Marshmount Castle Restoration Plans

History Lives and Odd Things Happen

What is the Marshmount Trust?

The Marshmount family is an ancient one dating back to the Norman Conquest, whose dynastic seat was in Eastern England (Wotshire, which you will not find on any maps now since England reorganized its counties many years ago -- but Essex/Suffolk is close enough). Though never taking any prominent role in English history or rising above the rank of Baron, they still managed to acquire a lot of stuff. Never really rich, but always possessing diverse property in the British Isles, this line supposedly became extinct on the disappearance of the last Marshmount, Guichardo, in 1913. Since he had vanished and was not proved dead, even though he was in his 80's, the Trust was set up by the family lawyers as a self-running semi-limited company. There were no claimants to this estate for nearly 80 years (but why would the law firm have given up this minor but steady income for administration to ask that Guichardo Marshmount be declared officially dead?). Seth Pottlebury, a hermit living in the ruins of Marshmount Castle, finally won his case in Chancery Court proving he was the (il)legitimate heir to Guichardo Marshmount's estate in 1997. The METL Trust is still there, minus the fuddy-duddy lawyers who were running it and were pensioned off. Seth now runs the show, but under the aegis of the new board of the Trust. What he did is to appoint the new trustees out of the same families of the previous ones but to purposely pick the sons/daughters who had NO law experience and no intention to acquire it -- the chief executor now is a 34-year-old woman who spent 13 years in a Mexican jail for dope-peddling. [No name will be mentioned.] His comment was that he needed trustees because he couldn't be bothered to handle it himself and didn't know how to, but he would keep it all in the family out of compassion and hand it over to people who also didn't know what to do but would learn, as long as they weren't trained lawyers.

What are our properties?

   The METL owns the folowing properties that might be of interest to the public:
• Marshmount Castle -- the family home. This is where Seth lives and probably intends to live until he dies in 2013 (as foretold to him by a Navajo shaman). Seth's original description of his home can be found at Sump and his victory in the court case at that mouse click.
• Guichardo's Folly -- A grandiose rebuilding of the northern tower of Marshmount Castle by the last legitmate heir of that line.
• Uppquhark: A Scottish Castle -- this was one of Guichardo's follies, but we don't own this any more (well, we do until the cash price comes in from Barbra Streisand, who purchased it recently). Whoops, that was supposed to be secret, but we have now been paid and Cindy Adams has already been invited to visit. I heard that she doesn't like the name 'Upchuck' (Uppquhark) and is proposing renaming it Yenta Castle. Well, I guess Yenta could pass for a Scottish name, their others are bizarre enough.
• Nant-y-Gof Bwlch Castle -- the Welsh Connection of the Marshmounts: One of the original 'native' Welsh castles of Dyfed built in the early Middle Ages (mid 1200's, makes it a puppy compared to Marshmount), came into the family in 1850, but is a total ruin and inaccessible to boot. [This place is so remote that Seth is considering moving there once Marshmount Castle becomes a tourist trap -- thing is, the Welsh in these parts don't appreciate atheistical hippie foreigners moving into their turf, but if he is odd enough they will accept him, like those nutty druids and saints they remember.] Reconstruction project.
• The Byfurk Gate Wax Museum in Fenton-on-the-Marsh was recently returned to the Marshmount Estate and is in the process of being re-established.
• The Isle of Farnish (off the north coast of Wales) is a feudal possession of the Marshmounts that only recently was turned up by the lawyers. We have yet to decide what to do about it, since we don't actually own any property there, but are just feudal overlords. Possibly an offshore banking tax haven, since it is not part of the UK (but like Sark, a possession of QEII not under the jurisdiction of Parliament). In the meantime, we have set up tours under the aegis of our new travel agency (Travail-Aid) for you to go there and check it out.

What is the goal?

Seth: I was vilified for years as a remittance bum collecting a minor dividend from an oil well I own in the US. I lived in Marshmount Castle, where nobody thought anybody would be able to live and survive. I did, fighting for my rights as heir in the Chancery Court all these years. Won that one finally, and now I don't want to be a hermit any more. Now I want to become an ENTREPENEUR, not of Disney theme parks or casinos, but of my own properties, which I now own. I actually have some pretty grand plans for these properties, not to make a fortune but to satisfy me whims. Now I can afford to do any dumb thing that comes into my head, especially since old man ------- decided to invest a large part of what remained in the trust funds in IBM stock in 1950 (that's why I appointed his hippie daughter as the principal trustee, and a better organizer and investment councillor you can't hope to find, as long as you don't ask what the investments are IN). My goal is to laud the Marshmount family in any way I can and really point out that England would not be the same if it weren't for them. I know that's not true, but I'm tired of being called a worthless bum. I wish Princess Diana had been a Marshmount -- Champagne Charlie Spencer's activities would pale before what I would do.

Why do we bother if this is all imaginary?

I don't know. Give me a reason. At least tell me you have accessed this web site and provide comments.
Mail  Best regards, Seth

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