A popular pub with members of the Leicestershire Footpath Association is the General Elliott at Willoughby Waterleys. There are some good walks in the area and the Leicestershire Round passes through the village. Who was this General Elliott and why does he have a pub named after him?
There are numerous pubs named the Marquis of Granby (the title used by the eldest son of the Dukes of Rutland). It is said that some time back because a Marquis gave a helping hand to men from his regiment to set up a public house, in appreciation they named the house after the benefactor.
A similar story may have been lost to explain General Elliott because there are again many pubs across the country with the name but also what isn’t explained is why most pubs are General Elliott when the family named is spelt Eliott?
Wikipedia is clear “George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield”
The National Portrait Gallery says “George Augustus Eliott, 1st Baron Heathfield (1717-1790), General; defender of Gibraltar Sitter in 14 portraits. The army officer George Eliott served with distinction during the Seven Years War. He fought in a series of battles in Germany between 1759 and 1761 before participating in the capture of Havana, Cuba in 1762. Eliott later served as the Governor of Gibraltar and was renowned for withstanding a sustained assault by French and Spanish forces during the Siege of Gibraltar from 1779 to 1783.
Can anyone offer an explanation?