Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, Baroness Burdett-Coutts from NPG

Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts (21 April 1814 – 30 December 1906), born Angela Georgina Burdett, was a British philanthropist, the daughter of Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet and Sophia, formerly Coutts, daughter of banker

Thomas Coutts Thomas Coutts (7 September 1735 – 24 February 1822) was a British banker. He was a founder of the banking house Coutts, Coutts & Co. Early life Coutts was the fourth son of Jean (née Steuart) Coutts and John Coutts (merchant), John Coutts (1 ...

. In 1837 she became one of the wealthiest women in England when she inherited her grandfather's fortune of around £1.8 million () following the death of her stepgrandmother, Harriot Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans. She joined the surnames of her father and grandfather, by

royal licence Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

, to become Burdett-Coutts.

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...

is reported to have described her as, " ter my mother, the most remarkable woman in the kingdom."

Life

Miss Burdett Coutts - DPLA - dc7d1015b137134e9320b56f01eb04ed (page 1)

Burdett-Coutts was widely known as "the richest heiress in England". She was a collector of paintings, including Old Masters. Among the contemporary paintings she purchased was

Robert Scott Lauder Robert Scott Lauder (25 June 1803 – 21 April 1869) was a Scottish artist who described himself as a "historical painter". He was one of the original members of the Royal Scottish Academy. Life and work Lauder was born at Silvermills, E ...

's ''Christ Walking on the Sea''. The Reverend Richard Harris Barham, in a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

(part of the ''

Ingoldsby Legends ''The Ingoldsby Legends'' (full title: ''The Ingoldsby Legends, or Mirth and Marvels'') is a collection of myths, legends, ghost stories and poetry written supposedly by Thomas Ingoldsby of Tappington Manor, actually a pen-name of an English cle ...

'') he wrote under the pen name "Thomas Ingoldsby" for

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

's coronation, referred to her as "Miss Anja-ly Coutts". She became a subject of public curiosity, receiving numerous offers of marriage. She inherited the country house at

Holly Lodge Estate The Holly Lodge Estate is a housing estate in Highgate, north London. Early history Holly Lodge Estate is located on the site and grounds of a house built in 1798 by Sir Henry Tempest on the south-facing slopes of Highgate, London adjacen ...

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisat ...

, which was then just outside London, where she was famous for holding receptions. Burdett-Coutts spent part of each year at Ehrenberg Hall in Torquay with her former governess and later companion Hannah Brown, to whom she was devoted. When Brown died in 1878, Burdett-Coutts wrote to a friend that she was utterly crushed by the loss of "my poor darling, the companion and sunshine of my life for 52 years". She was a friend of both

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

and

the Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

, and she proposed marriage to the Duke despite the great disparity in their ages. Three years later, when she was 67, she shocked polite society by marrying her 29-year-old secretary, the American-born William Lehman Ashmead Bartlett, who became MP for

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

on 12 February 1881. Her new husband changed his surname to Burdett-Coutts. Because of her husband's American birth a clause in her stepgrandmother's will forbidding her heir to marry a foreign national was invoked and Burdett-Coutts forfeited three-fifths of her income to her sister.

Philanthropy

Burdett-Coutts spent the majority of her wealth on scholarships, endowments, and a wide range of philanthropic causes. One of her earliest philanthropic acts was to co-found (with

) a home for young women who had "turned to a life of immorality", including theft and prostitution. The home was known as Urania Cottage. She avoided taking sides in partisan politics, but was actively interested in improving the condition of indigenous Africans, or the education and relief of the poor or suffering in any part of the world. Though she made no special distinction of creed in her charities, Burdett-Coutts was a notable benefactor of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

, building two churches – including

St Stephen's Church, Rochester Row The Church of St Stephen in Rochester Row, London, is a grade II* listed building. The architect was Benjamin Ferrey and the foundation stone was laid on 20 July 1847. The completed church was consecrated with great ceremony on 24 June 1850, the ...

, Westminster – and endowing church schools. As executor of the will of the Reverend

Chauncy Hare Townshend Chauncy Hare Townshend, whose surname was spelt by his parents as Townsend (20 April 1798, Godalming, Surrey – 25 February 1868), was a 19th-century English poet, clergyman, mesmerist, collector, dilettante and hypochondriac. He is mostly r ...

