Edward Stratford, 2nd Earl of Aldborough

[4] In 1777, Stratford succeeded his father as earl,[4] and in the same year he was awarded a Doctor of Civil Laws by the University of Oxford.

[5] Stratford died at Belan House in County Kildare, childless, and was buried at St Thomas's Church, Dublin.

[11] There have been several people of note who stayed there including the sons of the Tzar of Russia, and the wife of Sir Winston Churchill was born there, and the house until 1832 was owned by the Wingfield Stratford's who inherited it from Edward's Will.

[13] The house was little altered until 1894, when its then owner, Mr Murray Guthrie, added a second storey to the east and west wings and a colonnade in front.

In 1908, Lord Derby bought a lease and began more alterations, removing the colonnade and adding a third storey to both wings.

He took out the original bifurcated staircase (replacing it with a less elegant single one), demolished the stables and built a Banqueting Hall with a grand ballroom above.