John Mytton

John "Jack" Mytton was born 1796 to a family of Shropshire squires. Many of his ancestors had been in the parliament and John Mytton served in the Hussars. From his father he inherited a family seat at Halston Hall near Shrewsbury, £60.000 and annual income of £10.000

Mytton would go hunting in any kind of weather. His usual winter gear was light jacket, thin shoes, linen rousers and silk stockings - but in the thrill of the chase he could strip down and continue the chase naked. He also had numerous pets in his manor.

Another thrill for him was reckless driving of carriages. He could drive his gig at high speed in an obstacle like a rabbit hole only to see if it would turn over. Once he tested if a horse pulling a carriage could jump over a tollgate. It could not. He managed to survive these self-made accidents without serious injuries.

Contemporary society considered his behavior scandalous. He once picked a fight with a miner who disturbed his hunt and lasted 20 rounds before the miner gave up. He once arrived in a dinner party riding a bear and when he tried to make it go faster, the beast bit into his calf.

Mytton was also a drinking man and could drink eight bottles of port wine a day with a helping of brandy. He managed to kill one of his horses, Sportsman, by making it drink a bottle of port.

Mytton was spendthrift and cared little about warnings that his money was running out. He could drop bank notes in his estate and gave his servants lots of spending money. Once he lost his racetrack winnings - several thousand - in Doncaster races when the wind blew them off. His workmen and tenants regarded him as a generous man. Over fifteen years he managed to spend his inheritance and then fell into deep debt. In 1830 he fled to France to avoid his creditors.

During his stay in France he tried to cure his hiccups by setting his shirt in fire. It apparently did work but only the intervention of his friends spared him of more serious injuries.

After couple of years he decided to return to England and ended up in debtor's prison. He died there in 1834.