Peter Labilliere

Peter Labilliere (1725–1800), also known as Peter Labelliere, was a British Army Major who is notable for being buried upside down on Box Hill near Dorking in Surrey.

Biography

Labilliere was born in Dublin on 30 May 1725 to a family of French Huguenot descent (his family was from Aulas, in the Gard department). He joined the British Army at the age of 14, becoming a major in 1760. After leaving the army he became a political agitator and was accused in 1775 of bribing British troops not to fight in the American War of Independence, although he was never tried for treason. Throughout the 1770s and 80s Labiliere corresponded regularly with both Benjamin Franklin (at that time the American representative in France) and the Long Island wax sculptor Patience Wright. The effect of his anti-war protests on British public sentiment is uncertain, although he appears to have attracted a following of over 700 like-minded adherents, and the army was required to rely on German mercenaries, as recruitment of British troops for the war became increasingly difficult.

Labilliere moved to Dorking from Chiswick in around 1789, living in a small cottage called "The Hole in the Wall," on Butter Hill, and often visiting Box Hill to meditate. With old age he became increasingly eccentric and neglected his own personal hygiene to such an extent that he acquired the nickname "the walking dung-hill".

Labilliere died on 6 June 1800. In accordance with his wishes he was buried head downwards, on 10 or 11 June on the western side of Box Hill above The Whites.