THE history of a family that played a key role in Barrington Court was discussed during a talk at by a visitor from Texas earlier this month.

Peggy Strode, of the tenth generation of Strodes, visited the National Trust property to give a talk to staff and volunteers on Tuesday, June 12.

The Strodes lived on site for three generations between 1625, when William Strode purchased the property, having previously held a mortgage on it, to 1745, when the male line died out.

Peggy had an encyclopaedic knowledge of the family, having been to the Royal College of Arms, the College of Heralds, innumerable Records Offices and even the Houses of Parliament, in order to verify the information she shared with the audience.

A final thunderbolt of information came with the news that her husband, Mike, had recently purchased at Christies, a painting of Barrington’s first William Strode. Mike was lucky that the portrait painter and the sitter’s name had been misattributed, until after the sale, so the interest in the picture was much smaller than it would have been.

The painting now resides in Houston, Texas.