EAST DONYLAND / ROWHEDGE
LORD ALFRED PAGET
Major General Lord Alfred Paget was the fourth son of the 1st Marquess of Anglesey and was a British soldier, courtier and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1837 and 1865. A close friend of the Prince of Wales he was Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal to Queen Victoria. Lord Alfred lived in London and at Melford Hall, Sudbury and was as active in yachting as he was in fathering children (14), employing many Rowhedge and Wivenhoe men on his various yachts. After Lord Alfred's death in 1888 his widow had alms houses built in Rowhedge as a memorial and for the benefit of retired yachtsmen.
ESSEX STANDARD - 8 September 1888 – “A CORRESPONDENT at East Donyland writes:- By the death of Lord ALFRED PAGET, yachting, and especially yachting in connection with the Colne, has lost one of its greatest patrons. His father, the Marquis of Anglesey, was one of the pioneers of yachting, his yacht, the Pearl, being a very noted one, and manned entirely from the Colne. Lord Alfred inherited his father’s liking for the Colne and its mariners, and for many years his crew was made up from Wyvenhoe and Rowhedge, but for the past twelve years they have all hailed from Rowhedge. Until the Wyvenhoe Shipyard passed out of the hands of the Harveys, his lordship had most of his work done there. It was from there that he introduced H.R.H. the Prince of Wales to yachting, Messrs. Harvey building his first yacht, the Dagmar, cutter, and some time afterwards the little s.s. Alexandra. For several years past, his lordship has had two or three yachts under weigh at the same time, in use by himself or friends. These have been chiefly steam yachts built of iron, and have been built at Hull, in the Clyde &c. The only one built at Rowhedge was a little cutter - the Alice - built for fishing. Since the Harveys left Wyvenhoe his work had been done at Puxley’s Yard, Rowhedge, and the painting by Mr. Pearson of the same place. Several of his crew have been in continuous employment for the past eight or nine years. These will feel his loss very much, as it is understood his family do not care for yachting. The oldest hand is Mr. D. Potter, father of Captain Potter, who has grown from boy to Captain entirely in his service. Whenever one of his yachts was laid up, it was at Rowhedge, and often when coming in or going out, his burly form might be seen standing on the bridge, and wearing a guernsey or pilot-coat, like one of his crew. He usually spent a part of the winter in wildfowl shooting in Holland, for which he had a small steam yacht expressly built. Both yachts are now on their way to the Colne to lay up.”
