act of revenge against his wife he attempted to bequeath his estates to a distant cousin in Canada, thus cutting out their son John. She overturned his will in the courts on the grounds that he had been of unsound mind at the time of its making. John Christie (born 1882), born at Eggesford. He was assistant head master of Eton College and fought in World War I winning the Military Cross. He married the opera singer Grace Audrey Louisa St John-Mildmay, daughter of Rev. Aubrey Neville St John-Mildmay, and opened an opera house at Glyndebourne, thus founding the Glyndebourne Opera Festival. During World War II Tapeley was used as a home for children evacuated from Plymouth. It later served as a home for the Invalid Children's Aid Association, then as a hotel. John's eldest son and heir to Glyndebourne was Sir George Christie (born 1934) but he bequeathed Tapeley to his daughter Rosamund Christie. Rosamund Christie (1933–1988), daughter of John Christie. Hector Christie (born 1961), was bequeathed Tapeley by his aunt Rosamund. He is the eldest son of Sir George Christie (1934 – May 2014) of Glyndebourne. Shortly after his father's death in 2014 he and the estate's long-serving agent Raymond Coldwell parted company and he remarked: Raymond has given me the freedom to do what I wanted to do. I've not made it very easy for him, looking after the estate which was what I should have been doing. But the one thing that's constant in life is change. Now I'm going to be turning my attention to the estate, making it more open and accessible. We've got a lot of work to do on the property and we're going to have to borrow a lot of money. I'm going to play a more active role. References Sources Lauder, Rosemary, Devon Families, Tiverton, 2002, pp. 41–5, Christie of Tapeley Park Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 15th Edition, ed. Pirie-Gordon, H., London, 1937, p. 408, pedigree of Clevland, appended to pedigree of Christie of Tapeley Park and Glyndebourne, pp. 407–8 Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry, 1858, Volume 3, pedigree of Clevland of Tapeley External links Tapeley Park and Gardens Tapeley Park and Gardens: The Sustainable Stately Home in the Making Typed transcripts of monuments in Westleigh Church Country houses in Devon Gardens in Devon Grade II* listed buildings in Devon Grade