[3] In 1945, he stood for parliament at the general election for the Conservative Party in Kingston upon Hull East.
[citation needed] In 1946, he bought the Old Rectory at Winestead and employed Francis Johnson to restore it.
He filled the Rectory with fittings from demolished Georgian buildings and began collecting memorabilia of the Maister family.
His papers at the University of Hull include c. 3,000 items from the fourteenth century onward, including title deeds, settlements, rentals, enclosure acts, maps and plans and house sale catalogues for East Yorkshire including manorial records 1647–1927 for Elstronwick.
His journals and diaries survive for 1937–1970 as does his correspondence with good friend John Betjeman from 1954 to 1973.