SHOBDON : COCKPIT OF HISTORY (6) AVBCW Shobdon Court

In the world of the AVBCW, Shobdon Court was not demolished in 1933, nor did the 3rd Baron Bateman pass away in November 1931.

AVBCW Shobdon Court, 1937

Today's visitor to Shobdon may indeed see only the remnants of this once beautiful country house, whether it be the northern entrance gates:

Entrance Gates, North, Shobdon Court, 1937

Entrance Gates, North, Shobdon Court today

or the still remaining stables and former servants' quarters, now converted into flats [note1]:

Shobdon Court Stables today

Shobdon Court Servants' Quarters today

but in the world of Hereford's AVBCW, the disappearance of Shobdon Court is thought to be much more tragic than by mere demolition.

We know that the good Third Baron in fact lasted until about his 80th Birthday in 1936, when he suffered a fatal heart attack. It is said that this was upon being shown the American press reports of the relationship between the new King, Edward VIII, and the Baltimore born, soon to be twice divorced, Mrs Wallis Simpson. 

Be that as it may, and as the Trustees of the Estate anxiously considered the complicated (and all say very surprising) "secret provisions" of the Third Baron's will, Shobdon Court remained unoccupied. Herefordshire's "Very British" Civil War broke out, and the County's Anglicans suffered defeat and disaster in the opening stages of the civil war. It did not escape the senior command of His Majesty's (then triumphant) Forces in Herefordshire that Shobdon Court was both strategically important and helpfully vacant. Interior plans of the Court were obtained [note2], and it was soon commandeered as one of Lord de Braose's "Regional Command Centres":

Shobdon Court Ground Floor Plan

Shobdon Court First Floor Plan

Lord de Braose, Edward VIII's "Governor of the Marches", frequently visited his "North West Regional Command Centre" during these early stages of the "Post-Bishop" Government hegemony over the County. During these visits, he was accustomed to inspect the locally raised "Shobdon Militias", or Local Defence Volunteers, newly (and curiously numerously) raised from Shobdon Village and the immediate surrounds, before "retiring to a well-fortified dinner" (ho, ho!) at Shobdon Court with his senior "Royalist" advisers and BUF supporters.

But the village of Shobdon was alive with gossip. The proud standard of the Bateman-Hanburys may have fallen, that distinguished lineage apparently extinct, but.....could, even now, someone pick it up? 

The Standard of the Bateman-Hanburys.

Rumours swept the small village. The still to be published will of the late Third Baron (why had it not been published, eh?) in fact concerned a long (and locally) "concealed" son, or at least the "secret provisions" bequeathed both title and the Estate to him. There was no shortage of local claimants for this honour, each with their own story and supporters; after a series of scuffles and threats at the bar of the "Bateman Arms", the clamour reduced to three likely candidates : none other than Mr Jones, (young) Mr Grace and Mr Hodges. But which of these could properly claim to be the "Fourth Baron Bateman"?

The Local Defence Volunteers, raised at the start of the AVBCW, duly split into three factions. Each supported their preferred candidate. Each recruited feverishly in the hope that the issue could be resolved by simple strength of numbers, and then obtained miscellaneous pieces of heavy equipment in the hope that military technology would solve the issue. Each built their own pillbox - as both HQ and "Last Redoubt" in case of difficulty.

All knew that while Lord de Braose and His Majesty's Government remained in firm control of the area of Shobdon, there was little prospect of actual armed conflict between the three Shobdon Militias. But if ever the Government's control should slacken, or were Shobdon ever to become a battleground or suffer an invasion from anti-Government forces, well then, such might be just the circumstances in which one of the "Bateman Claimants" might be able to settle things to his advantage once and for all.....[note3] 

Note 1: the very same stables and servants quarters shown in the 1718 "Shobdon Court South Prospect" engraving within this blogpost. This gives a helpful idea of the location (and huge size) of Shobdon Court itself.

Note 2: extremely useful, now, for the AVBCW RPGer - or Cluedo player.

Note 3: gentle readers who have got this far (well done) will have noticed that there is still no explanation for the apparent destruction of Shobdon Court within the world of AVBCW. That's because, in the usual way, such questions can only be answered by participation in the Hereford1938AVBCW Spring Big Game 2019!