The history of Bentley Priory in words and music written and performed to mark the tenth anniversary of Bentley Priory Museum. Performed over two weekends in September and October 2023, this show was commissioned by the museum. The comprehensive narration which covered the 850 year history of the site was punctuated by musical items. Some were written by Bryan Kesselman and myself, others by slightly more famous individuals - George Frederic Handel, Sir Arthur Sullivan, King Henry VIII and Sir Walter Scott. List of musical items here. One of the most famous occupants of the site (in 1788) was John James Hamilton, the 9th Earl of Abercorn. He is not to be confused with the 18th century American politican Alexander Hamilton, the subject of the eponymous musical. However, this coincidence did give rise to one of the items in this show, my first (and last) rap.
Hamilton - a rap Bad luck started before he was born His father drowned and his mother mourned It was seventeen hundred and fifty six This new babe destined for politics
He arrived and survived The ninth earl of Abercorn, the moment he was born Ill fortune was to stalk his life, good times, yes, but lots of strife
Not much known of his early years, but then the mist clears Harrow School and Pembroke, Cambridge provided his education Quite a combination, preparing him to serve the nation
He needed an heir, had to grow his line So he got wed in ’79, to a Catherine Copley Who gave him five kids, but none outlived John James Hamilton
His friend, John Soane, an eminent architect, was responsible for what happened next He encouraged JJ to buy a country retreat, a country seat, yes, it was incomplete, but had a lot of potential And so in his diary, JJ wrote ‘I’ve just purchased Bentley Priory’
No money was spared, it was said Soane designed a grand home-stead To be a family home for the years ahead But within 3 years Catherine was dead
Many great celebrities came to see these new amenities Politicians, poets, and people of great influence and ability came to stay or just for tea
Next he married a cousin, but she wasn’t sure so this didn’t last, then he married Anne Gore
His career was quite stellar, he was a self-starter An MP, a Viscount, a marquess, an Earl and a Knight of the Garter
And when his life’s course ended it’s run in eighteen eighteen, he was just 61. And his grandson, James, inherited the title As he was entitled