Annie Pearson, Viscountess Cowdray,
GBE (''née'' Cass; 4 June 1860 – 15 April 1932) was an English society hostess,
suffragist
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
and philanthropist. She was nicknamed the "Fairy Godmother of Nursing" due to her financial patronage of the
Royal College of Nursing
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron until her death in 2022. ...
and her work to promote
district nursing
District Nurses work manage care within the community and lead teams of community nurses and support workers. The role requires registered nurses to take a NMC approved specialist practitioner course. Duties generally include visiting house-bound ...
throughout England and Scotland. She served as the President of the
Women's Liberal Federation
The Women's Liberal Federation was an organisation that was part of the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom.
History
The Women's Liberal Federation (WLF) was formed on the initiative of Sophia Fry, who in 1886 called a meeting at her house of fi ...
from 1921 until 1923 and was also the Honorary Treasurer of the Liberal Women's Suffrage Union. She was the only woman to hold the office of
High Steward of Colchester, serving from 1927 until her death in 1932.
Biography
Annie Pearson (née Cass) was born in
Bradford, West Yorkshire
Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a p ...
on 4 June 1860 to Sir John Cass, a merchant and landowner from
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
, and Hannah Gamble.
In 1881 she married
Weetman Pearson, a third generation
building contractor
A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...
and engineer who would run the global engineering firm Pearson and Sons, with major projects in England, Canada, the United States, Mexico, and the Sudan. In the early 1900's Pearson would become an oil magnate, initially with his company Mexican Eagle Oil in Veracruz, Tabasco, and Campeche on the Mexican Gulf Coast. He also owned silver mines in
Bolivia.
He was created a
baronet
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...
in 1894, raised to the peerage becoming Baron Cowdray in 1910, and
Viscount Cowdray
Viscount Cowdray, of Cowdray in the County of Sussex, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1917 for the industrialist Weetman Pearson, 1st Baron Cowdray, head of the Pearson conglomerate. He had already been creat ...
in 1917.
She and her husband donated Cowdray Hall to the city of
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
.
In 1919 they moved into
Dunecht House. The couple had four children:
Harold Pearson, 2nd Viscount Cowdray
Weetman Harold Miller Pearson, 2nd Viscount Cowdray, (18 April 1882 – 5 October 1933), styled The Honourable Harold Pearson between 1910 and 1927, was a British peer and Liberal Party politician.
Background
Cowdray was the son of Weetman Dic ...
, Bernard Clive Pearson, Francis Geoffrey Pearson, and
Gertrude Denman, Baroness Denman
Gertrude Mary Denman, Lady Denman, GBE (née Pearson; 7 November 18842 June 1954) was a British woman active in women's rights issues including the promotion of Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. She was also the wife of Lord Denman, the ...
. Her husband died in 1927.
Her daughter, Lady Denman, was influential in the development of
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
for women in rural areas.
Philanthropy
Lady Cowdray was a patron of nursing and was associated with the
Queen's Institute of District Nursing
The Queen's Nursing Institute (QNI) is a charity that works to improve the nursing care of people in their own homes in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It does not operate in Scotland, where the Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland performs ...
, establishing nursing services in rural parts of England and Scotland. She donated £100,000 to establish the Cowdray Hospital in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
. When the
Royal College of Nursing
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron until her death in 2022. ...
was established in 1916, Lady Cowdray became the Treasurer and Chairman of the Tribute Fund Committee for the Nation's Fund for Nurses, fundraising for the creation of a Benevolent Fund for Nurses and for the endowment of the Royal College of Nursing. In 1921 she funded the rebuilding along Henrietta Street in London for a headquarters for the Royal College of Nursing. She decided to create a social club for nurses and professional women, founding the
Cowdray Club in 1922.
[London Metropolitan Archives, ref: A/COW/87 - a memorial booklet written by Agnes L. Douglas, who was private secretary to Lady Cowdray 1920-1932.] She purchased a house on
Cavendish Square
Cavendish Square is a public garden square in Marylebone in the West End of London. It has a double-helix underground commercial car park. Its northern road forms ends of four streets: of Wigmore Street that runs to Portman Square in the much la ...
from
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...
