Olive Gladys Mary Stanley-Clarke & Brigadier Arthur Christopher Lancelot ("Kit") Stanley-Clarke: Earlscliffe Owner 1950 to 1952

Following the brief and somewhat enigmatic ownership of Lily Margaret Graham Gough, Earlscliffe entered another short but revealing chapter in May 1950. The house was purchased by Olive Gladys Mary Stanley-Clarke for her husband, Brigadier Arthur Christopher Lancelot “Kit” Stanley-Clarke. Their time at Earlscliffe lasted little more than two years, yet it offers a vivid glimpse into the challenges of post-war life, where ambition, expectation, and reality did not always align.

Family history

Olive Gladys Mary Stanley-Clarke

Olive was born in 1896, the third daughter of Thomas Joseph Carroll-Leahy and Anne Mary Carroll-Leahy of Woodfort, Mallow, County Cork. She was also the granddaughter of John Harold Barry of Ballyvonare House (also known as Ballinavonear House), Buttevant, County Cork. ^{1 2}

Brigadier Arthur Christopher Lancelot ("Kit") Stanley-Clarke: A Distinguished Military Career

Arthur Christopher Lancelot Stanley-Clarke, known as “Kit”, was born on 30 June 1886 in Brighton, Sussex. Educated at Winchester College and later at Oxford, he embarked on a long and distinguished career in the British Army.

During the First World War, he served with the 2^nd Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), and was wounded in the trenches near Chapigny on 1^st March 1915. ³

His advancement was steady. Promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in December 1916, he left the 10^th Battalion in September 1918 with significant honours, including the DSO and Bar, the French Légion d’Honneur, and the Croix de Guerre.

While stationed at the Curragh in Ireland, he became engaged to Olive Carroll-Leahy in February 1931, and they were married at St Peter’s, Eaton Square, London, on 23^rd June that year. ^{1 3 4 5}

He went on to serve in the Second World War, commanding the 154^th (Argyll and Sutherland) Infantry Brigade until their evacuation from Dunkirk. After nearly 35 years of military service, he retired on 3^rd June 1944, later receiving the CBE and the Polish Order of Polonia Restituta (3^rd Class).

List of Residents/Owners

Move to Shiel

Rather than leave the area entirely, Olive and Kit adapted. As Olive described in the book "In an Irish Garden", they cut off a portion of the land—approximately one and a half acres sloping down towards the sea—and built a smaller house there, which they named Shiel.

In creating this new home, Olive physically carried elements of Earlscliffe with her. Stones from the original house were reused to form steps leading down to the lawns, and flowering cherry trees were transplanted from the old garden to the new. ⁷

Life at Shiel proved more sustainable. Kit became deeply involved in hospital administration, serving as treasurer of a children’s hospital and later as chairman of Mercers Hospital. He was also active in the Church of Ireland, and remained an enthusiastic gardener and supporter of animal welfare. ⁶

Kit died at Shiel on 8 January 1983, aged 96. At the time, he was believed to be the oldest living English first-class cricketer. ⁹

Olive continued to live at Shiel, where she took great pleasure in her garden. ⁷ She died on 26 January 1996 at the age of 100 ¹⁰ and is buried with her father and members of the Carroll-Leahy family at Kilpadder, Drommahane, County Cork.

Next chapter: Peggy & Bobby Woods

References & Further Reading

1. Irish Times, February 5, 1931, page 6 ↩
2. https://historicgraves.com/kilpadder-church/co-kldr-0002/grave seen 04-10-2021 ↩
3. Soldier of the Month, Brigadier Arthur Christopher Lancelot Stanley-Clarke C.B.E. D.S.O as described on the The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) website. ↩
4. Irish Times, June 24, 1931, page 4 ↩
5. Details found on Ancestry.co.uk. ↩
6. Irish Times obituary for A. C. Stanley Clarke, April 12, 1983, page 9. ↩
7. In An Irish Garden, Sybil Connolly and Helen Dillon, Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (Sep 1986), ISBN: 0297789295 ↩
8. Sale of Earlscliffe was announced in the Irish Times, Apr 14^th 1951, page 10. ↩
9. Wisden Obituaries in 1983 https://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/228585.html seen 13-09-2020 ↩
10. Irish Times, January 29, 1996, page 21 ↩
11. By the time Olive and Kit moved into Earlscliffe in mid 1950, Earlscliffe house had not been lived in since at least March 1949, when the previous owner, Lily Margaret Graham Gough, bought the house, and then sold it without moving in. Therefore, it was not surprising that the garden looked "neglected"! ↩

List of Residents/Owners