CHRISTOPHER Morris was 14 when his headmaster walked on to the cricket pitch and pulled the boy to one side to tell him his beloved grandfather had died.

"We walked along the riverbank and I tried to take in the news," said Christopher.

He had first been taken to Lake District jewel Ladywood from his Oxford home aged two months, and on regular childhood visits fell in love with the house and his "quiet genteel grandfather".

The boy had no idea how important Professor Ernest de Selincourt was, only that the twinkling eyes and beautiful voice were something special.

Christopher spent the war years cocooned in the Lakes haven.

"I used to make excuses that I was ill, so I didn't have to go to my school in Keswick and could stay here with my grandfather," recalled Christopher.

"From the age of 12, I was allowed to go into his study at noon and together we would spend an hour gardening before lunch.

"He used to read us P.G. Wodehouse in his sitting room. Occasionally he would fall asleep mid-sentence. We waited in silence until he stirred. He would start reading again, exactly where he had left off."

Christopher's mother Mary, a Sorbonne graduate, was active in many good causes and shared platforms with politicians such as Hugh Gaitskell. During the war, Ladywood was used as a base for evacuees.

Also following a career in education, Christopher became vice principal of Sutton Coldfield College of Further Education. He inherited Ladywood from his parents in 1992, and has lived in the house ever since.

May 15, 2003 10:00