Norfolk squire is outed by trust 50 years after his death
THE National Trust has “outed” a Norfolk squire as gay 48 years after his death, claiming there is no need any longer to conceal his sexuality.
Robert Wyndham Ketton-cremer, who died aged 63 in 1969, left his ancestral home, Felbrigg Hall, near Cromer, to the nation, knowing that after his brother was killed in the Second World War, he had no heirs.
Although close friends were aware that Mr Wyndham Ketton-cremer was gay, he did not choose to publicly disclose his orientation at a time when it was still outlawed.
Now, on the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality, the trust has commissioned a film that reveals his private life.
Narrated by Stephen Fry, the film is part of the Trust’s Prejudice and Pride programme, which highlights the previously hidden lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender inhabitants of its properties. Prof Richard Sandell, of the University of Leicester, whose team researched Mr Wyndham Ketton-cremer, admitted there were ethical issues in “outing” someone who had chosen to conceal his sexuality. But he said it was important to “talk openly”.
“I would strongly argue that we cannot perpetuate the values and attitudes of the past,” he said. “It is important to people today that we talk openly – just as we do about the personal lives of people who were heterosexual. With the case of Robert, the people we interviewed were clear that we weren’t outing him because amongst those who knew him, this was widely accepted.”
Mr Wyndham Ketton-cremer, known as “Bunny”, was described as a shy, generous and gentle man, who spent many years restoring Felbrigg before bequeathing it to the nation.
Fry said: “Some have asked why Prejudice and Pride is necessary … to do anything less is to suggest that samesex love and gender diversity is wrong, and keeping these stories hidden only lets prejudice go unchallenged.”
Until now, visitors to Felbrigg were told only about Mr Wyndham Kettoncremer’s public life as a “bachelor squire”. He was a magistrate and the high sheriff of Norfolk, a biographer of Robert Walpole and Thomas Gray, and a much-loved local patron.