JOURNAL 
OF THE 
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 
OF ENGLAND. 
SIR NIGEL KINGSCOTE. 
Born February 28, 1830. Died September 22, 1908. 
JUST about the time of the Royal Agricultural Society’s great 
Jubilee Show in Windsor Great Park, in June, 1889, as one 
outcome of which all those associated with the Society had to 
accustom themselves to addressing Colonel Kingscote as “ Sir 
Nigel,” and Mr. Wilson as“ Sir Jacob,” a somewhat remarkable 
man (now dead) was co-opted on the Council. He had been 
connected with a firm of agricultural engineers in earlier life, 
and was learned in all matters of farm machinery ; but he had 
no taste whatever for live stock, and was no respecter of 
persons, however highly placed. He had, however, a great 
admiration for character, had read widely and deeply, and had 
fresh and piquant views on a great variety of subjects. He 
was a most useful man in committee, often interpolating some 
shrewd remark which summarised the situation, but he 
contented himself at the Council meetings with watching and 
observing the idiosyncrasies of his colleagues. 
One day he suddenly said to me, “ I want you to tell me 
the secret of the influence exercised by Sir Nigel Kingscote at 
Hanover Square. He cannot be said to be a good speaker ; he 
is not so ready in the cut and thrust of debate as others 
holding opposite views ; I should hardly call him farsighted 
or clever ; and yet he always seems to dominate the Council. 
Why is this ? ” The best answer I could give on the spur 
of the moment was that Sir Nigel was a great gentleman, 
courteous and considerate to all, both high and low, a man of 
the highest honour integrity and simplicity of character, who 
said and did what he felt to be right without pose or regard for 
after consequences to himself. 
VOL. 69. 
B 
