As many of you will know, my father passed away on 12^th September after a long battle with cancer.  He was 76. 

He had several important and official roles during his lifetime, not least serving as High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1998-99. However I want to pay tribute to him in a way that I believe most people living in and around the Estate will have known him – as a countryman dedicated to his family and the Claydon Estate who took a close interest in the land, its history and its people.

Dad began managing the estate in the 1980s and then succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of my grandfather in 2001. Although a traditionalist at heart he oversaw a number of changes on the Estate and was always open to the need for the countryside to adapt to new circumstances.

He loved to keep up with everything that was happening on the Estate, from the progress of the farm crops to the health of the woodlands and the success of newly planted trees. He enjoyed country sports, particularly for the camaraderie, and ran a successful shoot for many years.

He was deeply involved in parish matters, chairing Middle Claydon Parish Council, and he cared a great deal about the villages and their people. He was also a strong supporter of the local churches and was for many years Patron of the Parish of the Claydons.

Although a stickler for proper dress codes when on official business he was happiest in a pair of cords and an open neck shirt, walking his dogs – a succession of labradors and spaniels -stopping to chat with whoever he met.

Whilst my parents handed over the day-to-day running of the Claydon Estate to Alexandra and me in 2014 he continued to take an interest in Estate matters. He loved Claydon House and continued to live there until 2019. He always took a close interest in its care under the stewardship of the National Trust.

He started a charitable Trust in 2001 and named it the Sir Ralph Verney Memorial Fund in memory of his father, who had died that year.  The Foundation has donated many thousands of pounds to local good causes. Now renamed the Verney Foundation, it continues to support the community. Dad continued as a trustee up until the day he died.

My father leaves behind his family and many friends including my mum, my wife Alexandra and me, our children Arthur and Hermione, and my sister Ella and her husband, Andrew.  One of Dad’s happiest moments towards the end of his life was walking Ella down the aisle at her wedding earlier this year.

He will be greatly missed by all of us and, I believe, also by the community here at Claydon, which he loved and cared for, and served for many years.

~ Nicholas Verney