My first quick tour of Plymouth - May 12, 2012

After getting my room at the Bowling Green, I went exploring - heading straight to the water, of course. More than anything, I was dying to see the Barbican.

But first, I headed down to the Promenade and there, to the right facing the water, are these regency style buildings at Elliot Terrace. I'm still confused as to which is number three - the one in the middle or the one next to it farthest away, but it is of mild interest to me because of the builder: John Pethick. Why? Because one of his sons, a veterinary surgeon, was married to a niece of my g-g-grandfather, and their grandson wound up living right here in Victoria.

Number 3 Elliot Terrace, The Hoe, was erected in the later part of the 19th century by John Pethick, a leading Victorian property developer and was acquired in 1908 by Waldorf Astor who had come to Plymouth as a Unionist Parliamentary Candidate. Lord Astor died in 1952, Lady Astor in 1964. Before her death she gave 3 Elliot Terrace to the City as the official residence for future Lord Mayors. 

  

   

Oh, that Lady Astor

...from wikipedia:

By far the most famously reported quotes are taken from alleged exchanges between Lady Astor and Winston Churchill but these are not well documented and may be misattributed.

Examples include an instance in which Churchill is supposed to have told Lady Astor that having a woman in Parliament was like having one intrude on him in the bathroom, to which she retorted, "You're not handsome enough to have such fears".

Lady Astor was also said to have responded to a question from Churchill about what disguise he should wear to a masquerade ball by saying, "Why don't you come sober, Prime Minister?"

Possibly the most famous of all such anecdotes reports that Lady Astor said to Churchill, "If you were my husband, I'd poison your tea," to which he responded, "Madam, if you were my wife, I'd drink it!"

One of the more famous exchanges that Lady Astor is purported to have had with Churchill is as follows: "Winston, you are drunk."

To which Churchill responded, "And you, madam, are ugly. But I shall be sober in the morning." In fact, Churchill was talking to Bessie Braddock, a Labour Member of Parliament.