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Bayons Manor at Tealby, Lincs. was once owned by Charles Tennyson, later Tennyson d'Eyncourt, the uncle of Alfred Lord Tennyson. The estate was purchased by Reginald William Drakes (1894-1969) in 1944. He was a local farmer, who bought it primarily for the farmland, as the house was already derelict and becoming dangerous. Sadly, due its dangerous condition, a subsequent owner had it demolished in 1964 by Thomas Walkley & Son Explosives Ltd.

The 1960s was a period when a great deal of England's history was sadly lost. It was only 19 years after the end of World War II and people were looking forward to a bright and more 'modern' future. Many large houses were sold off, the estates frequently being broken up into smaller plots of land. There just wasn't the money or interest to preserve our heritage. Though this was a 'Victorian folly' created around an earlier and much smaller home, it was an inestimable loss to the Nation, the village of Tealby and the Lincolnshire Wolds. It would have become a great tourist attraction, and would have been of considerable benefit to the local economy, had English Heritage or The National Trust taken it over, apart from being a beautiful building and estate. It was a extremely rare example of a Victorian Stately home in the style of a moated castle.