One of the joys of research is the occasional discovery of a fact which has no relevance to the topic being pursued, but which brings a smile to the face of the researcher. As the great grandson of a Norfolk parson whose favourite book, after the Bible, was Walton’s The Compleat Angler, I was amused to discover that, in Boycott’s grandfather’s time as rector, christenings could only take place on those days when the 14th century font at the riverside church was not being used to store the rector’s live-bait!

He entered the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich with a view to becoming a sapper. Photo: Getty Images In a break with family tradition Charles decided to make a career in the army. To this end he entered the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich with a view to becoming a sapper. Unfortunately, he failed the relevant examination and was discharged from the academy. His military ambitions were not thwarted however - the family promptly spent £450 buying him a commission in the 39th Foot. He was just 20 years old.

Posted to Ireland, he did not enjoy the best of health, suffering from scarlet fever, caught in his Woolwich days, which led to long periods of sick leave and suggested the possibility of future complications. Nevertheless, at the age of just 21, in 1852 he married an Irish girl, in Dublin. Just a year later he seems to have become disillusioned with a military career and sold his commission (by this time a captaincy, though his final rank is disputed) to take a property in Tipperary, possibly aided by a family legacy.

For a time Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott lived on the remote Achill Island off the coast of County Mayo. Photo: Getty Images He was not there long, moving to the remote Achill Island off the coast of County Mayo at the instigation of a friend, a local magistrate. Life there was tough, and the island itself relatively inaccessible, but Charles Boycott stayed there, renting 2,000 acres from a Protestant mission for about 18 years.

His time on the island was certainly not without incident. His original home there was totally destroyed by fire sometime in the 1860s. An archaeological investigation of the site some 150 years later produced a large number of artefacts, among them buttons marked with a crown and stamped with the number 39, presumably remnants of his regimental uniform. Other artefacts found onsite included a number of small pieces of china, probably from children’s dolls of the era. Since the Boycott marriage, while apparently harmonious, was also childless, this would seem to confirm the story that guests were staying in the house at time of the fire.

The loss of his house wasn’t the only problem with which he had to contend, though........

© Eastern Daily Press