Original Victorian postal envelope addressed to Capt. E. R. Starkie Bence - QV 1d pink cover with Charing Cross duplex to Long Melford, Sudbury.

January 1881.. Original Victorian postal envelope addressed to: "Capt. E. R. Starkie Bence, Kentwell Hall, Long Melford, Sudbury, Suffolk." 12.2cm (wide) x 7cm (high). 1d pink cover with Charing Cross duplex to front, and postal marks for Long Melford and Sudbury to rear. ** "Edward Robert Starkie Bence was the son of Henry Bence Sparrow Bence and Elizabeth Susanna Starkie. He married Eliza Charlotte Albinia Sulivan, daughter of George James Sulivan and Mary Plomley Jenkins, on 30 July 1850 at St. Georges Hanover Square, Westminster, London, England. He died on 24 February 1886 at Kentwell Hall, Long Melford, Suffolk, England. Edward Bence, who had inherited some �130,000 from Elizabeth Starkie, a cousin, upon condition he added Starkie to his name. This was but little imposition given that his father had changed his name from Sparrow to Bence for much the same reason. Edward was a second son and his father had a significant Estate at Thorington, Suffolk which his elder brother would enjoy. Edward held Kentwell for 50 years. He purchased a captain�s commission in the First King's Dragoon Guards and saw service in the Crimea in the 1850s. Considering the corruption affecting Sudbury elections, it is surprising that Capt Bence attracted complaints that he placed himself in front of the voting booth in the West Suffolk Election so as to prevent all but those he favoured from voting..." - See Kentwell Hall - The History.