(1772-1852)

n artist and sportsman, William, son of Richard Scrope, was born in 1872, a direct descendent of the first Baron Scrope of Bolton, lord treasurer to King Edward III. William inherited the family property at Castle Coombe, Wiltshire, when his father died in 1787 (by coincidence, my aunt lived directly opposite this most amazing building and I spent much of my young life staring at it wondering who could possibly have built it). Late in the 18th century he inherited even more land in Lincolnshire. For once it couldn't have happened to a nicer bloke - William was an talented classical scholar, sportsman, and a well known amateur artist who exhibited from time to time at the Royal Academy.

Scrope's passions were deer-stalking and salmon fishing, and he wrote two outstanding books, 'The Art of Deerstalking,' and 'Days and Nights of Salmon-fishing in the Tweed,' which was published in 1843. Days and Nights is one of the few books to give any insight into what salmon flies looked like prior to the 1850s.

Scrope rented property near Melrose in Scotland, where he became great friends with Sir Walter Scott. He died as the last male representative of his family, leaving an only daughter, Emma Phipps, who married one George Thomson, who assumed the name and arms of the Scrope family.