Pepys, 6th Earl of Cottenham. Born the day after Exeter was bombed during the Baedeker Blitz and while his father was away in North Africa with the Coldstream Guards, it was reported that his sisters and household staff had been hiding in the cellars while his mother insisted on giving birth in the state bed rather than evacuate. He was educated at St Peter's School, Seaford and Winchester College and graduated with a B.A. degree from Magdalene College, Cambridge, in 1964. From 1971 to 1977 he served in the Royal Devon Yeomanry, retiring with the rank of captain. He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant (D.L.) of Devon in 1991. After succeeding to the family titles in 1998, Devon was the last of the hereditary peers to make a maiden speech in the House of Lords. Estate management Devon was an Associate of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (A.R.I.C.S.) and successfully helped the family seat at Powderham Castle move into the black. The family finances had fallen on hard times after the deaths of three earls between 1927 and 1935 brought triple death duties. By the 1970s, the family lands had shrunk by 90 per cent. The family was in talks to place Powderham in the hands of the National Trust, but the 17th earl backed out when the National Trust insisted on a £60,000 endowment. The castle was opened to the public in 1957. The 18th earl greatly improved the estate, expanding its farmlands from 400 to 2,000 acres and reviving the 18th-century gardens and deer park. He also ran horse trials from Powderham, managed one of the leading herds of cattle in South Devon, and successfully sued the Crown to regain the family's medieval land rights on the foreshore of the estuary of the River Exe. Once regained, he quickly set up a thriving business in shellfishing and the renting of moorings. Powderham, which now sees 35,000 visitors each summer, has also been a popular events venue for concerts including Elton John and Tom Jones, and sporting events. The earl also worked as the land agent for other estates, including Blickling Hall in Norfolk, Broughton Castle in Oxfordshire and Monteviot House in Roxburghshire. In 2008, the earl had his licence to hold civil ceremonies at Powderham Castle revoked by Devon County Council, as he had refused permission to allow a gay civil partnership ceremony to take place