William John Bankes, forced into exile after gay liaison, celebrated by National Trust
A two-month project examining the life and exile of a man forced out of Britain because of his gay relationship with a soldier has gone on display at the stately home he inherited in 1834 but from which he later had to flee.
William John Bankes, a charming, adventurous aesthete, continued to commission and collect art for the Dorset house he inherited, even long after his forced departure from Kingston Lacy.
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William John Bankes, described by Byron as ‘the father all mischief’. Photograph: National Trust Images/Angelo Hornak/NTPL/Angelo HornakNow the home, which is owned by the National Trust, is putting on the show as part of the projects and displays by every national organisation and museum marking the the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Actthat decriminalised private homosexual acts between men over the age 21 in England and Wales.
As part of the exhibition, 51 ropes hang in the entrance hall of the home, representing men hanged for same-sex acts during the lifetime of the house’s owner – their names read out in a recording made by National Trust volunteers and staff.
It is a moving, unsettling and powerful installation, and fitting because the house itself is a memorial to Bankes.
The Kingston Lacy project may still prove too bold a step for some. The trust faced a hostile backlash after it told the gay story of the owner of Felbrigg Hall in Norfolk, Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer, and then it hit headlines as it emerged it had asked volunteers to describe, or not describe, their own sexual orientation.
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Read moreIt was all too much for the journalist Max Hastings, who, writing in the Daily Mail, said he and his wife had quit their membership after 40 years accusing the National Trust of “an obsessively politically correct social agenda”.
John Orna-Ornstein, the trust’s director of curation and experience, said the Bankes story deserved to be known more widely. “It was his lack of belonging which makes Kingston Lacy what it is today. We feel it is a really strong, appropriate history to be telling in this place today,” he said.
“There are going to be some people who come here and don’t like it but that’s the case with any programming. Anything that is bold and interesting, some people are going to love it and some are going to find it really challenging. I would be more worried if people came to our houses and didn’t respond.”
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The Spanish room at Kingston Lacy, Dorset. Photograph: National Trust Images/John HammondProf Richard Sandall, from the University of Leicester, was involved with both projects, and admits he had been bruised by some of the vitriol around Felbrigg, some of which he put down to plain, old-fashioned homophobia.
He maintains the squire of Felbrigg Hall was not outed by the project because you cannot out somebody when their sexuality is a matter of public record.
A lot of thought went in to it on why it was “good to be open and truthful about a fact which everybody knows there. It was not a big surprise, we didn’t out him”, said Sandall.
“When you read that it was besmirching his name, you have to stand back and ask why. It is only if you bring a lens which says that is something shameful. It was shameful in his lifetime, it is not now.”
He said the negativity had girded him and his team to do the Kingston Lacy project as well as they could. “We’ve tried to do it an a way that is creative and emotional, to give more memorable and powerful experiences,” he said.
The fascinating story of Bankes’ exile is threaded throughout the house and finishes with an LGBTQ timeline and short film interview with the chief executive of Stonewall, Ruth Hunt. There is also a facsimile copy of the 1533 “Act for the punishment of the vice of buggery” alongside the 1967 Act and the 2004 Civil Partnership Act.
In the house’s Spanish room, there is a contemporary film telling the stories of people displaced today because of their sexuality.
The In Memoriam installation, with the ropes, is particularly effective, listing men aged between 17 and 71 who were hanged for same-sex acts during Bankes’ lifetime. The last two ropes hang next to each other representing two labourers, John Smith and John Pratt, who were caught together and executed together.
It is likely Bankes, described by his friend Lord Byron as “the father all mischief”, would have suffered the same fate because it was the second time he had been caught with a man. His wealth allowed him to leave and live in France and later Italy, where he continued his mission to transform the house into a Venetian Renaissance palazzo.
The Exile project is part of the trust’s wider Prejudice and Pride programme at properties that have LGBTQ stories that are often not known or not highlighted.
Orna-Ornstein said he did not want to see anyone leave the trust as members but he made no apologies for telling the stories. “What we are doing here is telling a history that is integral to the house. The surprising thing would be if we didn’t engage with it.”
