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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Frederick Perceval, 11th Earl Of Egmont

Frederick George Moore Perceval, 11th Earl of Egmont (14 April 1914 – 8 December 2001), was a Canadian farmer and peer. Born in Calgary, Perceval and his father moved to Avon Castle in Ringwood, Hampshire upon the latter's ascension as the 10th Earl of Egmont. When he died in 1932, Perceval inherited his estate and title and promptly moved back to Canada. Marrying Geraldine Moodie in August, they soon built a home on a piece of land they bought right outside Priddis, Alberta, where Perceval was raised. When a fire destroyed that home, they built a new one and sold Avon Castle. They bought the Two-Dot Ranch in 1959 at Nanton, Alberta, where Perceval died in 2001. He was succeeded by his son Thomas as the 12th earl.

Life and career

2010 photograph of Avon Castle, the Perceval family estate

Frederick George Moore Perceval was born on 14 April 1914 in Calgary, Alberta, to Frederick Joseph Travelyan and Cecilia Perceval. His parents had immigrated to Alberta in 1900. Perceval was raised in Priddis, where his parents had bought a ranch. Cecilia died two years after the birth of Perceval on December 12, 1916, which led to a closer relationship between Perceval and his father. In 1929, his father became the 10th Earl of Egmont after the death of their distant cousin Charles Perceval, 9th Earl of Egmont. The 10th Earl and his son moved to England, where they lived at the family's seat Avon Castle in Ringwood, Hampshire. After the inheritance, two people attempted to challenge the claim to both the title and land: a baker from Hornsey claiming he was born in Australia to the brother of the 6th Earl of Egmont; and a retired optician from Lancaster. Both cases were dismissed in court; however, the House of Lords did not recognise the Percevals' claim until 1939, several years after the death of the 10th Earl. Frederick and his father would often do chores around the castle themselves; this earned Frederick's father the nickname "the loneliest peer in England", with Frederick himself being nicknamed "the loneliest boy in the world".

In May 1932 the 10th Earl died in a car accident in Southampton, with 18-year-old Perceval inheriting both the title and his roughly million-dollar estate. As Earl of Egmont, Perceval was entitled to sit in the House of Lords—the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—from 16 May 1932 to 11 November 1999, when the House of Lords Act 1999 was passed, excluding all but ninety-two hereditary peers from the House. Perceval never took his seat, described as having rather sit on a horse than in the House. Like his father, Perceval felt unhappy living in England and moved back to Canada in June.

Doubtless the late earl's accent and manners may, like his boots, have been a shade too thick for the fine carpets of Hampshire. Doubtless he was no master of small talk, because on an Alberta ranch, if you talk at all, the subjects will probably be pretty big. They may be kittle cattle but they certainly won't be tittle tattle.

James Agate of the Sunday Express criticizing the secludedness of the Percevals

Two months after arriving, on 31 August 1932, he married his cousin Geraldine Moodie, an orthodontic nurse. During their honeymoon, the couple was followed by journalists, and Perceval was described as being "the only member of the House of Lords who could rope, throw and brand a steer". Perceval and Moodie had eight children: Thomas, Gordon, June Rose, Patrick, Frederick, Donald, Geraldine, and Elizabeth. They were also the foster parents of a girl, Connie. Moodie died on July 2, 1995, after a prolonged illness.

For a while the newly-wed couple were unsure where they wanted to live, and often moved between England and southern Alberta. They settled in Alberta and bought roughly 680 acres (280 ha) of land right outside Priddis on the intersection of Macleod Trail and Willow Park Drive, building a Tudor-styled home on it. After the home burned down in 1938, they temporarily moved to England, where Perceval bought a car he travelled the country with and planned to send his son to Eton College. Eventually, they decided to stay in Priddis where Perceval built a new 26-room house, selling Avon Castle for $378,000.

In 1959 their property, Egmont Ranch, was threatened by urban sprawl. As a result, Perceval sold the ranch to the Kelwood Corporation, reported at a price to be roughly £350,000 ($980,000) and he bought the Two-Dot Ranch at Nanton—sized at 5,080 acres (2,060 ha; 20.6 km; 7.94 sq mi)—from Claude Gallinger for $284,000. After the approval of the House of Lords Act 1999, Perceval reportedly expressed regrets about not taking his seat in the House.

Perceval died at his ranch of heart failure on 8 December 2001. He was buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in Calgary in a private ceremony on 10 December. He was succeeded by his son Thomas as the 12th Earl of Egmont and Two-Dot Ranch was auctioned off.

References

  1. ^ Ohler, Shawn (21 January 1999). "He was rancher before he became an earl, daughter says". National Post. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. p. 8. Retrieved 7 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "The Earl of Egmont—Prairie rancher descended from a murdered prime minister, and the only member of the Lords capable of roping, throwing and branding a steer". The Daily Telegraph. London, Greator London, England. 3 January 2002. p. 25. Retrieved 7 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ van Rassel, Jason (12 December 2001). "Reluctant earl called Alberta home". Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alberta, Canada. p. A3. Retrieved 7 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Perceval". The Calgary Albertan. Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 14 December 1916. p. 7. Retrieved 2 October 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Flavelle, Ryan (19 September 2016). Davies, Adriana A.; Keshen, Jeff (eds.). "Alberta Remittance Men in the Great War". The Frontier of Patriotism: Alberta and the First World War. University of Calgary Press: 111–112. doi:10.1515/9781552388365-013. ISBN 978-1-55238-836-5.
  6. ^ "Youth Coming Back to Canada Peer of Realm—Eleventh Earl of Egmont Leaves England for Alberta Ranch". Montreal Star. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 24 June 1932. p. 1. Retrieved 7 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Role and work of the House of Lords". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  8. ^ "Earl of Egmont". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Snowdon leads Lords converts". BBC News. London: British Broadcasting Corporation. 2 November 1999. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  10. ^ van Rassel, Jason (21 September 2002). "Noble treasures on auction block". Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alberta, Canada. p. A1, A8. Retrieved 7 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Youthful Earl Avoids Interviewers; Refuses to Answer Questions". The StarPhoenix. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. 2 September 1932. p. 6. Retrieved 7 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Deaths—Perceval". Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 4 July 1995. p. C12. Retrieved 2 October 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Brennan, Brian (25 July 1995). "Calgary's own countess dies after long illness". Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alberta, Canada. p. B2. Retrieved 2 October 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Earl of Egmont Buys Two-Dot Ranch". The Calgary Albertan. Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 14 May 1959. p. 5. Retrieved 7 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "The Earl of Egmont, 44-year-old British cowboy peer, is selling his huge ranch near Calgary, reports the London Daily Mail". Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 6 January 1959. p. 3. Retrieved 7 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Levett, Bruce (17 April 1961). "Few Titled Canadians Attach Importance to Honors". The StarPhoenix. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The Canadian Press. p. 11. Retrieved 7 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Oliver, Victor (21 January 2002). "The Record". Alberta Report. 29 (2): 55. ISSN 1488-8092.
  18. ^ "Thousands of buyers drawn to estate sale". Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 23 September 2002. p. B3. Retrieved 7 July 2024 – via Newspapers.com.