(the author of several volumes of poetry), she, with the Rev. Thomas Helmore (also a poet), used money from Townshend's estate to build a primary school in

, known as Burdett-Coutts & Townshend Foundation Church of England Primary School. She endowed the bishoprics of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

and

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

(1847), and the founding bishopric of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

(1857). The granite

Greyfriars Bobby Fountain The Greyfriars Bobby Fountain is a granite fountain in Edinburgh, surmounted by a bronze life-size statue of Greyfriars Bobby, a Skye Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for supposedly spending 14 years guarding the grave of hi ...

in Edinburgh, with a bronze statue of

Greyfriars Bobby Greyfriars Bobby (4 May 1855 – 14 January 1872) was a Skye Terrier or Dandie Dinmont Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died on 14 January 1872. The story continu ...

, was erected by Baroness Burdett-Coutts. in 1884, she was a co-founder of the London Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which became the

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity. History Victorian era On a trip to New York in 1881, Liverpudlian businessman Thomas Agnew was inspired by a visit to the New Yor ...

(NSPCC) in 1889; she also founded the

Westminster Technical Institute The Westminster School of Art was an art school in Westminster, London. History The Westminster School of Art was located at 18 Tufton Street, Deans Yard, Westminster, and was part of the old Royal Architectural Museum. H. M. Bateman describe ...

in 1893, and was closely involved with the

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

(RSPCA). In 1864, she financed the

Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem The Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem of 1864–65 was the first scientific Cartography of Jerusalem, mapping of Jerusalem, and the first Ordnance Survey to take place outside the United Kingdom. It was undertaken by Charles William Wilson, a 28-year-o ...

; the primary goal of the endeavour was to find better drinking water for those living in the city. During this work (1864–1865), the group, led by

Charles William Wilson Lieutenant-General Sir Charles William Wilson, KCB, KCMG, FRS (14 March 1836 – 25 October 1905) was a British Army officer, geographer and archaeologist. Early life and career He was born in Liverpool on 14 March 1836. He was educated at ...

, was able to produce the most accurate and comprehensive map of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

but was unable to find a new source of water. ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper ...

'' commented that "Charles Wilson’s work on the Jerusalem Ordnance Survey served as the basis for all future Jerusalem research". Burdett-Coutts subsequently helped fund other explorations in the Holy Land, sometimes in conjunction with the Palestinian Exploration Fund. This effort included a subsequent offer to fund another exploration to find water for Jerusalem, to be led by

Charles Warren General Sir Charles Warren, (7 February 1840 – 21 January 1927) was an officer in the British Royal Engineers. He was one of the earliest European archaeologists of the Biblical Holy Land, and particularly of the Temple Mount. Much of his mi ...

. Burdett-Coutts founded

Columbia Market Columbia Road Flower Market is a street market in Bethnal Green in London, England. Columbia Road is a road of Victorian era, Victorian shops situated off Hackney Road in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The market is open on Sundays only. ...

in 1869, in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By ...

in the East End of London, the district where much of her work was carried out. With her project in Columbia Square she became a pioneer in

social housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...

. Through her support of missionary and nursing efforts she was associated with Louisa Twining and Florence Nightingale. Her small housing development, Holly Village, on the corner of what was then her estate, is now in private hands and may still be seen in Highgate. She was also the president of the British Goat Society.

Selected other roles and projects

* President, British Beekeepers Association 1878–1906 * President of the Ladies Committee of the RSPCA (England/Scotland) * Church bells for St Paul's Cathedral * Cotton gins for

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

* Only female Patron of Queen's Medical College, Birmingham. * Construction of the Angela Burdett-Coutts retail and wholesale produce market, which opened in 1869 * The

Baroness Burdett Coutts Drinking Fountain The Baroness Burdett Coutts Drinking Fountain (also known as the Victoria Fountain) is a Grade II* listed drinking fountain situated in Victoria Park, London. History The fountain was designed in 1862 by Henry Astley Darbsihire and erected by ...

in Victoria Park * Drinking fountains for dogs * Help for Turkish peasants and the refugees of the 1877 Russo-Turkish War, receiving the

Order of the Medjidiyeh Order of the Medjidie ( ota, نشانِ مجیدی, August 29, 1852 – 1922) is a military and civilian order of the Ottoman Empire. The Order was instituted in 1851 by Sultan Abdulmejid I. History Instituted in 1851, the Order was awarded in fi ...

