Erddig — Best Below Stairs History - Beyond Downton Abbey: A Guide to 25 Great Houses - page 45

photo by Sue H J Hasker (Creative Commons license)
For all their wealth and tradition, many Yorke family members had their idiosyncrasies,
which included the servant portraits and poetry custom. For example, through the gener-
ations many family members were vegetarians, starting with the first Phillip Yorke in the
1700s. A few family members abstained from drinking alcohol. And the last two Squires
— Simon IV and Phillip III — led reclusive and eccentric lives. As archivists and collect-
ors of antiquity, generations of the Yorke family were hoarders, preserving the look and
feel of an 18 th century house, and choosing not to install running water, gas or electricity
until the late 20 th century.