Company promoter, newspaper proprietor, would-be politician Horatio Bottomley

bottomley s country home, dicker , photographed in 2010. forms part of st bede s school.

as wealth increased, bottomley adopted increasingly ostentatious lifestyle. in london lived in luxurious apartment in pall mall. took numerous mistresses, whom visited in several discreet flats in different districts of london. owned several racehorses, achieved prestigious victories—the stewards cup @ goodwood, , cesarewitch @ newmarket—but lost large sums through unwise bets. quite in rise wealth bought modest property in upper dicker, near eastbourne in east sussex. called dicker , , on years extended , developed large country mansion, entertained extravagantly.

bottomley had retained parliamentary ambitions , in 1890, before hansard union crash, had been adopted liberal candidate north islington. according symons, when resigned candidature on commencement of bankruptcy proceedings, had constituency in pocket. 1900 star again in ascendant, , invited hackney south liberals candidate in year s general election. lost 280 votes, after bitterly fought campaign in bottomley described in newspaper article bare-faced swindler ... [whose] ... place @ old bailey, not @ westminster . subsequently awarded £1,000 libel damages against writer, henry hess.

by turn of 19th–20th centuries boom in speculative shares had abated; of bottomley s fellow promoters, such whitaker wright, facing charges of fraud , misrepresentation. bottomley ceased operations, , resumed earlier role of newspaper proprietor. in 1902 bought failing london evening paper, sun, contributed regular column, world, flesh , devil . feature bottomley s employment of celebrity guest editors special edition; among these comedian dan leno, cricketer kumar shri ranjitsinhji , labour leader ben tillett. paper not financial success, , bottomley sold in 1904. had not given altogether on speculative money-making schemes, , in 1905 began association financier ernest hooley. among joint enterprises promotion of defunct, dry basingstoke canal major inland waterway, london , south-western canal . bottomley later made substantial out-of-court settlement of action brought investors had bought worthless shares in canal.

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