| ALTHORP | Ancestral Northamptonshire seat of the Spencer family for some 500 years including its ninth earl, Charles, younger brother of Diana, Princess of Wales (7) |
| KNEBWORTH | Village in Hertfordshire, site of a Gothic Revival house that was the seat of the Lytton family, including writer Edward, for some 500 years (9) |
| DALE | And ___ Head cottage, where the Spencer family reside in the Dales (4) |
| NORTHANTS | Althorp House, the Spencer family home is in this county (abbrev.) (9) |
| MICHELANGELO | Master of Renaissance art whose largest "canvas", as commissioned by Pope Julius II, was the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which he painted in biblical scenes over four years, including The Creation |
| SCHUBERT | Composer of some 1000 pieces in his 31 years including Trout Quintet, Winter Journey and over 600 lieder (8) |
| AGERANGE | Span of years, including end of life in a country house |
| LIFELINE | Cat past fifty-one - is it making use of its ninth? |
| COLDFEET | ITV drama with Hermione Norris, now in its ninth series (4,4) |
| ISLAMABAD | City that's Pakistan's capital (and yet only its ninth-most populous city!) |
| LABYRINTHINE | Manoeuvre by ninth earl to acquire island complex (12) |
| HINTERLAND | Departs with ninth earl to ramble in remote area |
| BANTU | Group of some 500 languages of Africa including Shona and Xhosa (5) |
| WHEAT | Cereal grass furnishing flour for bread etc about 100 years ago there were some 500 varieties of this in Mallorca. but just one is dominant (5) |
| STEVEWINWOOD | Singer who was part of the bands Traffic and the Spencer Davis Group: 2 wds. |
| IMAMAN | Hit for Fabian, the Yardbirds, Bo Diddley, and the Spencer Davis Group |
| FARM | From a Latin word originally used to denote a tax or rent, a tract of land for the cultivation of crops or rearing of livestock, including its associated barns and homestead (4) |
| RUSTBELT | Term for the declining industrial heartland of the U.S. Midwest, including its steel-producing towns (4,4) |
| SPENCER | Charles _, 9th Earl _, the uncle of William, Prince of Wales (7) |
| GREENLANDSHARK | Creature inhabiting Arctic waters noted for its long life span of up to 500 years (9,5) |
