Posts by Manorial Counsel Editorial

The title is a quote from a man whose vision, innovation, and creativity has delighted worldly and wealthy shoppers for generations. Harry Gordon Selfridge arrived in the UK from Chicago, noted its failings on the shopping front, and spotted an opportunity. And being the man of vision and means that he was, he set to…

Malcolm Campbell was a determined man, no two ways about it. He demanded much of himself, his machines, and his mechanics. On Wikipedia he’s described as a British racing motorist and a motoring journalist, but in reality he was a lot more than that. And through his ever evolving iterations of Blue Bird (the vehi…

Cecil Beaton stamped his sardonic personality across society’s magazine pages for decades. But it was how he spread his innovative style across a breadth of subject matter that proved he was more than ‘just’ an iconic fashion photographer. Born in Hampstead, in January, 1904, Beaton’s childhood was suffused with middle-classdom and he was encouraged to…

Children may well be asking if Father Christmas will be dressed in PPE this year, despite the fact that his work isn’t face-to-face. But the prospect of his visit is still a very much needed pick-me-up for parents and kids alike. And with the thought of that joy ahead, we wondered just how this whole…

30th November is the anniversary of the birth of Winston Churchill, a man whose modus operandi is still greatly esteemed by world leaders today. In the current circumstances of a raging pandemic, influential people across the globe have quoted him in many a speech and interview; such is the way his time on this planet…

The 25th of October this year is the 605th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt; a battle that has developed almost mythical status, what with the various versions that abound. But putting discrepancies aside, it does have all the ingredients for a blockbuster storyline, doesn’t it? Young and ambitious king; in a foreign land; troop…

From the moment Elizabeth I was born on 7th September, 1533, her situation was a complex one. She was a girl for a start, and her father, Henry VIII, was after a boy. So much so, in fact, that he’d turned the religious world upside down to have his marriage to Catherine of Aragon (mother…

It’s the 120th anniversary of the Queen Mother’s birth this month. We think of her as royal from that first day, really, and simply assume her world was always a regal one. And of course, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was born into a titled family; her father being the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kingshorne. But she…

It’s an interesting question, and one we take very seriously here at Manorial Counsel… and not just for the obvious reasons. You see, we didn’t actually get into researching titles in the first place for the love of seeing the word ‘Lord’ in front of a name. That is thrilling, of course, but what really…