Matthew Robinson-Morris, 2nd Baron Rokeby

Matthew Robinson, 2nd Baron Rokeby

Matthew Robinson-Morris, 2nd Baron Rokeby ( April 12, 1713 - November 30, 1800 ) was a British aristocrat and eccentric who preferred a wet environment to a dry one.

Robinson came from a Scottish family who lived in Kent . Robinson was a fellow of Trinity College at Cambridge and the Royal Society , was a brief member of the Whigs and supported William of Orange's claim to the throne . He traveled a lot, but eventually settled near Hythe , Kent. In 1746 he extended his surname Robinson to include that of his maternal grandmother to Robinson-Morris .

When his father Matthew Robinson died in 1778, Matthew took over a family estate in Mount Morris near Canterbury . He represented Canterbury in the British Parliament after the elections in 1747 and 1754 . In 1794 he inherited the titles of 2nd Baron Rokeby , of Armagh in the County of Armagh, and 4th Baronet , of Rokeby Park in the County of from his late third cousin Richard Robinson , the Anglican Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of Ireland York.

Matthew became an enthusiastic advocate of baths after a stay in the seaside resort of Aachen . When he got back to Kent, he began making daily trips to the coast to swim extensively in salt water to exhaustion, regardless of the weather. Sometimes he passed out and needed to be rescued. He had a hut built for himself near Hythe and a drinking fountain along the way to the beach so that his cherished liquid was always within reach. He went the way on foot and let his servants follow in the car in full livery. He gave half a crown to people he saw drinking from the well.

He grew a beard that was not in keeping with contemporary fashion. After all, it was so long that it came under his arms and could also be seen from behind. After a few years he decided to build a swimming pool in his villa - it was built under glass and heated by the sun. He spent hours there, preferably alone. He refused to heat his house even in the coldest weather.

His lifestyle fueled rumors, including a. that he was a cannibal , since he mainly ate beef broth and ate venison . He refused to see doctors.

If Lord Rokeby ever received visitors, he would “entertain” them with lengthy, boring poems.

He never married and died peacefully in his bed on the dry land in late November 1800. His title of nobility was inherited by his nephew Morris Robinson as 3rd baron.

Works

• Considerations on the Measures Carrying on with respect to the British Colonies in North America . 2d ed., London, 1774.
• Considerations on the British Colonies . 1775.
• A Further Examination of our American Measures . 1776.
• Peace the Best Policy . 1777.

Literature and web links

• Edith Sitwell : English eccentric. Wagenbach 2000, ISBN 3-8031-1192-7 .
• Matthew Robinson, 2nd Baron Rokeby on thepeerage.com

predecessor	Office	successor
Richard Robinson	Baron Rokeby 1794-1800	Morris Robinson