Baron Rokeby was an English landowner, politician and nobleman. He became an enthusiastic supporter of baths during a holiday in the spa town of Aix-la-Chapelle. When he returned to Kent, he began to make daily trips to the seashore to swim in salt water regardless of the weather. He preferred this environment to such an extent that his servant had to persuade him to come home. Sometimes he fainted and had to be rescued. He had a hut built for him on the sands at Hythe and drinking fountains along his route to the beach. He walked all the way and let his servant follow him in the carriage with full livery. If he found people drinking from a fountain, he gave them a half-crown coin. He also let his beard grow, which was against the contemporary fashion. Eventually, it was so thick that it stuck out under his arms and could be seen from behind. In a couple of years, he decided to build a swimming pool in his mansion – it was built under glass and was heated by the sun. There he spent hours at the time, preferably alone. He refused to have a fire in his house even in the coldest weather. His increased isolation bred rumours, including one that he was a cannibal or ate only raw meat – when he ate mainly beef tea and nibbled at venison. He also refused to see any doctors. As for church service, he claimed that God was best worshipped at natural altars of the earth, the sea and the sky – not to mention that the sermons were boring.
Matthew Robinson, 2nd Baron Rokeby
