Widcombe Crescent was the home of Rajah James's family in the 1830s following their departure from Combe Grove. A handsome townhouse with views over the city, it is nevertheless here that James Brooke finally decided life in English society was not for him - he felt a pull toward the East. His father Thomas Brooke died here in 1835, leaving James a legacy that would allow him to begin making preparations for what would be his famous voyage aboard Royalist. His mother Anna Maria eventually moved to Whitelackington, but was returned on her death in 1843 to be buried beside her husband at the Church of St Thomas à Becket on the hill just above the house.
4 December 2015
