A Menlo Professor’s Six-Year Search for a Piece of Hidden History

By Amy Tong
Menlo Oak Staff


With the weather becoming more welcoming for adventures, what part of the earth should you visit this spring? Instead of flying from place to place,  a better idea might be to sit down and meet some of history's religious leaders  with Marilyn Thomas, Ph.D., and share a moment of her research.

This spring, Menlo College’s Colloquium Series turned its attention to 19th century England with Dr. Thomas’s presentation: “Looking for a Diary in Secret Code from Victorian England.” Dr. Thomas spent six years in England searching and decoding this secret diary written by F.W. Robertson. Robertson was known as a “English Divine,” that is a writer whose works become standards in the Anglican faith, doctrine and worship.  Surprisingly, part of Robertson’s diary  recorded his affair with two famous British women.

Robertson was a well-known preacher and evangelical whose life was cut short when he died from what one author described as “inflammation of the brain.” Shortly after Robertson’s death, his daughter Ida Robertson, married Sir George Thomas Francis Shuckburgh. After his death, Francis then married Major Henry James Shuckburgh.

Dr. Thomas presented Robertson’s story with Shuckburgh Hall, a palatial English estate that dates back to the 13th century, as a background.  

Shuckburgh Hall has always been in the hands of powerful and influential people. The Hall was once owned by one who fought on the side of the king, Charles I.  The Shuckburghs were given a title by Charles II after Sir Richard Shuckburgh rescued the king from a French prison. Since then the title and the estate has been passed down to the eldest male of each generation. Shuckburgh Hall is  currently owned by Robertson’s great great-grandson,  Sir Rupert Shuckburgh.

In addition of the romantic relationships, the diary touches the 19th Industrial Revolution, the English Civil War which partially took place on the grounds of Shuckburgh Hall.

Through Dr. Thompson’s research, students and scholars are able to understand how religious leaders altered the politics and economy of England with the power they possess.

“The fun of the story, is one could teach the history of England by teaching the history of that house, Shuckburgh Hall,”  said Dr. Thomas. “History is one thing, but seeing history through the eyes of somebody who lived it is something else.”