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Grace Family at Battle Abbey

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                                                The Great Hall, Battle Abbey  c. 1906

  "Mother was staying with Aunt Helen in Scotland when Father proposed. She answered that she wasn't sure that she wanted to get married, and he sank to his knees in the soggy bog where they were standing and said, "I won't get up until you have accepted me." And, as always, Mother accepted anything that Father asked. When Father and Mother finally decided to announce their engagement, they drove up to Beaufort Castle. The whole Phipps family was gathered on the front steps to greet them. Mother was seized by a sudden panic of shyness. She begged Father to stop, jumped out of the car, ran around the house and up the back stairs. She is referring to this incident in a charming letter which she later wrote from Battle Abbey. "All the family -- Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins -- will be here to meet my wonderful husband-to-be.  Jay Bird, you will have to be brave -- there are no back stairs at Battle Abbey."