The groom wore a suit of armour which would have helped the Lord of Shrewsbury!

The closest the Morris family has come to a duel recently was when one couple decided that the theme for their wedding would be medieval and everyone dressed up. John came with his parents to the Manor just after the War, his mother used the Manor as a rest home, John in his turn changed its use to a restaurant and country house hotel and in recent years it has become a leading wedding venue. Today it is the home of John Morris, his wife June and their three children. His son Charles was probably playing happily at Grafton the day his father died. Unfortunately the Earl of Shrewsbury was no match for the Duke, either with his wife or as a swordsman and he died on January 16th 1668.

It has also been the place of intrigues and scandals, most notably, the second Duke of Buckingham who took a fancy to the Lady of Grafton Manor, Countess Anna Maria and offended the then Earl of Shrewsbury who challenged him to a dual. It is a house that has always enjoyed celebrities, the son-in-law of John Talbot was Robert Wintour who was involved in the Gunpowder plot. Sir Humphrey Stafford was a trusted friend of Henry VI, Sir Gilbert Talbot enjoyed the favour of Henry VII and Charles Talbot who enjoyed the good opinion of no less than five monarchs, Charles II, James II, William and Mary, Anne and George! It was a famous house and had been the home to many families over the centuries, all fabulously wealthy and most favourites with the monarchy. Whoever it was, Grafton Manor then was a prestigious new house, built on the site of a much older house that had been tragically destroyed by fire in 1710. Who knows who did it maybe a workman, maybe it was one of the servants. If you go up into the eaves of Grafton Manor it is still possible to see where someone has carved the date into one of the wooden beams.

Manor matters finished house