The Lord Erroll, an award-winning French and gourmet restaurant and hotel in Nairobi’s Runda neighborhood, is one of the country’s premier hospitality establishments.<\/p>\n
Established in 1997 by entrepreneurs Hans Stoecklin, Michael Craig, and Felix Huwler, the facility changed hands in February 2013 when Baringo Senator Gideon Moi purchased it.<\/p>\n
However, the restaurant is steeped in the history of a flamboyant British aristocracy who died nearly eight decades ago down Ngong Road.<\/p>\n
Josslyn Victor Hay was born in 1911, the first son of Victor Hay, Earl of Erroll, and was the next in line to succeed his father. Victor Hay, later known as Lord Erroll, was a boisterous youngster who frequently courted mischief as a child.<\/p>\n
Hay was educated at Eton College, one of the finest schools in the country at the time, but was expelled after two years.<\/p>\n
His father, who was at the time a High Commissioner in Berlin, pushed him to pursue international studies in order to assure that the Lord would follow in his diplomatic footsteps and eventually enter politics.<\/p>\n
While his family had high hopes for him, Josslyn shattered their illusions when he freely acknowledged to having relations with Lady Idina Sackville, a wealthy divorcee. Idina had been through two divorces at the time, which was looked upon in the extremely devout English society of the time.<\/p>\n
Hay, at 22, married Sackville, eight years her senior, in September 1923, and to avoid inquisitive eyes, the latter abandoned her home and fled to Kenya, a monarchy colony.<\/p>\n
They landed in Central Kenya and became part of a group of British settlers who were aristocrats living lavishly. The Happy Valley Sect, as the group was known, was comprised of some of the wealthiest British individuals, in contrast to their peers who were heavily involved in agriculture.<\/p>\n
Lord Erroll and Lady Idina quickly became popular due to their ability to throw the biggest and craziest parties at the time. Frequently, moral and marital boundaries were broken during these ‘private parties.’<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, Lord Erroll’s marriage ended abruptly in 1930, not due to his infidelity, but due to Idina’s claims that he had been defrauding her of her inheritance.<\/p>\n
He attracted the attention of another divorcee, Molly Ramsay-Hill, and the two relocated to Oserian in Nakuru County.<\/p>\n
Regrettably, Lady Erroll died in 1939. Lord Erroll next set his sights on Diana Coldwell, the wife of wealthy baron Jock Broughton, whom he met at a country club.<\/p>\n
Despite Broughton’s introduction, the two apparently met behind his back. Their romance became public shortly thereafter, humiliating the diplomat.<\/p>\n
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