His grandfather John Dugdale (died 1881) was from a family of Lancashire cotton manufacturers, and had bought the Crathorne estate in 1844.

Marten, a former equerry to the royal family, had very influential friends and stirred up considerable trouble in the local Conservative Party and on the government backbenches.

In 1954, Dugdale announced that Marten could buy the land back, and told the House of Commons he was resigning, having been the responsible minister.

However, in papers released thirty years after the affair it was found that Dugdale had known and approved of his civil servants' actions, and had to an extent passed the buck to them himself.

It was also found that the inquiry was inaccurate and biased, having been led by a former Conservative candidate who was very opposed to civil servants and state interference.