THE 11th DUKE OF GRAFTON, KG DL
Hugh Denis Charles FitzRoy
1970 -

11th Duke of Grafton
The Captain of H.M.S. Grafton and the 11th Duke of Grafton

The present Duke of Grafton was born in South Africa in April 1919. His father was at that time Captain Charles FitzRoy and was serving as ADC to the Governor General of South Africa and his Grandfather was the Reverend Lord Charles FitzRoy, 3rd son of the 7th Duke. The present Duke’s mother was Lady Doreen Buxton and they had married in South Africa in 1918.

As a boy, the Duke lived 7 miles from Euston at Coney Weston in Suffolk. He was educated at Eton College and at Magdalene College, Cambridge. During the war he served with the Grenadier Guards and was ADC to the Viceroy of India 1943-1946. In 1930 the 8th Duke, Alfred, died and was succeeded by his Grandson, John, who became the 9th Duke. Sadly he was killed in a motor racing accident in 1936 and the title passed to his cousin Charles, who became the 10th Duke, and his son, Hugh became The Earl of Euston. In 1946 he married Fortune Smith and they have two sons and three daughters

The 11th Duke of Grafton, and his family, moved to Euston Hall in 1970; over the last 30 years the Duke has redesigned and restored the gardens, renovated many of the historic houses and buildings on the Euston Estate, replanted woodlands and modernised the farms.

In Suffolk, both the Duke and Duchess have made a considerable contribution to the life of the county. The Duke has worked nationally for over 50 years with organisations related to conservation and preservation of buildings and the countryside and has been honoured in many different ways.

NATIONAL APPOINTMENTS

  • Member of the Historic Buildings council for England (English Heritage) 1953-1984.
  • Member of English Heritage 1984 – 2001.
  • Member of the National Trust Properties Committee (1981-1984) and Chairman of the Eastern Region of the National Trust until 1980.
  • Patron of the Historic Houses Association.
  • Member of the Royal Fine Art Commission 1971-1994.
  • Chairman of the Cathedrals Advisory Commission 1981-1991.
  • Chairman of the Architectural Heritage Fund 1976-1994.
  • Chairman of the Historic Churches Preservation Trust 1980-1996.
  • Chairman of Sir John Soane’s Museum 1975-1997.
  • Vice Chairman of the National Portrait Gallery 1967-1992.
  • President (1989-1997) and Chairman (1950-1989) of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.
  • Trustee of the Tradescant Trust (1976 – 1999)
  • Trustee of the Buildings at Risk Trust (1986 – 2000)
  • President of International Students House 1972- date
  • President of the East Anglia Tourist Board 1973-1993.
  • President of the Architecture Club 1975-1985.

SUFFOLK APPOINTMENTS

  • Deputy Lieutenant of Suffolk (DL) since 1973
  • President of the Suffolk Preservation Society 1957-1996
  • Chairman of the Suffolk Historic Churches Trust 1972-1996
  • Patron of the Theatre Royal Restoration Appeal, Bury St Edmunds
    1960-1965.
  • Honorary Doctor of Civil Law, University of East Anglia (1990)
  • President of the Hereford Herd Book Society.
  • President of the Suffolk Show in 1965 and in 1978
  • President of the Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery.
  • President of the Suffolk Cathedral Millennium Appeal 1998 -