The next generation of Durants at Tong in the early nineteenth century epitomised the indolent life of the new class of wealthy families.
George Durant II threw himself into the role of a wealthy gentleman with houses in London, Clamart
(France), Childwick (near St Albans), and Tong (Shropshire).
Chapter 4 lifts the lid on the private life of George Durant with shockingly frank reports of his many illicit affairs:
“The affair, with Elizabeth Cliffe, took place while Mary Bradbury was pregnant. Once, while Mrs Durant was away, he was found in bed with Cliffe in
the room opposite the Nursery. The servants were shocked, and pulled him away from her saying that he was 'always after her'.
This conduct, said the lawyer was "more immoral, more degrading and more disgraceful - making a
brothel of his own house.... Scarcely disguising his guilt from his servants."
In the end, Mrs Durant was granted a divorce and alimony of £600 p.a. The solicitor contested the amount of the alimony, and after two years'
negotiations, it was reduced to £00. To celebrate this achievement, George Durant built a monument on Knoll Hill. It was a square building, two
stories high, surmounted by pillars 80ft high. A stone over the door was inscribed with the words Optimo Adico TW (TW was the solicitor, who
ended up in jail on other offences).”
“George Durant was reputed to have a child in every cottage on the Tong estate. He liked to be godfather to them, and gave them strange names like 'Napoleon Wedge', 'Columbine Cherrington', 'Gustavus Adolphus Martin', 'Luther Martin' and 'Cinderella Greatback'. It is almost as if he saw these children as playthings.”
After a long divorce case and the death of his first wife, he married Marie Celeste Lefèvre who was 25 years younger than himself. He had heated disputes with some of his many children. But he had his more compassionate and paternal side too; he took his responsibility as Lord of Tong seriously:
“They attended Church every Sunday. When in London, he went to Brompton or Kensington Parish Church. Celeste attended a Roman Catholic Church, and had several of her children baptised as Catholics. At Tong, Durant turned the Chantry Chapel into his family pew. The walls were panelled, and it had settees and a fireplace. Halfway through the morning service, a servant came up from the Castle with a donkey carrying Mr Durant's lunch.
The servant carried the tray down through the Church into the Chapel. Every Sunday, after the vicar left, he catechised the children. Each year they
were taken to Shifnal for a Confirmation service. A diary entry for 22nd January 1832 reads:
"Mr Robinson (the curate) preached a very good sermon. Fine. Maria rode round the wood and the kitchen garden, I walked by
her. We saw Frank on the road by the Convent and heard he was sent back by the Bishop without getting priest's orders" ”
Throughout his estate at Tong he built eccentric buildings and monuments, many of which can still be seen today. The book has a number of colour plates showing George Durant's own sketches of the buildings he designed including 'The Hermitage'; 'Convent Lodge' and 'Belle Island' published for the first time. He hired a hermit to live in the grounds of the Castle, following the fashion of the time. But he had squabbles with some of his 20 legitimate and many illegitimate children, as we can read from George Durant's letter of 1839.
“'On the 9th June Ernest and Anguish came into my yard with six dogs and beat my yard dog (a scotch terrier) to death while their mastiffs held him down.
They presented to claim access by a road through the yard which has been legally stopped for 26 years.
Ernest Durant has married a solicitor's widow and he is in a cottage adjoining my land where he increasingly has chimney fires and is firing guns
by my poolside and insulting members of my family whenever they are in sight. Please to say immediately how to proceed.'
Durant enclosed a set of signed witness statements. One is from George St George; two are from the village constable and a police officer;
and the others are by servants. It is clear this was the culmination of a series of events instigated by Ernest and Anguish, asserting their rights to walk
through the stable yard. Twice on previous days the village constable had been called to prevent it. But the real causes were deeper. On the 9th June
they broke down the fence and came in with six dogs, three servants and a brace of pistols each. The disturbance bought the family out onto the
balcony. The party included, George, the second Mrs Durant, their neighbour Mrs Bishton, George St George and Leonard Henry who had just
become incumbent...”
The fraught family relations are exemplified by the behaviour of some of his sons on the news of their father's death:
“That night, the villagers of Tong did not sleep well. As soon as he heard the news, Ernest Durant mounted his horse, and galloped through the village shouting, 'The old man's dead at last'. At the suggestion of their late brother George, Ernest and Frank gathered together a number of workmen from the estate. They went up to the offensive monument on the Knoll that their father had erected to his corrupt solicitor. They placed 70 lbs of gunpowder underneath, and blew it up. The explosion shook the Village. Some thought the end of the world had come. The stone, with the offensive inscription, was ground into powder and mixed into a heap of manure. Justice was done at last! ”
George Durant's Castle at Tong - garden side view
Beati Qui Durant - The family crest of the Durants is a pun and can be translated as 'Blessed are they who endure' or 'Blessed are the Durants'.
The presence of the Fleur de Lys created excitement in France as it is the Royal insignia and in true Durant style
this was pure affectation, there is no evidence of any French aristocratic family connections.
Copyright © 2007, 2008 Discovering Tong
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