Footnotes

• Expelled from Westminster and Harrow, John, more commonly known as 'Mad Jack', arrived at Cambridge University with 2,000 bottles of port as a means of easing his passage through university. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that he embarked on the Grand Tour without a bachelor's degree but having acquired instead a bachelor's lifestyle coupled with an 'eight-bottle-per-day' drinking habit.
  
  Having inherited the estate of Halston Hall in Shropshire at the tender age of two, 'Mad Jack' was set to obtain a £60,000 fortune upon attaining his majority. Returning to the family seat, John entertained wild notions of becoming the Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury in accordance with a long-standing family tradition. In effect, he did win the electorate's favour - by offering them £10 notes in exchange for votes. His time in Parliament was inevitably brief, lasting for one short term.
  
  John is perhaps best remembered by posterity for his unadulterated love of sporting pursuits, his passion for fox hunting in particular almost bordering on obsession. Allegedly the proud owner of 700 pairs of hand-made hunting boots, John's favourite horse, 'Baronet', was given licence to roam freely around Halston Hall; the more unfortunate 'Sportsman', however, met with an untimely end when his master experimentally encouraged him to drink a bottle of port. An equally keen racer of carriages and gigs, John religiously frequented dog fights and on one memorable occasion rode a bear into his own drawing-room, causing the animal to savage his leg. Having subsequently decided to retain 'Nell' as a pet, the bear later had to be killed after mauling one of the servants.
  
  Twice married, John's second wife fled Halston Hall, profoundly disturbed by his wild behaviour. He spent the remaining years of his life with 'Susan', whom he met on Westminster Bridge and paid £500 per annum for the pleasure of her company. 'Mad Jack' died in the King's Bench debtor's prison, his immense fortune having been squandered within two decades.

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Category: Fine Art / Portrait Miniatures

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