Talk:Ickworth House

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[edit] Cleanup

It seems to me that the section about the ownership/endowment/eviction is confusing and repetitive, and needs to be edited by someone with intimate knowledge of the situation. Today, the section reads as follows:

Ickworth had been in the ownership of the Hervey family from the 15th century. When the house was given to the National Trust in payment of death duties, a 99-year lease on the 60-room East Wing was given to the Marquess of Bristol as consideration for the endowment. However, in 1998 the 7th Marquess of Bristol, for financial reasons, and in response to an eviction suit stemming from his behavior on the property, sold the remaining lease on the East Wing to the National Trust. There is now a 27-bedroom hotel in the East Wing. When the House was handed over to the National Trust in 1956, the Letter of Wishes of the 4th Marchioness of Bristol stated that accommodation always be available for the head of the Hervey family (The Marquess of Bristol) at Ickworth. The Trust have not honoured this wish by trying to evict the 7th Marquess due to his dangerous behavior while in residence and by agreeing to repurchase the remaining leasehold from him and further by refusing to undo that sale when the present 8th Marquess of Bristol so demanded; the 8th Marquess has vocally criticised the Trust for this.

— Grstain 14:12, 20 February 2006 (UTC)