842.

1843 - Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visit Wimpole for two days.

1844 - Lord Hardwicke entertains Tsar Nicholas I on his visit to England.

1891 – Wimpole is put on the market as a result of the 5th Earl’s extravagant
spending (‘Champagne Charlie’). It failed to reach its reserve price and so was
handed over to the Agar-Robartes bank to pay off some of the 5th Earl’s £300,000
debt.

1897 – Lord Robartes becomes Viscount Clifden and moves to Lanhydrick. Wimpole
continues to be used for shooting parties, social gatherings and family holidays.

1930s – when Lord Robartes died, the maintenance of Wimpole proved to be an
expensive nightmare. The contents of Wimpole were gradually stripped and the
house was let to tenants, the last of whom were Captain and Mrs. Bambridge in
1936. Mrs. Bambridge was the last surviving child of Rudyard Kipling. As his heiress,
she was able to use the royalties from his books to buy and refurbish Wimpole.

During the Second World War, the household moved in to the basement, dining in
the Servant’s Hall. The War Office, put off by lack of services, did not requisition
the house. Part of the Estate was taken over as an American army hospital.

1976 – Mrs. Bambridge dies and leaves the house and the estate to the National
Trust.
Hinchingbrooke Timeline – 19th + 20th centuries.

1792 – 4th Earl of Sandwich dies. He had been an important character in National
politics, most notably he was First Lord of the Admiralty (in charge of the Navy) on
no less than three occasions. His guests at Hinchingbrooke included important
politicians and the Prince of Wales. He was, perhaps, best known for his regular
Christmas concerts held in the house itself.

The 5th, 6th and 7th Earls, whilst remaining members of the House of Lords, failed to
follow the 4th Earl in achieving positions of power in the Government itself. (1792 –
1884) However, they remained powerful influences within the county.

1832 – The Great Fire destroys the North-East interior of the House. Famous
architect Edward Blore (who designed part of Buckingham Palace) was commissioned
to re-design this part of the house, including the movement of the Bow window to
the south front.

1884 – 7th Earl dies and in 1889 a Memorial is erected in Huntingdon in memory of
him, from the townsfolk of Huntingdon. (There is a portrait of him in the Inner hall,
which was also commissioned at this time, by the tenants of the Estate)

1884 – 1916 – 8th Earl of Sandwich is an important local figure, as landowner,
‘celebrity’ (because of his faith healing) and because of his philanthropic building
initiatives (Edward House in Huntingdon for orphans and the Montagu club for
working men of the town). He is also a nationally important figure because of his
connections with royalty, the army and the various oversees postings.

1890s – the 8th Earl makes many alterations to the house, including the building of
the West wing, the enclosure of the Inner Hall and the Japanese gardens. (He is
able to do this as he is a single man, with no family.)

During the First World War, the 8th Earl accepts wounded Officers in to the house
to recover. During the second world war, the 9th Earl rents the house to the Red
Cross at a reduced rate.

1946 – West wing is demolished as expense of upkeep and decline in number of
servants means it is no longer necessary. Before the wars, Hinchingbrooke
employed 42 servants for the house and gardens. After them, this number
decreased to less than a dozen.

1955 – Victor Montagu (Viscount Hinchingbrooke), determined to follow a career as
an MP in the House of Commons, moves out of Hinchingbrooke House and moves to
Mapperton House in Dorset. When he finally becomes Earl of Sandwich in 1962 he
is the first member of the House of Lords to renounce his title in order to stay in
the House of Commons.

1962 – Hinchingbrooke is sold to the County Council as are Ramsey Abbey and
Kimbolton Castle.