undertook extensive renovation of the house and its contents and by 1885 it was again in a suitable state to host social activities, notably a garden party to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887. In 1890 Ada Sudeley, a niece of the 8th Earl, published her 570-page book Ham House, Belonging to the Earl of Dysart. On 23 September 1899, full control of the Tollemache estates at Ham and Buckminster was transferred from trustees to the 9th Earl, then aged about 40, in accordance with his grandfather's will. By the early 1900s the Dysarts had installed electricity and central heating at the house along with other modern gadgets including, in the Duchess's basement bathroom, a bath with jets and even a wave machine. The 9th Earl travelled widely, rode despite blindness, invested successfully in the stock market, and while eccentric and difficult, nonetheless was hospitable and supportive of the local community. His cantankerous nature proved too much for his wife who left him in the early 1900s but he lived on with other family members at Ham for many years. In the 1920s and 1930s he employed a staff of up to 20 including a chauffeur for his four cars including a Lanchester and Rolls-Royce. When he died in 1935 he left investments worth £4,800,000 but had no direct heir. He was the last Earl of Dysart to live at the house. Sir Lyonel Tollemache, Bt. (1935–52) On the 9th Earl's death in 1935, his inheritance passed to the families of his sisters. His niece, Wynefrede, daughter of his sister Agnes, inherited the earldom. Wynefrede's cousin, Lyonel, at the age of 81, inherited the baronetcy and the estates at Ham and Buckminster. He and his middle-aged son, Cecil Lyonel Newcomen Tollemache, lived at the house, but the lack of available staff during the Second World War added to the difficulty of maintaining it. The nearby Hawker Siddeley aircraft factory was a target for bombing raids, and the house and grounds suffered some minor damage. Much of the house's contents were removed to the countryside for safety. Most of the family papers were deposited in Chancery Lane but, while they survived the Blitz, they suffered significant water damage from fire hoses. Thought for some time to have been lost, an additional set of papers was subsequently recovered from the Ham House stables in 1953, though many were in