Exile will run from from 18 September, the day Bankes went in to exile, until 12 November, with a rainbow flag flown from the property for the duration.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/18/william-john-bankes-forced-into-exile-after-gay-liaison-celebrated-by-national-trust
William John Bankes, a charming, adventurous aesthete, continued to commission and collect art for the Dorset house he inherited, even long after his forced departure from Kingston Lacy.
FacebookTwitterPinterest
William John Bankes, described by Byron as ‘the father all mischief’. Photograph: National Trust Images/Angelo Hornak/NTPL/Angelo HornakNow the home, which is owned by the National Trust, is putting on the show as part of the projects and displays by every national organisation and museum marking the the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Actthat decriminalised private homosexual acts between men over the age 21 in England and Wales.
As part of the exhibition, 51 ropes hang in the entrance hall of the home, representing men hanged for same-sex acts during the lifetime of the house’s owner – their names read out in a recording made by National Trust volunteers and staff.
It is a moving, unsettling and powerful installation, and fitting because the house itself is a memorial to Bankes.
The Kingston Lacy project may still prove too bold a step for some. The trust faced a hostile backlash after it told the gay story of the owner of Felbrigg Hall in Norfolk, Robert Wyndham Ketton-Cremer, and then it hit headlines as it emerged it had asked volunteers to describe, or not describe, their own sexual orientation.
Guardian Today: the headlines, the analysis, the debate - sent direct to you
Read moreIt was all too much for the journalist Max Hastings, who, writing in the Daily Mail, said he and his wife had quit their membership after 40 years accusing the National Trust of “an obsessively politically correct social agenda”.
John Orna-Ornstein, the trust’s director of curation and experience, said the Bankes story deserved to be known more widely. “It was his lack of belonging which makes Kingston Lacy what it is today. We feel it is a really strong, appropriate history to be telling in this place today,” he said.
“There are going to be some people who come here and don’t like it but that’s the case with any programming. Anything that is bold and interesting, some people are going to love it and some are going to find it really challenging. I would be more worried if people came to our houses and didn’t respond.”
FacebookTwitterPinterest
The Spanish room at Kingston Lacy, Dorset. Photograph: National Trust Images/John HammondProf Richard Sandall, from the University of Leicester, was involved with both projects, and admits he had been bruised by some of the vitriol around Felbrigg, some of which he put down to plain, old-fashioned homophobia.
He maintains the squire of Felbrigg Hall was not outed by the project because you cannot out somebody when their sexuality is a matter of public record.
A lot of thought went in to it on why it was “good to be open and truthful about a fact which everybody knows there. It was not a big surprise, we didn’t out him”, said Sandall.
“When you read that it was besmirching his name, you have to stand back and ask why. It is only if you bring a lens which says that is something shameful. It was shameful in his lifetime, it is not now.”
He said the negativity had girded him and his team to do the Kingston Lacy project as well as they could. “We’ve tried to do it an a way that is creative and emotional, to give more memorable and powerful experiences,” he said.
The fascinating story of Bankes’ exile is threaded throughout the house and finishes with an LGBTQ timeline and short film interview with the chief executive of Stonewall, Ruth Hunt. There is also a facsimile copy of the 1533 “Act for the punishment of the vice of buggery” alongside the 1967 Act and the 2004 Civil Partnership Act.
In the house’s Spanish room, there is a contemporary film telling the stories of people displaced today because of their sexuality.
The In Memoriam installation, with the ropes, is particularly effective, listing men aged between 17 and 71 who were hanged for same-sex acts during Bankes’ lifetime. The last two ropes hang next to each other representing two labourers, John Smith and John Pratt, who were caught together and executed together.
It is likely Bankes, described by his friend Lord Byron as “the father all mischief”, would have suffered the same fate because it was the second time he had been caught with a man. His wealth allowed him to leave and live in France and later Italy, where he continued his mission to transform the house into a Venetian Renaissance palazzo.
The Exile project is part of the trust’s wider Prejudice and Pride programme at properties that have LGBTQ stories that are often not known or not highlighted.
Orna-Ornstein said he did not want to see anyone leave the trust as members but he made no apologies for telling the stories. “What we are doing here is telling a history that is integral to the house. The surprising thing would be if we didn’t engage with it.”
Exile will run from from 18 September, the day Bankes went in to exile, until 12 November, with a rainbow flag flown from the property for the duration.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/18/william-john-bankes-forced-into-exile-after-gay-liaison-celebrated-by-national-trust