‘You were born after a one-night stand with wealthy landowner...’
... what family told the 31-year-old care worker who inherited country estate after taking DNA paternity test
A HARDUP care worker who inherited a country estate was conceived after his mother had a onenight stand with the wealthy landowner, her family said yesterday.
Jordan Adlard Rogers, 31, saw his fortunes change dramatically when a DNA test proved he was the illegitimate son of Charles Rogers.
He has now moved into the lavish 1,536acre Penrose Estate, between Helston and Porthleven in Cornwall, after Mr Rogers was found dead in his car on the estate last August, aged 62.
Because Mr Rogers’ mother and brother have died, Jordan was left as the sole heir to the grand estate.
The Rogers family gifted the estate to the National Trust in 1974 in exchange for a 1,000year lease to live there. Jor‘
dan no longer needs to work, with the estate earning an estimated £1,000 a week from investments and rent from local farmers.
Jordan’s family revealed yesterday that he was told of his father’s identity at the age of eight, but decided he ‘didn’t want to know’. One source said he thought Jordan was worried Mr Rogers would think he was trying to extort money from him.
Jordan’s mother, Julie Adlard, became pregnant aged 20 following a ‘very brief fling’ with Mr Rogers, her family said. Her stepfather, John Binns, recalled: ‘She just came home one night, said she was pregnant and was going to keep the baby.
‘That was that. Nothing more was really said and the father was never ever involved, although we all knew who he was. My wife met
him once or twice but he was never involved with the baby.’ Mr Binns, the third husband of Miss Adlard’s mother, Barbara, said Mr Rogers offered ‘ no support whatsoever’ for his son, despite his wealth. The family said Miss Adlard – who has never married – is moving into the grand house on the Penrose Estate with her son, his partner Katie Hubber and their newborn son. Mr Binns said Jordan will make a success of the estate. He added: ‘He has got his head screwed on the right way and will make a good go of it. We are very pleased for him.’
A source close to the family described Jordan as a ‘good, smart lad’. He added: ‘There are a few guys in the family I guess you could describe as bad eggs, but Jordan is a sensible lad.
‘He’s a nice guy. His mum told him years and years ago that Charles was his dad.
‘Julie said to him that it was definitely his dad, but Jordan didn’t want to know. Maybe he was worried Charles would think he was trying to get money out of him – but he’s not like that anyway.
‘Jordan’s had DNA tests done now but you can see it from the pictures – they’re the spitting image of each other. I’m happy for Jordan but he would have preferred to know his dad. For Jordan, not to know his dad at all is very sad.
Last night Jordan’s sister Queenie, 24, who lives in St Ives, Cornwall, with her two children, said: ‘I have a good relationship with my brother. Everything that has happened to him is private between the family.’ Mrs Adlard said she did not wish to discuss the situation.
An inquest heard last week how Mr Rogers had struggled with drug abuse for many years and died of an overdose in his car, which he had been living in, outside the Grade II listed farmhouse on the historic estate.
Joanna Rogers, whose late husband Michael was Mr Rogers’ uncle, said she was ‘delighted’ that Jordan had inherited the estate and the manor house.
Mrs Rogers, from Chichester, West Sussex, who is in her late 80s, said it was a ‘total shock’ to discover she had a greatnephew.
She said: ‘He’s a lovely man. Really kind and caring and friendly so I’m absolutely delighted he has inherited it. He’s also a village boy so he knows the place well and I’m sure it’s in good hands.’ Pictures emerged yesterday showing the home on a former council estate in Portleven that Jordan lived in as a child – a far cry from the glamour of his new abode.
Former neighbour Derek Richards, 75, said Jordan lived in the property with his mother ‘about 25 years ago’. He added: ‘He was a lovely boy, I used to give him Mars bars through the fence. He was a carer for a disabled man in town.’
He added: ‘Jordan didn’t have a very good start in life and I’m glad that now he has got something.
‘I last saw him a few weeks ago, just before the baby was born.
‘I’ve heard many stories about the income from the estate – some say £50k, some say £70k, but who knows? All I know is that Jordan is a lovely lad and deserves happiness. Every time I see him, I still call him “Mars Bar”.’
‘Said she would keep the baby’
Didn’t have a good start in life’