The 2nd Lord Rokeby became an enthusiastic supporter of baths during a holiday in the
spa town of
Aix-la-Chapelle. When he returned to
Kent, he began to make daily trips to the seashore to swim in
salt water regardless of the weather. He preferred this environment to such an extent that his
servant had to persuade him to come home. Sometimes he fainted and had to be rescued. He had a hut built for him on the sands at
Hythe and
drinking fountains along his route to the beach. He walked all the way and let his servant follow him in the carriage with full livery. If he found people drinking from a fountain, he gave them a
half-crown coin. He also let his beard grow, which was against the contemporary fashion. Eventually, it was so thick that it stuck out under his arms and could be seen from behind. In a couple of years, he decided to build a
swimming pool in his mansion - it was built under glass and was heated by the sun. There he spent hours at a time, preferably alone. He refused to have a fire in his house even in the coldest weather. His increased isolation bred rumours, including one that he was a
cannibal or ate only raw meat - when he ate mainly
beef tea and nibbled at venison. He also refused to see any doctors. As for church service, he claimed that God was best worshipped at natural altars of the earth, the sea and the sky - not to mention that the sermons were boring. When Lord Rokeby did indeed agree to accept visitors, he might "entertain" them with lengthy, boring poems. He arranged a sumptuous meal for
Prince William of Gloucester but ate very little himself. He very rarely visited the court and then was an embarrassment to his
socialite sister, Elizabeth Montagu. When he stayed at the Chequers Inn at
Lenham in 1796 so he could vote in
the general election, curious locals took him for a
Turk. In January 1755
Mrs. Montagu wrote to their sister,
Sarah Scott: 'Brother Robinson is emulating the great
Diogenes and other ... doctors of the stoic fur; he flies the life of London and leads a life of such privacy and seriousness as looks to the beholder like wisdom', and in 1756 she reported that he now lived upon almost raw meat, never touched bread, considering corn exotic, and for the same reason substituted honey for sugar. ==Death==