Daily Express

BaTTle of The ‘Barmy’ BaThurSTS

The latest feud between Gloria Wesley, the Dowager Countess Bathurst, and her stepson over £15million of heirlooms was finally resolved at the High Court this week

- By Adrian Lee

TO SUGGEST that the 9th Earl Bathurst and his American-born stepmother do not enjoy cordial relations is an understate­ment. The pair have been locked in the sort of aristocrat­ic family feud going back years that would be perfect for the plot of a period drama. The dispute between Allen, the 56-year-old Earl, and Gloria, the Dowager Countess Bathurst, boiled over again this week.

It is ostensibly about access to parts of the 15,000-acre Bathurst estate in Gloucester­shire, reported to be worth £45million.

A High Court judge ruled that the Dowager Countess, who recently turned 90, has no right to enter her stepson’s home when she pleases to inspect the family’s £15million collection of treasures.

However, if that appears to be a rather trivial reason to get lawyers involved, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The pair have seemingly done battle with one another at the merest opportunit­y. From matters of parking to polo the Earl, who is a friend of Prince Charles, and the formidable Dowager Countess just don’t see eye to eye.

“I’m quite relieved that it’s all over. If you thought someone could come into your house at any time and have a look at whatever they want how would you feel?” says Earl Bathurst, before admitting being saddened that they could not “sit down over a cup of tea” and resolve their difference­s.

To understand the origins of the feud it is necessary to delve into history. Gloria became the second wife of Allen’s late father Henry in 1978. Long before his death in 2011 the Conservati­ve peer, who was Lord-in-Waiting to the Queen, decided to split the estate. Known as “Barmy” to his friends, he placed one half in trust for his eldest son, with the other half going to the Dowager Countess for the rest of her life after her husband died.

So far, so amicable, but the problems began when Henry passed away and according to his wishes Gloria was obliged to move out of the main house – Cirenceste­r Park. The new Earl moved in with his wife Sara, while Gloria settled into Manor Farm on the estate.

STANDING in 3,000 acres it is hardly modest and the 8th Earl also made it clear that she could enjoy “sporting rights for game and deer” on the land and the “use and enjoyment of Cirenceste­r Park”. It’s how this is interprete­d that caused much of the strife and the Earl has described parts of his father’s will as “impractica­l”. He complained to the court that her insistence on entering the stately home and spending days with experts compiling an inventory of its contents amounted to a calculated intrusion.

The Earl says: “The place was turned upside down over about four days and every drawer opened up, whether or not there were boxer shorts in them.”

And now the High Court has agreed with his legal team that the inspection was a “flimsy pretext” to gain entry into a house where she is not welcome. The imposing property contains some 300 items of art, including paintings, furniture and sculptures. The highlight is a huge regency portrait of the Duke of Wellington sitting on his horse, worth £6million. It’s said to be so big that the hall in which it hangs had to be enlarged. There are also paintings by Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborou­gh.

By way of consolatio­n, Manor Farm where the Dowager Countess lives is itself brimming with £3million worth of artworks.

You don’t have to read between CAPTION: Is in 8.5pt helvetica bold except when it’s on a picture when its helevetica black and bigger if poss CLASH: The current Earl Bathurst, his father the 8th Earl, inset, and the Countess, with Cirenceste­r Park behind the lines to realise that the Earl, who was in his mid-teens when his father remarried, never really warmed to the newcomer. He says: “Going back to fairy tales there always seems to be a wicked stepmother. I’m not suggesting that in our case but things are often difficult when someone comes into the family who is not a blood relative.”

Allen Christophe­r Bertram, the 9th and current Earl Bathurst, is said to be an easygoing man but it seems he has now reached the end of his tether as far as his stepmother is concerned.

The Earl, who has two children in their 20s, adds: “Sometimes matters get out of control and it is extremely difficult. I am sad for her that she has soured relationsh­ips with so many people, including the local community.”

It’s not the first time he has crossed swords with Gloria, who was the widow of solicitor David Rutherston when she fell in love with the 8th Earl.

In 2013 the Dowager Countess threw medics off Cirenceste­r Hospital’s free car park, pointing out correctly that she owned the land. A few years later she relented, by making it pay and display. It was embarrassi­ng for her stepson who was president of the hospital’s League of Friends organisati­on.

PREVIOUSLY she said she would refuse to renew the lease of Cirenceste­r Park Polo Club, a favourite of the royals. The move, soon after the death of her husband, was also unpopular with her stepson and, to his relief, was eventually abandoned.

Mind you, Gloria’s late husband could also be a fiery character. In 2003 Henry gave chase after Prince William, then aged 20, overtook him at speed after a polo match on the estate.

Prince Charles eventually got involved and smoothed things over with an apology. Henry insisted he had not recognised the Prince and thought he was in hot pursuit of “some yob in a beat-up car”.

The Bathurst family originates from Sussex where they once owned a castle but it was lost in the 15th century after one of the earls opted for the losing side in the Wars of the Roses.

Another ancestor took over Cirenceste­r Park, which boasts Britain’s finest example of forest parkland, in the 18th century, while a later Bathurst was a close friend of the Duke of Wellington. The 8th Earl, Henry, succeeded to the title when he was only 15 years old.

The current Earl, known as Lord Apsley until his father’s death, is a keen conservati­onist who campaigns to save the countrysid­e and historic buildings. One of his mantras is preserving our heritage for future generation­s and he once threatened to chain himself to an old building in Cirenceste­r to prevent it being demolished to make way for a leisure centre.

“Hard working, fair-minded and with a clear approach to duty,” is how he is described in a biography by one of the many organisati­ons he supports in the Cotswolds. In a recent interview his wife Sara described him as “the kindest, gentlest, loveliest man I’ve met”.

Sadly the Earl doesn’t see much hope of reconcilia­tion with his stepmother, who is not in good health. “It doesn’t mean olive branches can’t be held out,” he says. “We were talking quite recently about trying again but we heard she was not letting anyone into her house. It is unfortunat­e it has gone on so long.”

Tellingly, on the extensive family history which appears on the estate website, there is no mention of Gloria. If only it was so easy for the current Earl to airbrush his troublesom­e and interferin­g stepmother out of his life.

 ?? Pictures: REX, ALAMY, GLOS PICS ??
Pictures: REX, ALAMY, GLOS PICS

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