In the wake of 1,000 years of history
Guns arriving at the Wake family’s Courteenhall Shoot in Northamptonshire are given their coffees in the large, Georgian entrance hall, which is hung from floor to ceiling with portraits of generations of Wakes – about 11 of them, in total.
The baronetcy was created by King James I in 1621 but the Wake family history goes back almost a thousand years. Its links with Hereward the Wake, who led an Anglo-Saxon rebellion against the Norman invaders, are commemorated by family members, many of whom have included Hereward in their names. Throughout English history there’s been a Wake involved in most events that have a date to learn.
The Field’s host, Johnny Wake, charmingly concedes: “We have had a talent for picking the wrong side. In the Wars of the Roses, Roger Wake was with Richard III at the very end at the Battle of Bosworth. We lost our lands after that.”
Redress came centuries later when the present day Wake family was invited to the interment