* Housing schemes for the working-class along the lines of contemporary model dwellings companies * The London Ragged School Union * A sewing school for women in Spitalfields, when the silk trade declined * Support organisations for the aboriginal peoples of Australia and for the Dayaks of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

* Promotion of the fishing industry in Ireland by helping to start schools and provide boats; she also advanced £250,000 in 1880 for supplying seed potatoes to the impoverished tenants * Placement of hundreds of destitute boys in training ships for the navy and merchant service * Financing the first ordnance survey of

in 1864, to improve its sanitation * Supporter of the

British Horological Institute The British Horological Institute (BHI) is the representative body of the horological industry in the United Kingdom. It was founded by a group of clockmakers in 1858, and has its current premises at Upton Hall in Nottinghamshire, which include ...

* Supporter of the Cotton Supply Association and contributed £500 in 1870 to the organisation * Purchased more than 100 Greek manuscripts (

532 __NOTOC__ Year 532 ( DXXXII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Second year after the Consulship of Lampadius and Probus (or, less frequently, y ...

546 __NOTOC__ Year 546 ( DXLVI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 546 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

) from Janina (Epirus) in 1864, transported them to England between 1870 and 1872, and presented them to Sir Roger Cholmeley's School, Highgate School. * The Burdett-Coutts Memorial Sundial, commissioned for St Pancras Old Church, listing the names of many people whose bodies had been dug up from the churchyard to make space for the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

Honours

In 1871, in recognition of her philanthropic work,

conferred on her a

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

peerage as Baroness Burdett-Coutts of Highgate and Brookfield in the County of Middlesex. On 18 July 1872 she became the first woman to be presented with the Freedom of the City of London at the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

, and in 1874 she became

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

's first woman Freeman and was also presented with the Freedom of that city.

Death

Lady Burdett-Coutts died of acute bronchitis at her home on Stratton Street, Piccadilly. By the time of her death she had given more than £3 million to good causes. Nearly 30,000 people filed past her coffin before she was buried on 5 January 1907 near the West Door in the nave of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

. She left no issue and the barony became extinct on her death. Preparations had been made to inter her ashes, but on the day of her funeral, Westminster Abbey unexpectedly received her uncremated body and was forced to bury her standing up. A portrait of her is included in the mural of heroic women by Walter P. Starmer unveiled in 1921 in the church of St Jude-on-the-Hill in Hampstead Garden Suburb, London.

Legacy

dedicated his novel ''

Martin Chuzzlewit ''The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit'' (commonly known as ''Martin Chuzzlewit'') is a novel by Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialised between 1842 and 1844. While he was writing it ...

'' to her and she had many royal and eminent friends. The book '' Flashman's Lady'' by

George MacDonald Fraser George MacDonald Fraser (2 April 1925 – 2 January 2008) was a British author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Flashman. Biography Fraser was born to Scottish parents in Carlisle, England, ...

makes reference to her (fictional) love for

James Brooke Sir James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak (29 April 1803 – 11 June 1868), was a British soldier and adventurer who founded the Raj of Sarawak in Borneo. He ruled as the first White Rajah of Sarawak from 1841 until his death in 1868. Brooke was b ...

(The White Rajah), and his rejection of her due to his physical affliction. She also puts a lecherous Flashman firmly in his place by dislocating his thumb. Angela Burdett-Coutts also features in

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his '' Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first no ...

's novel '' Dodger''; in an afterword, he states that part of his reason for writing the book was to bring Burdett-Coutts to the attention of modern readers.

George Meredith George Meredith (12 February 1828 – 18 May 1909) was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. At first his focus was poetry, influenced by John Keats among others, but he gradually established a reputation as a novelist. '' The Ord ...

wrote a poem, 'Angela Burdett-Coutts', in her memory.

References

External links

Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts
at the

Victorian Web The Victorian Web is a hypertext project derived from hypermedia environments, Intermedia and Storyspace, that anticipated the World Wide Web. Initially created between 1988 and 1990 with 1,500 documents, it grew to 50,000 in the 21st century. In c ...

Article on Angela Burdett-Coutts
from Anglicans Online * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burdett-Coutts, Angela Georgina 1814 births 1906 deaths Deaths from respiratory failure Philanthropists from London Women philanthropists English art collectors Women art collectors Burials at Westminster Abbey Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Ernle family Women of the Victorian era Daughters of baronets National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children people Hereditary peeresses created by Queen Victoria