, and his wife
Margot Asquith
Emma Margaret Asquith, Countess of Oxford and Asquith (' Tennant; 2 February 1864 – 28 July 1945), known as Margot Asquith, was a British socialite, author. She was married to H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1894 ...
, for the club's headquarters.
Political career
Lady Cowdray was a feminist and supporter of
Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom
A movement to fight for women's right to vote in the United Kingdom finally succeeded through acts of Parliament in 1918 and 1928. It became a national movement in the Victorian era. Women were not explicitly banned from voting in Great Britai ...
. She was a member of the
Women's Liberal Federation
The Women's Liberal Federation was an organisation that was part of the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom.
History
The Women's Liberal Federation (WLF) was formed on the initiative of Sophia Fry, who in 1886 called a meeting at her house of fi ...
, serving as president from 1921 until 1923. She also served as the Honorary Treasurer of the Liberal Women's Suffrage Union. She was an early and deeply supportive member of the
Women's Engineering Society
The Women's Engineering Society is a United Kingdom professional learned society and networking body for women engineers, scientists and technologists. It was the first professional body set up for women working in all areas of engineering, pred ...
.
Lady Cowdray served as a
burgess in Aberdeen.
She was elected by the
Borough of Colchester to succeed her husband as the
High Steward of Colchester. Her husband, Lord Cowdray, Weetman Pearson, also served fifteen years as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament from Colchester.
She is the only woman to have been High Steward of Colchester and held the office from 1927 until her death in 1932.
She suggested the idea of old age pensions to the British government around 1900, and the concept was eventually legislated. She also instituted a system of disability pensions in England initially provided at her own expense, which were also eventually adopted by the British government.
[Norris, H. C., "Most Pitiful Thing in the World", ''The Tacoma Daily Ledger'', Tacoma, Washington, pg. 61, 14 February 1926]
Personal life
Lady Cowdray was an avid art collector and patron of the arts. She commissioned the painting ''The Red Ruin'' by
James Pryde
James Ferrier Pryde (1866–1941) was a British artist. A number of his paintings are in public collections, but there have been few exhibitions of his work. He is principally remembered as one of the Beggarstaffs, his artistic partnership wi ...
. She was painted by
John Singer Sargent and
Sir William Orpen
Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, (27 November 1878 – 29 September 1931) was an Irish artist who worked mainly in London. Orpen was a fine draughtsman and a popular, commercially successful painter of portraits for the well-to-do i ...
.
In November 1931, a thief broke into Lady Cowdray's home and stole £8,000 worth of jewellery from her granddaughter, Joan Pearson.
Lady Cowdray's great-grandson
Iain Murray became the
10th Duke of Atholl. The duke's estate,
Blair Castle, was in financial ruin at the time he inherited it. To protect it from being sold off, Lady Cowdray paid off the bank debt and gifted a large sum of money to her granddaughter Angela Pearson, the duke's mother, to set up a The Blair Charitable Trust. Her financial contributions toward saving Blair Castle were covered on the
BBC Two documentary film ''The Last Dukes''.
She was made a
Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in January 1932.
The poet, broadcaster and socialite
Nadja Malacrida was her niece.
Death and legacy
![A Cowdray family grave at Echt - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/A_Cowdray_family_grave_at_Echt_-_geograph.org.uk_-_514974.jpg)
Lady Cowdray died on 15 April 1932 at the
Hôtel Ritz Paris
The Ritz Paris is a hotel in central Paris, overlooking the Place Vendôme in the city's 1st arrondissement. A member of the Leading Hotels of the World marketing group, the Ritz Paris is ranked among the most luxurious hotels in the world.
T ...
.
On 2 June 1934,
Queen Mary received £6,054 () for the establishment of a memorial fund for Lady Cowdray.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowdray, Annie Pearson, Viscountess
1860 births
1932 deaths
Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
British viscountesses
English suffragists
English feminists
English art patrons
English philanthropists
English women philanthropists
English socialites
Annie
Royal College of Nursing
Politicians from Bradford
Women's Engineering Society
Wives of knights