but these were sold when he died childless. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Sir Tatton Sykes, 4th Baronet (1772–1863), who had an interest in agricultural techniques and horse racing. His only son, Sir Tatton Sykes (1826–1913), developed into a rather withdrawn man who sold his father's stud for £30,000 and restored seventeen churches. He married Jessica Cavendish-Bentinck (died 1912). Their one son, Mark Sykes (1879–1919) travelled in the Middle East and wrote Through five Turkish provinces and The Caliph's last heritage. He married Edith Gorst, and their honeymoon took them to Paris, Rome, Constantinople and Jerusalem. They had six children. Mark Sykes was elected MP for Central Hull in 1911 and occupied himself for the early part of the First World War establishing the Waggoner's Special Reserve. From May 1915 he was called to the War Office by Lord Kitchener and is largely remembered for the part he played in forging the Inter-Allied agreement about the Middle East in 1916, the Sykes-Picot Agreement. While in Paris during the peace conference Mark Sykes contracted influenza and died at the age of only 39. He was a key figure in Middle East policy decision-making and his papers are a source of material on policy. Sir Mark Sykes 6th Baronet was succeeded in the title and Sledmere estates by Sir Richard Sykes 7th Baronet (1905–1978) and then Sir Tatton Sykes 8th Baronet, born 1943. Archives The family archives include correspondence with Winston Churchill, Austen Chamberlain, Chaim Weizmann, Arthur Balfour, Francois Georges-Picot, T. E. Lawrence, Nahum Sokolow, C P Scott, W Ormesby-Gore, Sir Ronald Storrs, Alfred Dowling, E G Browne, Francis Maunsell, Grant Dalton and Oswald Fitzgerald. Current Baronet The current baronet of the Sledmere House, Yorkshire, is Sir Tatton Sykes 8th Baronet, who has three brothers. See also Sykes Churches Trail Notes and references P. W. King, The Cartel in oregrounds iron'. Journal of Industrial History 6(1) (2003), 25-48. External links Sledmere estate papers. University of Hull English families