John Benett-Stanford and his diminishing legacy

Vere and Ellen’s son, John Benett Stanford (1870-1947), was bitter about the sale of what he took to be his Wiltshire inheritance. As his mother’s tenant he paid an annual rental whilst receiving an annuity from the Stanford capital account of £5,000. John’s relationship with his mother disintegrated from the 1890s onwards, complaining about her waste and extravagance. He fought a long-running battle with the family solicitors, trustees, and the Chancery court to maintain control over the estate finances.

In 1894 Vere died of ‘fatty degeneration of the heart’ and in 1897 Ellen married Charles Thomas, who took his wife’s name of Stanford. John was convinced that his mother and stepfather, who spent much time abroad, would fritter away his inheritance. His increasingly bitter letters to his mother reflect an unstable and eccentric personality.

The Fate of Preston Manor

Charles and Ellen concentrated on developing the area between Old Shoreham Road and Dyke Road. In 1918 Ellen made tentative plans to sell Preston Manor to Brighton Corporation, but in the end her husband, Sir Charles, bought the house and grounds from his wife’s trustees and, by Deed of Gift in 1925, made provision that after his wife’s death, the house and four acres should be vested in the Corporation of Brighton in perpetuity. A further four acres of land was sold to Brighton Corporation for £5,000. Land sales continued to reach a peak in 1920 and 1925. In a last ditch attempt to preserve his shrinking legacy John attempted to turn the estate into a limited company. The scheme failed.

When Ellen died in 1932 the gross annual value of the capital was put at £229,500, yet over a million pounds had been received the by estate trustees. John was convinced that the disparity was due not only to his mother’s extravagance but also the ‘robbery of the “death duties”, lawyers and other bandits’. The fact that every decision about the estate had to be approved by the Chancery court enormously increased expenses (as any reader of Charles Dickens Bleak House will know).

Charles Thomas-Stanford, PMPHO000099