An architect's drawing of Uffington House, currently the subject of a major restoration programme. Uffington House is part of the historic town of Rugby, Tennessee, founded by Thomas Hughes (1822-1896), author of 'Tom Brown's Schooldays', in 1880. The 'Margaret' referred to above is Margaret Hughes (née Wilkinson) (1797-1887), mother of Thomas Hughes, and the 'Emily' referred to is Emily Hughes (b. 1863), daughter of William Hastings Hughes, brother of Thomas. Emily Hughes married Ainsley Marshall in 1902 in California and shortly afterwards they moved to Kenya. Our last contact with her was a letter written to my grandfather in 1936 from Jebalat, Sotik, Kenya.

It is incredible to think that this letter (there is a copy of it in front of me now) was written by a woman who knew someone, her grandmother Margaret, who was born 200 years ago and who herself knew people (her own father-in-law for instance) whose memory stretched back to the time of the American Revolution. Margaret's father-in-law, Rev. Thomas Hughes, was born in 1756, while George III was alive.

Emily Hughes was probably alive at the start of World War II. She knew someone who was alive at the time of the French Revolution and who quite possibly remembered the day when news of a great naval victory, the battle of Trafalgar (1805), spread through every town and village in England.

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