The Wild Ride of ‘Mad Jack’ Mytton: Shropshire’s Legendary Eccentric Squire

Discover the outrageous life of John “Mad Jack” Mytton, Shropshire’s most infamous squire. From riding horses into hotels to setting himself on fire, Mytton’s exploits continue to captivate Salopians nearly two centuries after his death.

In the annals of Shropshire’s colourful history, few figures loom as large or as legendarily as John “Mad Jack” Mytton. Born into wealth and privilege in 1796, Mytton’s short but extraordinary life left an indelible mark on the county’s folklore. From his reckless spending and outrageous behaviour to his brief political career and tragic demise, Mytton’s story is a cautionary tale of excess and eccentricity that continues to captivate the imagination of Salopians to this day.

Early Life and Education

John Mytton was born on 30 September 1796 at the family seat of Halston Hall, near Oswestry. He was the scion of a venerable Shropshire family whose lineage stretched back some 500 years. Mytton’s father, also named John, died when the younger John was just two years old, leaving him heir to a vast fortune and estate.

As befitting a young gentleman of his station, Mytton was sent to Westminster School for his education. However, his time there was short-lived, as he was expelled after just one year for fighting with a master. This pattern of academic failure would continue at Harrow School, from which he was also expelled after only three terms.

Mytton’s education was then entrusted to a series of private tutors, whom he tormented with practical jokes. One particularly memorable prank involved leaving a horse in a tutor’s bedroom. Despite his lack of academic achievement, Mytton was granted entry to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1816. Legend has it that he arrived at university with 2,000 bottles of port to sustain him during his studies. Unsurprisingly, he left Cambridge without taking a degree, finding university life too dull for his tastes.

The Eccentric Squire

Upon coming of age in 1817, Mytton inherited the family estate, which included over 132,000 acres of land in Shropshire and North Wales, along with an annual income of £10,000 (equivalent to over £1.3 million in today’s money). This vast wealth allowed Mytton to indulge his every whim and fancy, earning him the nickname “Mad Jack” for his outrageous behaviour and reckless spending.

Mytton’s eccentricities were legendary. He was known for his love of practical jokes and dangerous stunts. One of his most famous exploits involved riding a horse into the Bedford Hotel in Leamington Spa, up the grand staircase, and onto the balcony. From there, he allegedly jumped, still seated on his horse, over the heads of diners in the restaurant below and out through the window onto the street.

His passion for hunting knew no bounds, and he would pursue foxes in any weather, even stripping naked to ride through snowdrifts and ford swollen rivers. Mytton’s hunting exploits were matched only by his love of gambling and racing. He owned a stable of racehorses and was known to place enormous bets on their performance.

Political Career and Public Life

Despite his reputation for wild behaviour, Mytton harboured political ambitions. In 1819, at the age of 23, he secured a seat as MP for Shrewsbury by the simple expedient of offering voters £10 notes, spending a total of £10,000 on his campaign. However, his political career was short-lived. Mytton spent a mere 30 minutes in the House of Commons, finding the debates boring and difficult to follow due to his incipient deafness.

Although his time in Parliament was brief, Mytton did serve in other public offices. He was High Sheriff of Merionethshire for 1821–22, High Sheriff of Shropshire for 1823–24, and Mayor of Oswestry for 1824–25. He also served as treasurer of the Salop Infirmary in Shrewsbury in 1822.

Personal Life and Relationships

Mytton’s personal life was as tumultuous as his public persona. He married twice, first to Harriet Emma Jones, daughter of Sir Tyrwhitt Jones, in 1818. Sadly, Harriet died just two years later in 1820. Mytton’s second marriage, to Caroline Giffard, ended when she fled in 1830.

Despite his chaotic lifestyle, Mytton was known for his affection towards his children. He would playfully toss his babies into the air and pelt them with oranges, a practice that, while alarming to modern sensibilities, was apparently meant in good fun.

Financial Ruin and Exile

Mytton’s extravagant lifestyle and reckless spending eventually caught up with him. Over the course of fifteen years, he managed to squander his entire inheritance and fall deeply into debt. His agent had calculated that if Mytton could reduce his annual expenditure to £6,000 for six years, his estate could be saved. Mytton’s response was characteristically dismissive: “You tell Longueville I wouldn’t give a damn to live on £6,000 a year!”

As his financial situation deteriorated, Mytton’s creditors closed in. In 1831, to avoid arrest and imprisonment for debt, he fled to France. In Calais, he fell in with a group of English adventurers who, like him, were avoiding the long arm of English justice.

