Mycroft the Enigma Part 2 - Holmes Family Fortunes

[wellingtongoose]

 A genuinely brilliant ask from Annoymous that I managed to delete by accident: “How rich do you think Mycroft Holmes is?”

I delve into the Holmes Family background, explore the Holmes ancestral mansion (as seen in ASiB) and a history of the gentry. I speculate as to Mycroft's professional salary and where his wealth comes from.

Comments

[shezan]

It's entirely possible the house we see is a grace and favour residence that comes from the need to have one of the security services heads available day and night. I never believed it was actually Mycroft's private home.

[wellingtongoose]

It's very unlikely that an security service/MI5 safehouse is going to be quite as conspicuous as the mansion we see Mycroft Holmes in. The security services do not provide a "second home allowance" or actual grace residents to their employees. Only MPs get a second home allowance in London.

Like another government employees who are needed day and night e.g. doctors, Mycroft would be expected to find his own accommodation within a certain travel radius (usually 40 minutes).

Also there are very few buildings of that architectural period in the centre of London, mostly because much of medieval/late Tudor London was destroyed in the great fire. Therefore it is more likely the house is in the suburbs or outskirts of modern day London. Mycroft has no reason to go there so far from where he official works in the Whitehall, unless that is actually his family home.

[shezan]

If Mycroft is the Permanent Secretary of the JIC, he may well rate grace-and-favour apartments in Whitehall, chunks of which happen to be Tudor. Certainly a number of the Admiralty chiefs have something similar.

(A safehouse would not be appropriate; these are for operational use only, and indeed likely to be unconspicuous, not to mention rather grotty most of the time.)

[wellingtongoose]

Hi thanks for the reply: my reply is going to be very pedantic

That Mood Inigo

[shezan]

1. "Inigo" Jones.
2. Permanent Secretary.

Re: That Mood Inigo

[wellingtongoose]

Haha, yes it's Inigo Jones, forgive the typo. "permanent secretary" I am told is just one of several titles held by the chairman of the JIC.

Permanent whatever

[shezan]

Only if you think a political appointee is the same as a civil servant...

Re: Permanent whatever

[wellingtongoose]

there not much difference in case of the JIC chairman, it's always a senior civil servant who is appointed for political reasons.