Friday, May 08, 2009

Cromer Town FC and Queen Victoria

From the BBC News Norfolk page:

A football club may have to vacate its home ground in Norfolk because of a clause in the lease linking ownership to a king of Norway who died in 1991.

Cromer Town FC were given the lease in 1922 by Evelyn Bond-Cabbell.

But the gift of Cabbell Park included a clause that the lease would expire 21 years after the death of Queen Victoria's last surviving grandchild.

Norway's King Olav V, the monarch's great grandson, died on 17 January 1991 meaning the club face eviction in 2012.

First a moan about journalistic standards at the BBC. If the lease expires on the death of Queen Victoria's last grandchild and King Olav V was her last great grandson, there is something wrong with the story, isn't there?

Go to the Wikipedia page for Cromer Town and you will read:
2009, however, the club learned that the bequest was a lease, not a gift, and was set to expire 21 years after the death of Queen Victoria's last great-grandchild; Olav V of Norway died in 1991, and so the Cabbell Park lease will expire in 2012.
That makes more sense. I shall remember this the next time I hear a journalist moaning about Wikipedia.

There is another important question: are Cromer Town nicknamed "The Crabs"?

5 comments:

Nich Starling said...

And the chap Benjamin Cabbell-Manners who owns the land is a Tory Councillor who owns a lot of land around Cromer, much of which is not in areas the council will allow for development. However, the footbal ground would be a prime development site !!!!

He is actually quite an amiable chap for Tory landed gentry, always polite, rather amusing and sometimes refreshingly honest.

Adrian Stanley said...

What has Olav V of Norway got to do with it?! Queen Victoria's last great grandchild is still alive - he is Carl Johan Bernadotte of Sweden! He's the son of Princess Margaret of Connaught who was the daughter of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught, the third son of Queen Victoria. Here's his wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Carl_Johan%2C_Duke_of_Dalecarlia

Jonathan Calder said...

And Queen Victoria's last surviving grandchild was Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, who died in 1981.

Someone should tell Cromer Town FC all this.

Adrian Stanley said...

Olav V was Edward VII's last grandchild. Perhaps someone read that and assumed he was Queen Victoria's last great grandchild - conveniently forgetting that she had eight other children!

In any event, someone has got their facts in a twist on this story and Cromer Town may have at least another 21 years lease left on their ground.

The Prof. said...

Go to say Norfolk Blogger, your experiences of him have been different to mine;I find him arrogant & frankly rude.

Still, I tend not to defer to the local gentry.