John Hervey, 7th Marquess of Bristol

Early years and family

Frederick William John Augustus Hervey was born on 15 September 1954, five years into the marriage between Victor Hervey, Earl Jermyn, the heir to the Marquessate of Bristol, and Pauline Bolton, daughter of a Kent businessman. He was their only child and his parents divorced when he was five years old in 1959. He grew up in the family home, Ickworth House, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, and was a ward of court for some time after his mother left Ickworth.

The 6th Marquess, who had been jailed for jewel theft in his youth, behaved harshly towards his eldest son, according to friends of the family. He did not show John love or affection, and was strict to the extent that John was required to wear long white gloves during dinner. "He treated his son and heir with indifference and contempt," said Anthony Haden-Guest. Jamie Spencer-Churchill, a school friend, summed up the relationship: "Victor created the monster that John became." In 1960, his father married, secondly, Lady Juliet Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, the only child of Peter Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 8th Earl Fitzwilliam. Along with his half-brother Nicholas, Earl Jermyn attempted to sue his father's estate after Yvonne and her children were named the principal beneficiaries in the 6th Marquess's will, but failed.

Later years The Earl was educated at Harrow School and the University of Neuchâtel. He inherited a million pounds when he was 16 years old, and another £4 million five years later. In May 1983, he was arrested on suspicion of trafficking $4 million of heroin and moved from New York back to Ickworth House. While there, on at least one occasion, the Earl piloted his helicopter without radar while snorting cocaine off the map he was using for navigation.

Though the Earl had come out as homosexual, on 14 September 1984 he married Francesca Fisher, then 20, the day before his 30th birthday. The marriage lasted for three years, but quickly fell apart after he started freebasing cocaine and using rent boys. Although Ickworth House had been given to the Treasury in lieu of death duties in 1956, and then handed over to the National Trust, he continued living there in the house's East Wing as part of the conditions. He served seven months of the sentence and was released in April 1989.

The National Trust were unimpressed with the Marquess's behaviour, including dangerous driving around the estate and lack of control over his wolfhounds. They attempted to evict him from Ickworth House in 1994 The House of Lords, by then under threat of reform, generally disliked the Marquess as his behaviour was damaging the House's reputation. On 9 January 1999, he complained of a stomach ache and dizziness, and spent most of the day in bed. He was found dead the following morning. having apparently contracted HIV in 1986, His agent said that despite years of ill health through drug abuse, he was greatly shocked by his death.

The Marquess's funeral took place on 23 February at Bury St Edmunds Cathedral. He was buried at St Mary's Church, Ickworth, as is traditional for all peers of the Hervey family.

The 7th Marquess was succeeded by his half-brother, Frederick. His other paternal half-brother, Nicholas, had died a year before him, while his mother had died in 1996. His half-sister Victoria shared similar sentiments, and stated that she has avoided drugs as a result of her relationship with John.

Following the 7th Marquess's death, his agent hoped that the story would serve as a warning about the dangers of drug addiction. The East Wing of Ickworth House was converted by the National Trust into a luxury hotel in 2002.