‘His heart was always in Scrivelsby’

​Francis John Fane Marmion Dymoke, 34th Lord of Scrivelsby, died on Monday night (December 18) at home at Scrivelsby.

Mr Dymoke, whose family and ancestors were granted the Scrivelsby Estate in 1066 by William the Conqueror, grew up the son of an Army officer, Lieutenant Colonel John Lindley Marmion Dymoke, and travelled all over the world with his family in his early years.

After qualifying as an accountant, Francis worked at Price Waterhouse, but decided it wasn’t for him so he left and went to work in Australia as a jackaroo, and then he travelled around Australia afterwards before finding work in Papua New Guinea, but his wife Gail said his heart was always in Scrivelsby.

She said, “Francis was most happy on his farm and he took it over in 1992.

"He was so passionate about future-proofing Scrivelsby for future generations, and he really grew the estate over the years.

"John was a good role model for him in that respects and his father always told him to plan for the future because while you will never see the benefit of your plans if you plan them properly, for example planting more trees, but you're thinking ahead for the next generation, and that's exactly what he did.”

Francis has three children with his first wife, Rosie – twins Henry and Emily, and Thomas – and Henry said that Francis was a very laid back father: “He was very kind and everybody loved him all around the farm staff and the estates and tenants, everybody loved him.”

Francis first met Gail for the first time in London in the 1984 and Gail, a Labour supporter, said initially they did not get on as she was collecting for the miners at the time, whereas Francis, a Conservative, was very much a fan of Margaret Thatcher.

She said: “Years later a mutual friend insisted that we meet for lunch and Francis cooked us lunch we hit it off straight away and we found we had so much in common - dogs, the countryside, films - and we went to the cinema together and that was that.”

Francis and Gail were married in 2009 in Horncastle, with a reception at their home in Scrivelsby.

Francis was a big advocate of his home of Lincolnshire, and wore the Horncastle coronation badge designed by QEGS student Matilda Bush at the Coronation.

Gail said: “He really cared about Scrivelsby, Horncastle and Lincolnshire as a whole,” she said, “He really threw himself into things and he was on so many committees because he was so passionate about telling people how wonderful Lincolnshire is.”

Mr Dymoke served as High Sheriff of Lincolnshire as well as the Deputy Lieutenant of Lincolnshire, as well as a patron of the Lincolnshire Rural Support Network and chairman of the Horncastle War Memorial Centre.

His passion for the environment was also well known, and Gail said that Francis wanted to make Scrivelsby as green as he possibly could.

She said: "He knew he had a privileged upbringing, but he didn't want people to think that he took it for granted and he was just as happy mowing his lawn in his jeans as anything else and he really enjoyed his shooting with his friends over the winter month.”

Francis had played a starring role in King Charles III’s Coronation back in May this year.

The title of King or Queen’s Champion has been held by the Dymoke family since the Middle Ages, and Mr Dymoke was seen bearing the Royal Standard during the Coronation by millions of people around the world, an experience he said was a “great privilege”.

Gail said: "He loved the Coronation and being a part of it and he was so nervous about getting it right.”

His philanthropy has also seen him serve as Lincolnshire’s County Chair of the Princes Trust, set up by the then-Prince Charles, and he was later given the title of Honorary Colonel of the Lincolnshire Army Cadet Force.

Gail said that Francis was very stoic about his health and later diagnosis, but he never complained once and he was more worried about her and his children because he wouldn't be around for them.

“He was a very firm and very loyal friend, he had a strong friendships since his childhood and his friends had absolutely adored him,” she said, “We've really felt the love here since we found out the prognosis wasn't good, he had fantastic friends and they've all really very rallied round because he was such a kind and approachable man who loved to entertain and be sociable – everyone loved him.”