This is the story
of lord Maurice Egerton tatton,the life
and passion of Maurice, the fourth and last Baron Egerton of Tatton (1874 –
1958).the last son of Alan de Tatton and Lady Anna Louisia Taylor.
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| (Maurice liked to wear a pilot's cap) |
A pioneer
aviator, photographer and filmmaker, he was an early motorist and prodigious
traveller.he was 4th and last Baron Egerton of Tatton
collections of
extraordinary items from around the world by egerton including this musical
instruments from Africa probably kenya many of which are now on display in u.k
visit tattonpark.org.uk
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| musical instrumentscollections from kenya |
Castle Without a Princess
Lord Egerton
Castle is a splendid architectural masterpiece
Egerton built
between 1930 and 1940 and still stands conspicuously like a pendant in the
beautiful countryside, a 12 kilometers from Nakuru town
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| Maurice was one of the early aviators, this is one of the photos from Tattonpark |
a welcoming and
relaxing stunning mansion ,200kms east of nairobi and 10 minute ride from
nakuru town It has expansive green lawns
,splendid colorful garden on all its side
Since arriving in
Kenya in 1927, Egerton had lived in a six bed-roomed house next to the castle.
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| Egerton castle in Nakuru Kenya |
Built for a lady
to whom Baron Egerton wished to become engaged, the house is something of an
anachronism.
Lord Egerton deeply fell in love with Austrian
woman in early 1920’s, shortly after he had moved to Britain’s African colony
to occupy and farm his 26,000 acres of land. He brought his fiancé to the small
home he had built on the property. she came to his house and laughed at him.
She told egerton that she was of
“royalty” back home and that she would never live in the “chicken coop” of a
house he had built. She fled back to as soon as possible
Sure to impress her, Lord Egerton constructed the
castle on a scale that would surely impress her and make her change her mind.
He conceived of a castle that would have no comparison in England or any other
country for that matter
well chopped
stones and zinc tiles for the roof were shipped from Europe, the builders from
Europe and Asia. The outcome in 1938, was a stupendous four-storey edifice
fitted with some of the most up-to-date mechanical and electrical gadgets at
the time, including an escalator!
However even
after building a majestic castle for Lady Victoria she still rejects him in the
presence of his friends.As it happened,not once but twice, and Egerton's heart
was broken,even after building the castle, especially for her ,This leads to
Lord Egerton changing and dedicating his life to farming, hunting and
development of education. This gives birth to Egerton University founded on the
basis of Agriculture but which has transformed into a diverse institution
offering many courses apart from Agriculture.
before that He
furnished and ran the castle as if the family he had envisaged actually existed.
Nobody but the house servants was ever allowed in, According to the current
caretaker Robert
Lord Maurice
banned all women from the 52-room castle and its 100-acre grounds.He hated
chicken and dogs because the woman who spurned his proposal said the six-bed
roomed house the Lord lived in before completion of the castle was small as a
chicken hut or a dogs kennel
He banned women
from ever setting foot in the 100-acre ground in which the castle stood, spent
the rest of his life alone until his death on January 30, 1958. The woman
associated with the baron’s irrational behaviour has never been named in all
accounts about his life
“He pinned
notices on trees warning that the grounds were out of bounds for women and that
any woman who disobeyed the notice risked being shot,when he planned to visit
the quarters where his African staff lived, he would issue a two-week notice so
that all women could be vacated." recalled
78-year- old Robert Onyiego the current caretaker,(former employee of
Lord Egerton),
it is rather
ironic that numerous weddings are now hosted on the castle ,a favourite
attraction for lovers tying the knot and a picnik site
to his generosity
Lord Egerton, bequeathed his land to the government.
lord maurice
egerton died with no heir
**Egerton Castle is worth visiting but pretty hard to find,i got to know of it while on visit to Nakuru national park ,thanks to #tembeakenya crew on twitter
