From 1685 to 1698: the eclipse of Ailesbury

Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury, had been the all-powerful figure in Bedfordshire politics at the time of the 1685 election. By 1695, with his power gone, he was under suspicion because of his social contacts with known Jacobites. He was arrested by the Privy Council in March 1696 when a plot was discovered to assassinate William III. Although he vigorously protested his innocence, he was accused of high treason and sent to the Tower of London. The Duke of Bedford, although a political opponent, saw that Ailesbury was visited by a doctor and that Lady Ailesbury was able to stay in the Tower with him. Ailesbury kept his mouth shut but the conspirators in panic tried to implicate him.

As habeas corpus had been suspended, Ailesbury was likely to stay indefinitely in the Tower without trial. It was only on 12 February 1697 that he was let out on bail. Against him at the trial was the Attorney General, Thomas Trevor, later owner of the Bromham Hall estate. On his side was Sir Creswell Levinz, later owner of the Oakley estate. Public demonstrations in his favour in London made him try to slip incognito to Bedfordshire, so as not to irritate the King. Some graziers recognised him on the road and hurried back to Bedfordshire to alert his friends of his return.

Ailesbury wrote: ‘I was met by great numbers on horseback on Luton Downs. The bells of that town rung out, and (the same) at all the villages on the right and left until I came home. Others met from distance to distance, and at the bridge above one mile from my house there were upwards of three thousand on horses and on foot, cutting down branches from the trees … and strewing rushes and flags with all acclamation and joy.’

At Houghton House, his country seat, many of the gentry waited to offer him congratulations, including a number of his loyal deputy lieutenants and magistrates. The demonstration annoyed the government, so Ailesbury crept back to London and led a restricted life. He was even allowed back to Ampthill for a visit and in May 1697 he was released from his bail.