On Saturday morning I visited Great Glen, the home of Engelbert Humperdinck. He was not there, being busy in Baku at the time.
I have seen the end of the village's old High Street from the bus many times, but had never got off to explore it before. It is the sort of street that ought to have a little pub and it was pleased to find that it did: The Royal Oak.
At the far end of the street I came across the house pictured above. Having come across the Liberal MP Thomas Tertius Paget at Laughton the other week, I wondered if CWP would turn out to be Charles William Packe, the Conservative MP for South Leicestershire.
This guess turned out to be right. There were Packe graves in the village churchyard and the Victoria Country History confirms that he built the cottages.
I wonder if there was a 19th-century trend of politicians displaying their initials in this way. Perhaps it served as a superior sort of garden poster, reminding people of your importance or beneficence, even between elections.
Packe and his wife lie in a family mausoleum in Poole. Something to visit the next time the Lib Dems are in Bournemouth?
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