Hall or nothing for new Lord Cobham

Hagley Hall's new Lord Cobham has pledged to do everything in his power to keep the historic stately home and its parklands together for future generations. He talks to Lee Watton.

Hagley Hall's new Lord Cobham will have to run his ancestral home "like a business" to keep the stately home and its remaining lands together in the future.

Stretches of land belonging to the estate have already been sold off to cover the costs of maintaining the hall and remaining lands, which totals between £250,000 and £400,000 annually.

But Christopher Charles Lyttelton, the 12th Viscount Cobham says he is determined to keep the remainder of the estate together for future generations.

"My aim is to focus on what I consider to be the core of the estate, the hall itself and its parkland," he says."The position I have inherited means I have had to put some of the estate in Lower Hagley up for sale in order to make some financial ends meet.

"The plan is to run the hall more like a business. Unfortunately the old house is going to have to work for its living.

"The problem is the cost of maintaining the site is not fixed. It changes year upon year depending on what work needs to be done. One year it could cost £250,000 and the next £400,000."

Land put up for sale included a 19th Century farmhouse and fields.

Lord Cobham says he wants to build on measures first introduced by the previous Viscount, his older brother John who lived at the hall until his death in October 2006.

Successful schemes such as opening up the hall to members of the public are set to continue along with hiring out rooms for events such as weddings.

This and using out the hall as a venue for business meetings and conferences will be relaunched in April to offer more choice to people wishing to use the site.

He also wants to restore the parkland to its former glory so it can eventually be opened to the public. But this scheme is believed to be far off into the future.

The present Viscount works as a financial consultant at Smith & Williamson Holdings Limited, based in London. He still commutes between Hagley and London for some days during the week.

Keeping the hall and its lands was a constant concern for the previous Lord Cobham, John Lyttelton, who worked hard for many years to keep the site intact.

He faced a struggle to pay off enormous capital transfer debts following the death of his father in 1977.

At one point in the late 80s, he feared he may have to move out of the stately home.

But through a series of measures, such as selling off historic items from the family's collection, including items of furniture, and establishing a deer farm on the land, he was able to remain at his ancestral home.

He found happiness with second wife, Lisa Clayton the first British woman to sail single-handed and non-stop around the world.

The couple were married at Hagley Hall on August 1, 1997. His first marriage ended after his wife Penelope left him for former cabinet minister David Mellor.

Lord Cobham also pays tribute to his brother's widow, the Dowager Viscountess Cobham, who continued to help run the hall for nearly a year after the death of her husband.

"She is a wonderful character and did a truly magnificent job in helping manage the hall in the decade she was married to my brother and in the period following his death," he says.

"She now divides her time between Spain and England. She is a fantastic person."

Lord Cobham, who is aged 60, says it had been strange moving back to Hagley, where he has not lived for 40 years, but says people in the village had been very welcoming.

"I have not lived in Hagley since I was 19. I first went to Canada for a while and then moved to London where I have lived ever since," he says.

"It's hard to put into words what it was like to come back here to live permanently after so many years. I had obviously come back for family occasions but this was very different.

"Everyone in the Hagley community has been very welcoming to me and Tessa for which I am so very grateful.

"The staff here at the hall, many of which have been with us for many years, have been wonderful and help to keep everything running so smoothly.

"I think it takes time to feel part of the fabric of a place again straight away especially after spending 30 years in London. It was quite a change."

He says the move had been supported by the couple's children Oliver, aged 31, and Sophie, 29.

Viscount Cobham says even after a year he was still getting used to taking over the title.

"It is very difficult to pin down. There is more responsibility than anything else."

"You are aware it is your decisions which affect not only immediate family but also the extended community of the hall.

"Then there is also the fact you are taking over something which has been handed down for 500 years.

"You want to make sure you get it right and to make the right decisions. This is something you become very conscious of."