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John Julius Norwich - Notable house guests (32/136)

2,943 views · Published 19 June 2018 · 2:06 · Indexed 24 September 2026

Channel: Web of Stories - Life Stories of Remarkable People · 2018 · Science & Technology

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John Julius Norwich (1929-2018) was an English popular historian, travel writer and television personality. He is the author of histories of Norman Sicily, the Republic of Venice, the Byzantine Empire and 'The Popes: A History'. [Listener: Christopher Sykes]

TRANSCRIPT: I do remember one telegram that came saying, 'Thanks so much for your invitation. Would love to accept as long as don't have room at top of stairs.' I remember the room at the top of the stairs, I couldn't see his point more. It was this sort of half of a wagon-lit, there was hardly room to stand up in it. But anyway we loved this house and so indeed did all our friends because they all used to come before the war.

[CS] Could you say a bit more about the other people who came? Who they were?

Well, the people who came, the ones I remember I think I've already went through – the Churchills used to come from time to time, not very often. They weren't really regulars. Rex Whistler the painter was a regular; I have a lovely picture of the house painted by him. Maurice Baring, the writer who was my godfather, but he sadly fell victim to Parkinson's rather badly when I was eight or nine so after that we didn't see so much of him.

There were a lot of writers, AW Mason who wrote 'The Four Feathers'. It was one of the most... they made it into a film four times. Arnold Bennett used to come. I don't really... can't really put a face to him. Otherwise, cousins, members of the family principally and politicians. Brendan Bracken was there very often and I think of the main politician, Euan Wallace who was an MP and I think he'd also been a minister at some stage. He was married to Barbie Wallace who was the daughter of Lutyens, the architect. They used to come a lot.

I can't remember all of them. There were several cousins.

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