Photograph of Vernon St.John as an infant, 1899

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Studio portrait of Vernon Henry St.John in 1899 aged 3 years, heir of Henry Mildmay St.John, 5th Viscount Bolingbroke.

Vernon and his two elder brothers, Henry and Charles, lived in Gay Street Bath and later Russel Street, until Lord Bolingbroke's death in 1899. The old viscount had kept his marriage to his former housekeeper, Mary Emily Howard, a secret. The existence of a legitimate heir caused considerable surprise to the family and a national scandal.

This photograph belonged to Vernon St. John and was generously gifted to The Friends of Lydiard Park by a former friends of his, Anne Barr, in 2023.