The story behind Lord Egerton Castle is a heart-wrenching tale of unrequited love which began when Lord Maurice Egerton found his way to Africa from England.
He was the lastborn son of a royal family in England, born in 1874 with two siblings who died young.
Lord Maurice Egerton worked in the Royal Navy in England until 1920 when his father died where he succeeded him as the fourth Baron of Egerton dynasty.
Lord Egerton loved hunting and photography which saw him come to Africa through Zimbabwe, to Congo then to Uganda and eventually entered Kenya in 1927 where he settled around Nakuru, bought acres of land from Lord Delamere and stayed for the rest of his life.
Aerial view of Lord Egerton Castle which is now a tourist site. [Source/Egerton University Archives]
He set to marry a girl of similar royal status and found himself a lady from the lineage of Queen Elizabeth named Victoria.
Lord Egerton had built a six bed-roomed cottage where he lived which Victoria who dismissed it as a ‘chicken cage’ in which she could never live in.
Still hopeful for the girl, he decided to build a 52-roomed castle that would have no comparison elsewhere and began the project in 1938, hiring an architect from England, construction workers from Italy and labourers from India. With much of the materials being imported only for the lady to described it as being “small like a dog’s kennel” once she saw it. She left Maurice for another royal son in Australia.
Side view of the famous Lord Egerton Castle which is now a tourist site. [Source/Maroa Nelson]
Dejected and heartbroken, Lord Egerton completed the castle in 1954 and employed 16 male servants and demanded their women to stay away.
Men visiting him were also asked to leave their women 8 kilometres away.
He hated women so much such that he banned them from his compound and actually pinned notices on trees warning women that they risked being shot at if they ever came anywhere close to his 100-acre piece of land.
Some items in the Castle that Lord Egerton used [Source/Maroa Nelson]
He henceforth dedicated his life to farming, hunting and development of education which led to the birth of Egerton University.
Lord Maurice Egerton died in 1958 with no heir after living alone in his castle for only 4 years leaving his magnificent castle which is now owned by Egerton University as a tourist site.
Some tourists conducting a photo session at the castle. [Source/Maroa Nelson]