In 1608 he moved to Market Bosworth and began work on the original manor house and Dixie Grammar School.

Described as "a spendthrift, a hopeless gambler, a heavy drinker" he found it increasingly difficult to face up to his responsibilities as Squire of Bosworth.

Lady Florence wrote "For some time past I have been fighting against the terrible consequences of my husband's immense losses on the Turf and at gambling .

Beau ... has been so accustomed to have heaps of money at his command that he cannot understand that it is all gone .... By selling Bosworth and the property these (debts) could be met"[4] "Machell, from the exigencies of his profession, was unquestionably the ruin of numerous aspiring punters whose interests clashed with his own.

Beaumont Dixie, whose inclinations tended towards always backing "Archer's mounts", was a notable example, and anyone who witnessed the scene in the paddock after a race where Machell's horse did not win, will not be likely to forget the ruined Baronet wringing his hands in despair, and the irate owner standing over him with "Now, Mr Bastard Beaumont Dixie, I'll teach you to back Archer's mounts"[5] Fred Archer was a champion jockey who mainly rode horses trained by Mathew and George Dawson.