Lord Seb Coe, the man behind the amazing 2012 London Games, has given his Olympic torch to Burghley House. It will be displayed alongside the 1948 torch of Olympic gold-medal hurdler Lord Burghley in the Olympic exhibition next year.
Lord Coe welcomed the torch as it changed hands in front of the house, home to Lord Burghley – the man who was effectively the Seb Coe of his day for the last London Games 64 years ago – in July. The 2012 games supremo also carried the torch in his hometown of Sheffield and, like all runners who took part in the nationwide relay, he got to keep it as a memento.
Miranda Rock, director of Burghley House, near Stamford in Lincolnshire, said: “We’re so grateful to Lord Coe for his very gracious gift which will add a special bit of sporting history to Burghley’s remarkable collection. It has been a pleasure this year seeing so many visitors appreciating my grandfather’s sporting legacy thanks to the wonderful exhibits in our Olympics exhibition, including the torch from the 1948 London Games.
“Welcoming the 2012 torch to Burghley in the summer was among our highlights of the year. Now his gift of his own Olympic torch will mean visitors to the house next year will be able to see even more Olympic history in this very special place.”
Hurdler David Cecil, Lord Burghley, who inherited the title of Marquess of Exeter from his father in 1956, was one of the golden athletes of his generation, winning gold for the 400 metres hurdles at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics and silver in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics 4×400 metre relay.
Once he retired from active sport, he worked hard for amateur ideals within the Olympic movement. As President of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, Chairman of the British Olympic Association and a member of the International Olympic Committee, he was instrumental in bringing the Olympic Games to England in 1948 and organising them.
Lord Burghley was also the inspiration behind one of the key characters in the movie Chariots of Fire, played by Nigel Havers. A famous scene was also inspired by one of the Lord’s feats – the race around the Great Court at Trinity College, Cambridge, when he became the only person to sprint around the courtyard before the college clock tolled 12 times.
For full details of 2013 opening times and prices visit www.burghley.co.uk
