The Vicar

    and the

Heiress

THE REV. RANDOLPH HUMPHREY MCLAUGHLIN MA (1844-1922) was the godson of his cousin John Winston Spencer-Churchill, the 7th Duke of Marlborough, who was the grandfather of Sir Winston Churchill.

Randolph became Vicar of Sidcup. One of his parishioners was Henry Hulse Berens JP (1804-83), of Sidcup Place, Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company and a director of the Bank of England.

In 1877 Randolph married Henry's daughter and heiress Ellinor Frances (1842-1924). At the same time he adopted the surname McLaughlin-Berens by Deed Poll. In 1885 Randolph changed his surname to Berens by Royal Warrant.

Another thing that Randolph changed was his mode of dress, from clerical garb to stylish elegance, as shown by the photographs on either side.


His marriage made Randolph wealthy enough to buy some large Egyptian stone figures of lions and birds at what the famous archaeologist Flinders Petrie enviously called impossible prices. Randolph lent his collection of prehistoric Egyptian vases, such as the one shown here, to the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) which was across the road from his home, 14 Princes Gardens.

My grandfather Major George McLaughlin died in that house.  Presumably he had come up from Lyston Hall to be attended at his brother's home by the physician and surgeon Robert McQueen, LRCP, who signed the death certificate. McQueen's fashionable address was 89 Eaton Terrace, Belgravia.

The University of London's Imperial College now owns 14 Princes Gardens. The lower floors are offices, while the upper floors provide accommodation for postgraduate students with families.