Newdigate, Francis Parker (1774-1862)

Francis Parker Newdigate inherited Arbury Hall and its vast surrounding property, for whom George Eliot's father, Robert Evans, was the estate manager. George Eliot was born at South Farm and raised at Griff, both properties that were part of the Newdigate estate. There was a congenial relationship between the Newdigate family and Robert Evans, whose precocious daughter George Eliot was given access to the library at Arbury Hall. Some critics have noted similarities between the Newdigate family and Eliot’s novels Felix Holt, the Radical and Adam Bede.