Century-old love letters found at stately home reveal tale of forbidden romance

A collections of love letters, some of which were written more than 100 years ago, tell the tale of forbidden love in a now-ruined stately home.

English Heritage has uncovered a “remarkable collection” of love letters between Dora Smith, the daughter of Witley Court’s last private owner Sir Herbert Smith, and Noel Murray “Fred” Pearson.

Witley Court, in Worcestershire, is a now-ruined mansion first built in the seventeenth century and developed in the Victorian period. It was destroyed in a major fire in 1937 before the ruins were taken into the care of the government in 1972.

Letters from the house were found in a shoebox in the archives of a local accountancy firm in the 1960s, kept safe by an employee, Elizabeth Jones. It remains unclear how the letters travelled from the destroyed mansion to the archives of the accountancy firm.

The long-running correspondence sheds a light on the forbidden love between Noel and Dora, the latter of whom was married when they met and had a child. The couple give each other affectionate nicknames throughout their correspondence, calling each other “Snuffy Scruffy” and “Little Baby Gazelle”.

open image in gallery

In one letter, Noel told his would-be wife: “My wonderful little baby gazelle,

“Baby darling, if only I could have my precious little baby sweetheart nestled up in the car with me, I'd want to drive right away from all your worries and find you a little nest where troubles didn't exist and everything was one long wonderful dream.”

Matty Cambridge, assistant curator at English Heritage, said: “Coming across these letters has been such a joy. They’re so warm and funny, but what is really touching is timespan of these letters.

“They run over a number of years - including a period when Dora was living at Witley Court and then married to her first husband. We do know that Dora and Noel eventually tied the knot in 1929, but not much else. If anyone knows more about what their story looked like, we’d love to hear from you!”

open image in gallery

It is understood from the letters that Dora underwent a turbulent divorce before she could finally be with Noel in 1929. Not much is known about the couple’s life together after they tied the knot.

The trove of letters is currently being reviewed by English Heritage’s curatorial team to determine its historical significance and conservation needs.

Witley Court was transferred from government ownership to the newly formed English Heritage charity in 1984; the organisation restored the formal gardens and the Perseus and Andromeda fountain in 2002.