The History of 6 Chichester Terrace

1 Lord Ernest Bruce

2 Sir William Gentle

1 Lord Ernest Bruce

Brudenell-Bruce was born at Warren’s Hotel, St James’s Square, London, the second son of Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury, by his wife the Honourable Henrietta Maria Hill, daughter of Noel Hill, 1st Baron Berwick. George Brudenell-Bruce, 2nd Marquess of Ailesbury was his elder brother and Lord Charles Bruce his younger half-brother.[1] He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge.[1][2] Political career[edit] Brudenell-Bruce was returned to Parliament for Marlborough in 1832.[3] He was a Lord of the Bedchamber to William IV from 1834 to 1835. In 1841 he was sworn of the Privy Council[4] and appointed Vice-Chamberlain of the Household under Sir Robert Peel,[5] a post he held until the government fell in 1846. He returned to the same office in December 1852 in Lord Aberdeen’s coalition government.[6] He continued in the post also when Lord Palmerston became prime minister in 1855, finally resigning in 1858.[7] He remained MP for Marlborough until 1878, when he succeeded his elder brother in the marquessate and entered the House of Lords.[3] In 1884 he was made Lord-Lieutenant of Berkshire,[8] a post he held until his death two years later.[9]

2 Sir William Gentle

Sir William Benjamin Gentle (1865 – September 2, 1948) was known for his work in fighting racecourse crime and was jointly responsible for promoting greyhound racing in the United Kingdom.

He entered the Ordnance Survey in 1882, aged 17. One year later he went to South Africa and served in the Cape Mounted Rifles for three years. When he returned to England in 1887 he joined the Metropolitan Police. Ten years later he moved to Reading and became Chief Constable of Brighton in 1901. He held the post for 19 years and became well known for his work in combating race course gangs. He was knighted Sir William Gentle for his work in 1916.

He retired to Thetford in Norfolk, where he was four times mayor and in 1938 was High Sheriff of Norfolk.

During his retirement he worked alongside Brigadier Alfred Critchley to form the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA), which introduced greyhound racing to the UK. He was the first chairman of the GRA. He was also chairman of the Belle Vue Zoo in Manchester from 1925 to 1928.

Gentle was married and had two sons. His wife died in 1941. His son Frank Gentle was also a director of the GRA and went on to manage the GRA’s Harringay Stadium.

He died leaving an estate valued at £460,950.