Robert Vernon Heber-Percy (5 November 1911 – 29 October 1987), known for much of his life as "the Mad Boy", was "an English eccentric in the grand tradition".

Early life

Heber-Percy was born in 1911, the fourth and youngest son of Algernon Hugh Heber-Percy (1869–1941), JP, of Hodnet Hall, Shropshire, and Gladys May (d. 1956), MBE, daughter of William Edward Montagu Hulton-Harrop, JP, DL, of Lythwood Hall, near

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

, Shropshire, and of Bardsley, Lancashire. Algernon Heber-Percy was a lieutenant in the

Shropshire Yeomanry The Shropshire Yeomanry was a yeomanry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1795, which served as a cavalry and dismounted infantry regiment in the First World War and as a cavalry and an artillery regiment in the Second World War. It w ...

, and served as aide-de-camp to the

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, governor-general at the national level, the governor Governors of ...

, private secretary to the

Lieutenant-Governor of British New Guinea A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, and was Hereditary Seneschal of

Montgomery Castle Montgomery Castle () is a stone castle looking over the town of Montgomery in Powys, Mid Wales. It is one of many Norman castles on the border between Wales and England. Its strategic importance in the Welsh Marches meant that it was destroy ...

. He was a descendant of

Algernon Percy, 1st Earl of Beverley Algernon Percy, 1st Earl of Beverley, (21 January 1750 – 21 October 1830), styled Lord Algernon Percy between 1766 and 1786 and known as the Lord Lovaine between 1786 and 1790, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1774 ...

, of the family of the

Dukes of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of N ...

.''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage'', 107th edition, vol. 2, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 2943 Robert was raised at Hodnet Hall, and brought up in country pursuits alongside his brothers, at which he excelled, particularly in riding, on the hunting field, and in breaking-in young horses; his brother Cyril wrote of him that "he was full of fun, up to every prank, could hoodwink most people, and developed a gift for repartee".Obituaries: Robert Heber-Percy, Richard Brain, ''The Independent'', 3 November 1987 He was educated at

Stowe School The Stowe School is a public school (English private boarding school) for pupils aged 13–18 in the countryside of Stowe, England. It was opened on 11 May, 1923 at Stowe House, a Grade I Heritage Estate belonging to the British Crown. ...

, and commissioned (reaching the rank of lieutenant) into the

King's Dragoon Guards The 1st King's Dragoon Guards was an Cavalry regiments of the British Army, armoured cavalry and dragoon guard regiment in the British Army. The regiment was raised by John Lanier, Sir John Lanier in 1685 as the 2nd Queen's Regiment of Horse, name ...

in a "brief but hectic" career.

Career

Early work included acting as a Hollywood extra, serving in a Lyons' Corner House – which ended after he spilled soup on a customer – and helping to run a nightclub. Heber-Percy's main occupation was running – "with supreme efficiency" – the

Faringdon House Faringdon House is a Grade I listed 14,510 square feet house in Faringdon, Oxfordshire, England. It was built in about 1770– for the Poet Laureate Sir Henry James Pye. It became the country home of Lord Berners, who inherited it in 1918. He m ...

estate in Oxfordshire, owned by

Lord Berners Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson, 14th Baron Berners (18 September 188319 April 1950), also known as Gerald Tyrwhitt, was a British composer, novelist, painter, and aesthete. He was also known as Lord Berners. Biography Early life and education B ...

. Although he maintained a lively social life, with close friends including

William Plomer William Charles Franklyn Plomer (10 December 1903 – 20 September 1973) was a South African and British novelist, poet and literary editor. He also wrote a series of librettos for Benjamin Britten. He wrote some of his poetry under the pseud ...

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and Penelope Betjeman, and

Raymond Mortimer Charles Raymond Bell Mortimer Order of the British Empire, CBE (25 April 1895 – 9 January 1980), who wrote under the name Raymond Mortimer, was a British writer on art and literature, known mostly as a critic and literary editor. He was ...

, Heber-Percy was dedicated to maintaining the estate, and woke up early to work in the fields alongside estate workers. He refused to increase rent for tenants of several decades' standing. Heber-Percy constructed follies and built "a swimming pool reached by high steps and overlooked by giant gryphons", with a changing room the floor of which "was inlaid with pennies". As a sideline, he and a carpenter friend went into business as undertakers; he was particularly fond of the company's annual conferences, as they ''"invariably provided him with a fund of good stories"''. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was sent as a Secret Service emissary to the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

and

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

Personal life

Heber-Percy was the companion and lover of the composer

until his death in 1950, when he inherited Faringdon House. Berners built a tower there commemorating Heber-Percy's 21st birthday; the latter later admitted he would rather have been given a

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

. In 1942, he married an already pregnant Jennifer Fry, only child of Sir Geoffrey Fry, 1st Baronet. They had a daughter, Victoria, born in 1943, but the marriage was dissolved in 1947. All four of them lived together in Faringdon House, and were photographed by

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as costume designer and set designer for stage and screen. His accolades ...

in September 1943. The

ménage à trois A () is a domestic arrangement or committed relationship consisting of three people in polyamorous romantic or sexual relations with each other, and often dwelling together. The phrase is a loan from French meaning "household of three". ...

lasted two years before Jennifer and her daughter moved to her parents' home, Oare House, in Wiltshire. Victoria Gala Heber-Percy married the engineer and inventor

Peter Zinovieff Peter Zinovieff (26 January 1933 – 23 June 2021) was a British composer, musician and inventor. In the late 1960s, his company, Electronic Music Studios (EMS), made the VCS3, a synthesizer used by many early progressive rock bands such as Pi ...

, and they had three children, the eldest being the writer

Sofka Zinovieff Sofka Zinovieff (born 1961) is a British author and journalist. Early life Zinovieff was born in London. Her parents were Peter Zinovieff and Victoria Gala Heber-Percy. Her paternal grandparents were White Russians who had left Soviet Russia ...

, who inherited the entirety of her grandfather's estate, including Faringdon House. In 2014 Sofka Zinovieff wrote a memoir about Heber-Percy, Jennifer Fry and Lord Berners at Faringdon.Sofka Zinovieff. ''The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother and Me'' (Jonathan Cape, 2014).

Death

In 1985, he married Lady

Dorothy Lygon Lady Dorothy Lygon (briefly Mrs Heber-Percy; 22 February 1912 – 13 November 2001) was an English socialite, and one of the Bright Young Things. She served as a Flight Officer in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force during WWII, and later became an ...

, the fourth daughter of

William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp (20 February 1872 – 14 November 1938), styled Viscount Elmley until 1891, was a British Liberal politician. He was Governor of New South Wales between 1899 and 1901, a member of the Liberal administrations of ...

, whom he had known for over fifty years; this relationship "cheered his later years, when he was lame from a stroke and several brushes with death" but they "parted amicably" a year later. His ashes were scattered around the lake at Faringdon House.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heber-Percy, Robert 1911 births 1987 deaths English bisexual men People educated at Stowe School British military personnel of World War II 20th-century English LGBTQ people