hobbitomm

Who was....

1) The first Duke of St Albans (c 1680)?
2) The only man on either side who could lose the War in an afternoon?
3) Owner of a chain of model shops? Or is coffee preferable to other hot beverages?
4) Hairoun (‘Land of the Blessed’), or the patron of Valencia, vinters and brickmakers?
5) Famously banned from the Bluewater shopping centre, but more popular at Universities.
6) Perhaps Father Christmas to Tom Cruise’s ex?
7) Duck! Oh no. He’s male!
8) Perhaps another duck (1986), or perhaps a comment of surprise at the level of force in a semi cockney?
9) The villain of Much Ado about Nothing. Or perhaps a castle component?
10) Originally synonymous with cake, but asked to be renamed (transliterated?), in order to sound more British.

And what links them?