It was during his exile in France that one of Mytton’s most infamous incidents occurred. In an attempt to cure a case of hiccups, he set his shirt on fire. While the unorthodox remedy did indeed cure his hiccups, it also left him with severe burns that might have been fatal had his friends not intervened.

Final Years and Legacy

Mytton’s exile in France lasted for two years. During this time, he was accompanied by Susan, a 20-year-old woman he had met on Westminster Bridge and persuaded to flee with him by offering her an annual allowance of £500. Susan remained with Mytton until his death, a testament to his charisma and force of personality even in his declining years.

In 1833, Mytton returned to England, where he was promptly arrested and imprisoned in the King’s Bench Prison for debt. It was here, on 29 March 1834, that John “Mad Jack” Mytton died at the age of 37.

Despite his tragic end, Mytton’s legend lived on. His exploits were immortalised in a series of articles by the sporting writer Charles James Apperley, who wrote under the pseudonym “Nimrod”. These articles, later collected and published as “Memoirs of the Life of the Late John Mytton” in 1837, ensured that Mytton’s reputation would endure long after his death.

Mytton’s Shropshire

To truly understand John Mytton, one must consider the Shropshire of his time. In the early 19th century, Shrewsbury was a thriving market town, its medieval streets bustling with trade and commerce. The town’s importance as a centre for the wool trade had made it prosperous, and its position near the Welsh border gave it strategic significance.

Mytton would have been a familiar sight on the streets of Shrewsbury, perhaps riding his horse recklessly through the narrow lanes or carousing in one of the town’s many inns. The Old Market Hall, built in 1596, still stood in the Square, a reminder of Shrewsbury’s long history. Mytton might have attended meetings here during his brief tenure as MP for the town.

The Shropshire countryside that Mytton loved to hunt through was a patchwork of fields, woods, and rolling hills. The great estates of the county’s gentry, like Mytton’s own Halston Hall, dotted the landscape. It was a world of privilege and tradition, but one that was beginning to change as the Industrial Revolution took hold.

Mytton’s Place in Shropshire’s History

John “Mad Jack” Mytton occupies a unique place in Shropshire’s history. He represents the end of an era, the last gasp of a particular kind of English squirearchy before the social and economic changes of the Victorian age swept it away. His exploits, while often reckless and sometimes cruel, speak to a spirit of individualism and defiance of convention that many find appealing even today.

For Salopians, Mytton is more than just a historical figure; he’s a local legend, a larger-than-life character whose exploits are still recounted in pubs and at dinner tables across the county. His story serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of excess, but also as a reminder of a more colourful, less constrained time in the county’s history.

Mytton’s Legacy in Modern Shropshire

Today, traces of John Mytton can still be found throughout Shropshire. The village of Myddle, where the Mytton family originated, still bears their name. The Jack Mytton Way, a long-distance bridleway that runs for 100 miles through some of Shropshire’s most beautiful countryside, commemorates his love of riding and hunting.

In Shrewsbury itself, the memory of “Mad Jack” lingers. The town’s medieval streets and Georgian buildings, many of which would have been familiar to Mytton, still stand. The castle where he briefly served as MP has been transformed into the Shropshire Regimental Museum, but visitors can still walk in Mytton’s footsteps.

Mytton’s story continues to fascinate historians and locals alike. His life has been the subject of numerous books, articles, and even a BBC radio play. In an age of conformity and caution, there’s something appealing about Mytton’s wild disregard for convention and his determination to live life on his own terms, no matter the consequences.

Conclusion

John “Mad Jack” Mytton was a man of contradictions. A wealthy squire who died in a debtors’ prison, a member of parliament who could barely tolerate politics, a loving father whose reckless behaviour endangered his children, he defies easy categorisation. His life serves as a vivid illustration of the excesses of the Regency era and the twilight of a particular kind of English rural gentry.

For Shropshire, Mytton remains a source of fascination and local pride. His exploits, while often outrageous, speak to a spirit of independence and a zest for life that many admire. In the streets of Shrewsbury, the fields of Halston, and the rolling hills of the Shropshire countryside, the ghost of “Mad Jack” Mytton still rides, a reminder of a wilder, more eccentric age.

As we look back on Mytton’s life from the vantage point of the 21st century, we might shake our heads at his excesses, but we can also appreciate the colour and drama he brought to Shropshire’s history. In the end, John “Mad Jack” Mytton was more than just an eccentric squire or a reckless spendthrift. He was a true Shropshire original, a man whose life and legend continue to captivate and entertain us nearly two centuries after his death.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10

Bob Lynn / 18-Sep-2024