Later Years
When his son Gilbert married Mary Randyll, Elizabeth started a quarrel with her daughter-in-law, which forced Christopher and Elizabeth to move back to Fairlawne. In 1712, Christopher hired John Proud, the steward of Raby Castle, to engage 200 workmen to strip the castle. Owen Stanley Scott described the way that the castle was stripped:
- "of its lead, glass, doors, and furniture, even pulling up the floors, cutting down the timber, and destroying the deer, and 'of a sudden in three days' did damage to the tune of £3000, holding a sale at which the household goods, lead, etc., were sold for what they would fetch"
In response, Gilbert sued Christopher for the damages to the castle in the case Vane vs. Lord Barnard 1716.
He died on 28 October 1723, aged 70 at Shipbourne, Kent and was buried in the parish church. He wrote in a codicil to his will that Peter Smart would receive £40 a year. Also, he bequeathed £200 to Christopher Smart and £50 to the other children of Peter Smart. The reason for Christopher Smart's legacy has been seen by some as a sign that the future poet was "the pride of Fairlawn"; others disagree without an offered explanation. Christopher Smart never received this money, as it was tied up and lost in a court battle. In response to this loss, Henry Vane, 1st Earl of Darlington, Christopher's grandson through Gilbert, took the young Christopher Smart in at Raby Castle and paid for his education at Durham School.
Read more about this topic: Christopher Vane, 1st Baron Barnard, Biography
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