The Yellow Earl: Almost an Emperor, Not Quite a Gentleman

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Lonsdale inherited enormous wealth derived from his father's Cumberland coalmines, and owned 75,000 acres (30,000ha) of land. He had residences at Lowther Castle, at Whitehaven Castle, Barleythorpe and Carlton House Terrace, London.

The couple then lived at Barleythorpe Hall near Oakham. Grace became pregnant but had a miscarriage after a fall while hunting. After this she was unable to bear children and remained a partial invalid for the rest of her life. She died in 1941. [ citation needed]He claimed his chief pleasure came from stalking his quarry until he was near enough to pull the trigger, without necessarily doing so. “There’s many a fine stag at Lowther which has been covered by my rifle, but which is still sniffing the dawn in the woods!” In recent years Jim Lowther, the seventh earl’s son, has spearheaded its transformation. The main part of the house has been left as a spectacular ruin. The gardens have been revitalised. The stables are now a gallery, cafe and shops. Lowther Estate has been the seat of the Lowther family since the 11th century and possibly earlier. Rights to own the estate and hunt the land were granted to the Lowthers during the reign of Edward I. In 1909 he donated the original Lonsdale Belts, which are still awarded to British boxing champions. His name was given to the Lonsdale clothing brand, worn by sporting legends including Muhammad Ali. His other thoughts included the belief that betting on horseracing should not be allowed. “Something will have to be done... or horse-racing will become an impossible sport for gentlemen.”

The article also refers to his secret visits to London slums and his concern for their occupants. His solution was for them to leave London for “roomy cottages with good gardens”, to exercise more, and drink “the healthy old beverages of beer and cider” rather than whisky and gin. The stewards of the Lowther estate had to keep the funds flowing to support their master’s champagne lifestyle – increasing royalties from West Cumberland coal were used to supplement the income from agriculture from the East Cumbrian estates. The squandering of Lowther resources was just manageable, because coal was funding it, while the Yellow Earl’s lifestyle is one of media celebrity and notoriety.It is impossible to even begin to tell his story in so few words, but he was undoubtedly one of the greatest ‘characters’ the Peerage has ever produced, and his infamous antics are unlikely ever to be repeated. I’ll fight anyone except pigs, dogs, and niggers’ (sic) he would roar, sweeping all the glasses off the counter of the Saloon, and happily taking on anyone who objected to his conduct. He was a braggart and bully of the worst description, particularly when he had drunk too much which was very often. Hugh was a consummate sportsman. He enjoyed foxhunting, serving as Master of The Quorn from 1893 to 1898, and was also a keen football fan. His boyhood had made him shy and uneasy, with his social equals, and he covered this shyness in Society with a flamboyance, which, even in the ostentatious age of the Edwardians, people found hard to accept. Heeding her advice, in 1888, he went to the Arctic, on a gruelling polar expedition in which over 100 guides died. Lonsdale set out to reach the North Pole, nearly dying before reaching Kodiak, Alaska in 1889, and in 1890 he returned to England, a hero and a celebrity.

The interview describes an encounter with an angry elephant in an unnamed country. While “the natives” fled, Hugh shot the creature and “brought it crashing down to the earth”. However, for whatever reason, this match never took place, but the general feeling was that, at the height of his career, Sullivan would have been to much for the gallant Jem Smith. He was known as the Yellow Earl for his penchant for the colour, and was a founder and first President of the Automobile Association (AA) which adopted his livery.I keep an eye out for anything with the words ‘Yellow Earl’, ‘Hugh Lowther’, ‘Fifth Earl of Lonsdale’,” says Adam. “There’s definitely a market for it. In addition to his many titles, he inherited a Kingdom in Cumberland and Westmorland, along with Lowther Castle, which was one of the largest houses in the country. It was built between 1806 and 1811 and had 365 rooms, one for each day of the year! At the beginning of the eighteen nineties, the formidable figure of John J. Sullivan, dominated the boxing scene.