Lord Cardigan witnessed the Battle of the Beanfield, a notorious incident in 1985 in which Wiltshire Police were accused of brutalising a convoy of travellers on land near Stonehenge, making over 300 arrests, said to be the biggest arrest of civilians in the United Kingdom in 50 years. Largely as a result of his testimony, police charges against members of the convoy were dismissed in the Crown Court. That testimony against the police caused The Daily Telegraph to criticise him as a class traitor, for which they later apologised and paid damages. Cardigan later said: I hadn't realised that anybody that appeared to be supporting elements that stood against the establishment would be savaged by establishment newspapers. Now one thinks about it, nothing could be more natural. I hadn't realised that I would be considered a class traitor; if I see a policeman truncheoning a pregnant woman (as I did) I feel I'm entitled to say "that's a terrible thing you're doing, officer". I went along, saw a dreadful episode in British history, and simply reported what I saw. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Brudenell-Bruce,_Earl_of_Cardigan#Battle_of_the_Beanfield The aristocrat on benefits: Earl of Cardigan forced to live on £71 a week Jobseekers' Allowance as he faces loss of £10m house that's been in his family for nearly 200 years Trustees of Savernake Estate look to sell £10m Tottenham House Property tycoon is understood to be in discussions with trustees for house But Earl of Cardigan is looking to remove trustees in High Court battle By DAILY MAIL REPORTER = 23 October 2013 The Earl of Cardigan could be set to lose the ancestral home which has been in the family for nearly 200 years. Trustees of the estate are looking to sell Tottenham House, a 100-room mansion in the 4,500-acre Savernake Estate in Wiltshire, it has been reported. The Earl, who lives in a different house on the estate, is living on £71 a week Jobseekers' Allowance and became a father again last week following the birth of his baby daughter. The Earl of Cardigan could be set to lose his ancestral home as the trustees of the Savernake Estate look to sell Tottenham House According to a report in The Times, property tycoon Jamie Ritblat is in discussions with the trustees to buy the Grade 1-listed, 19th Century Palladian mansion. It is believed however the final sale may not go ahead or may be held up by litigation. The Earl, 60, meanwhile, who is taking legal action to remove the trustees from the estate, has vowed to fight any sale of the house. He said today: 'I am in a London meeting all day, doing everything necessary to block that sale arranged by two men who have taken over half a million from my estate without my permission. 'My claim in the High Court against these two trustees is that they have taken over £500,000 from my Estate without my consent.' The Earl went on to say: 'That matter needs to get sorted first, and then I can turn my hand to finding another hotelier who wants to make Tottenham House a very elegant hotel that befits the building.' The Earl is taking legal action in an attempt to remove the trustees of the estate Lord Cardigan pictured with his second wife Joanne, Lady Cardigan The Earl (pictured, left, and right, with his second wife Joanne) is taking legal action in an attempt to remove the trustees of the estate. The Earl, the heir apparent to the Marquessate of Ailesbury, has been engaged in a vicious legal battle with the two trustees of the estate. When he moved to America to live for four years, the Earl appointed the trustees -- John Moore, a barrister's clerk, and Wilson Cotton, an accountant -- to help him manage Savernake. But he has accused them of refusing to give him access to his own money. The trustees, one of whom was a friend of the Earl, have also made 14 criminal allegations against him, ranging from damaging pheasant feeders to spitting at them, although none of the charges resulted in a conviction. In August the Earl, whose name is David Brudenell-Bruce, said he was 'absolutely thrilled' at the prospect of becoming a father again in November with his second wife Joanne. The Earl, who is estranged from his daughter Bo Bruce, who starred on The Voice, was first married to Rosamund Jane in 1980, but she asked for a divorce in 2005. The Earl left the UK for America and appointed the two trustees of the estate. But when he returned they refused to give up control of the estate, leading him to take legal action which will culminate in December. Savernake Estate trustee John Moore refused to comment on anything to do with the sale of Tottenham House today. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2449450/Earl-Cardigan-benefits-faces-loss-10m-house.html

• published: 11 Nov 2013
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