ABOVE: Daffodils offer the best ever welcome at Gayton Hall gardens
do the serving but would also be the caterers as well, selected again from those same three colleges. It wasn’t Lord Romney’s intention to move into Gayton Hall quite so soon, but the couple’s wedding day also witnessed the untimely passing of the 6th Earl. This beautiful late Georgian house was built in the first decade of the 19th century and its original designation was as a shooting box to a partridge manor. The family’s residency at Gayton began in 1888 after the family’s original seat Mote Park in Maidstone - was sold. “It turned out that there were gambling debts to pay off,” she explains. “It seems Lord Romney’s brother-in-law had run up quite a bill.” As well as her involvement with Tapping House Lady Romney works locally with the NSPCC. She’s been a member of the West Norfolk committee since 1975 and has chaired twice. “It’s a cause very close to my heart,” she says. And then there’s Westacre Theatre, the vibrant company that’s become synonymous with thought-provoking, challenging and hugely enjoyable theatre-going. Its 76
patrons are Stephen Fry and Antony Gormley, and Cici is an active trustee. “It’s such a happy team at Westacre,” she says. Her talents lie not onstage, she adds, but in the business of raising funds that are so vital to the future of this unique local venture. As we talk about her family we’ve arrived at the subject that gives her most contentment. Her eldest son David, the heir apparent, is a Major in the Scots Guards, currently in Afghanistan. She shares the same anxieties that any mother with any child serving for the armed forces anywhere in the world has. “He’ll be home soon,” she says. “Very soon.” He married Katherine Phillips in 2012 and the couple are expecting their first child in March. Michael Marsham is her younger son, a director of Black Rock, due to marry Lucy Beaumont in Hexham Abbey in April, and Laura is her daughter, a London-based travel consultant. “She’s marrying here in September,” says Cici. “The garden will look lovely then too.” Laid out as a Victorian pleasure garden Lord Romney’s hobby is the arboretum but it’ll be a busy summer for the whole family while the gardens show their
best during their open days. Eventually we arrive at the reason for our visit today – the news that Her Majesty the Queen has approved the appointment of Lady Romney as Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk. “Quite simply, it’s a great honour,” she says. Her duties are to deputise for the Norfolk’s Lord-Lieutenant when Richard Jewson is unavailable. “I’m looking forward very much to representing west Norfolk, in particular. It’s a very special place.” As we prepare to leave I ask Cici what makes her happiest. After all, she continues to lead an active life around a whole host of organisations to whom she is wholeheartedly committed. “My family,” she says. “What more could I want, and this year more than any other? Three weddings and a baby. It doesn’t get any better than that.” GAYTON HALL GARDENS will be open on Sunday 24th March from 12pm-5pm. Admission is £5 (free for children) and visitors are also welcome from March to October by appointment – please call 01553 636259 for further details. TAPPING HOUSE www.norfolkhospice.org.uk WESTACRE THEATRE www.westacretheatre.com NSPCC www.nspcc.org.uk
KLmagazine March 2013