Augusta Legge, Countess of Dartmouth (18 February 1822 – 1 December 1900), born Lady Augusta Finch, was an English philanthropist.
Brought up in
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
, she was the daughter of
Heneage Finch, 5th Earl of Aylesford
Heneage Finch, 5th Earl of Aylesford (24 April 1786 – 3 January 1859) was a British peer, the eldest son of Heneage Finch, 4th Earl of Aylesford.
He was styled Lord Guernsey until he succeeded his father in 1812.
Aylesford married in 1821 Augu ...
, and his wife, the former Lady Augusta Sophia Greville,
daughter of
George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick
George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick, FRS, FSA (16 September 1746 – 1816), styled Lord Greville until 1773, was a British nobleman and politician.
The eldest son of Francis Greville, 1st Earl Brooke (created Earl of Warwick in 1759), he was ...
.
She married
William Legge, 5th Earl of Dartmouth
William Walter Legge, 5th Earl of Dartmouth (12 August 1823 – 4 August 1891), styled Viscount Lewisham until 1853, was a British peer and Conservative politician.
Political career
Legge was elected in 1849 as Member of Parliament (MP) fo ...
, on 9 June 1846.
[ They had two sons, ]William Legge, 6th Earl of Dartmouth
William Heneage Legge, 6th Earl of Dartmouth, (6 May 1851 – 11 March 1936), styled Viscount Lewisham between 1853 and 1891, was a British peer and Conservative politician. He served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household between 1885 and 1886 ...
(1851–1936), and the Honourable Sir Henry Legge (1852–1924), and four daughters, who died unmarried.Sandwell
Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county in England. The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation. According to Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, t ...
, when she and her husband moved to Patshull Hall
Patshull Hall is a substantial Georgian architecture, Georgian mansion house situated near Pattingham in Staffordshire, England. It is a Grade I listed building and by repute is one of the largest listed buildings in the county.
History
The Hall w ...
, near Wolverhampton.[ Laetitia Frances Selwyn ran Sandwell School which was open to girls to train as domestic servants. By the time it closed in 1891 it had extended its range to governesses and even industrial jobs irrespective of gender.][A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 17, Offlow Hundred (Part)]
british-history.ac.uk, Retrieved 13 March 2017.
She became a widow and she dedicated herself to good works including founding a local Mother's Union
The Mothers' Union is an international Christian charity that seeks to support families worldwide. Its members are not all mothers or even all women, as there are many parents, men, widows, singles and grandparents involved in its work. Its main ai ...
and a home for orphan boys.[ She crossbred chickens to create the Andalusian Bantam.
She died at ]Woodsome Hall
Woodsome Hall is a 16th-century country house in the parish of Almondbury, near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It is now the clubhouse of Woodsome Hall Golf Club and a Grade I listed building.
Built in the Elizabethan era as a hall hous ...
near Huddersfield in 1900.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dartmouth, Augusta Legge, Countess of
1822 births
1900 deaths
English philanthropists
English women philanthropists
People from Warwickshire
British countesses
Daughters of British earls
19th-century British philanthropists
19th-century women philanthropists