Jean Cherry Drummond of Megginch, 16th Baroness Strange (

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, 17 December 1928 –

Megginch Castle Megginch Castle is a 15th-century castle in Perth and Kinross, in central Scotland. It was the family home of Cherry, 16th Baroness Strange. It is now lived in by Lady Strange's daughter, Catherine Drummond-Herdman, her husband and four childre ...

, 11 March 2005) was a cross bench hereditary peer in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. She also wrote romantic novels and historical works.

Personal life

Strange was educated at

Oxenfoord Castle boarding school Oxenfoord Castle School was a girls' private boarding school, based at Oxenfoord Castle, Pathhead, Midlothian, near Edinburgh in Scotland. The school was founded in 1931 and closed in 1993. It was founded by Lady Marjorie Dalrymple, sister of ...

near

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

, at

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

(where she read English and history) and at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. She married Humphrey Evans, MC, a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the

Mountain Artillery Mountain guns are artillery pieces designed for use in mountain warfare and areas where usual wheeled transport is not possible. They are generally capable of being taken apart to make smaller loads for transport by horses, humans, mules, tractor ...

, in 1952. They both assumed the surname Drummond of Megginch when they moved to Megginch Castle. The couple had three sons and three daughters: * Adam Humphrey Drummond, 17th Baron Strange (b. 1953) *

Hon Hon or HON may refer to: People * Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon * Louis Hon (1924–2008), French footballer * Priscilla Hon (born 1998), Australian tennis player Other uses * Hon (Baltimore), a cultural stereotype of ...

Charlotte Cherry Drummond (b. 1955) * Hon Humphrey John Jardine Drummond (b. 1961) * Hon Amelie Margaret Mary Drummond (b. 1963) : married in 1990 with

Philippe de MacMahon, 4th Duc de Magenta Philippe is a masculine sometimes feminin given name, cognate to Philip. It may refer to: * Philippe of Belgium (born 1960), King of the Belgians (2013–present) * Philippe (footballer) (born 2000), Brazilian footballer * Prince Philippe, Coun ...

* Hon John Humphrey Hugo Drummond (b. 1966) * Hon Catherine Star Violetta Drummond (b. 1967) In April 2006 it emerged that Lady Strange had changed her

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

on her deathbed, leaving her entire estate to her youngest daughter Catherine, cutting out her other five children. The actress

Geraldine Somerville Geraldine Margaret Agnew-Somerville (born 19 May 1967) is an Irish actress. She is known for her roles in the film ''Gosford Park'' (2001) and the ''Harry Potter'' film series (2001–2011). Her other roles have included ''My Week with Marily ...

is her niece.

Title

Although the family home is the 17th century

in Perthshire, Scotland, the family title,

Baron Strange Baron Strange is a title which has been created four times in the Peerage of England. Two creations, one in 1295 and another in 1326, had only one holder each, upon whose deaths they became extinct. Two of the creations, that of 1299 and that ...

, is in the English peerage. Her father,

John Drummond, 15th Baron Strange John Drummond, 10th of Megginch, 15th Baron Strange (6 May 1900 – 13 April 1982), was Chief of the Baronial House and Branch of Drummond of Concraig and Lennoch within the clan Drummond and Baron of Megginch. Educated at Eton College, he becam ...

, had spent many years attempting to terminate an abeyance that arose on the death of the Duke of Atholl in 1957; he was confirmed in the title in 1965. The title went into abeyance once again on his death in 1982, but it was terminated in Cherry's favour in 1986, and she made her maiden speech on 4 March 1987. Upon the Baroness's death the title was inherited by her eldest son, Adam.

Politics and public life

She held traditional

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

views, but resigned the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

whip in December 1998 when

William Hague William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

dismissed Lord Cranborne for negotiating with Tony Blair on reform of the House of Lords. Following reforms which reduced the number of hereditary peers who were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, her 1999

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

to be elected to occupy one of the remaining seats (limited to 75 words) was "I bring flowers every week to this House from my castle in Perthshire." She was elected to fill a cross bench seat. She was President of the

War Widows Association of Great Britain War Widows’ Association of Great Britain is an advocacy group for widows and widowers of British military personnel killed in action or from injuries attributable to their Service. It was founded in 1971 to persuade the British government to mak ...

from 1990.

Writing

Strange wrote several

romantic novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Pre ...

s under the pen name "Cherry Evans", including ''Love From Belinda'' (1960), ''Lalage in Love'' (1962), ''Creatures Great and Small'' (1968) and ''Love Is For Ever'' (1988). As Cherry Drummond, she also wrote ''The Remarkable Life of Victoria Drummond - Marine Engineer'',Steeman, Elizabeth (Editor) (15 October 2001) ''The International Who's Who of Women'', Routlidge, Page 550, , a

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

of an intrepid aunt,

Victoria Drummond Victoria Alexandrina Drummond MBE (14 October 1894 – 25 December 1978), was the first woman marine engineer in the UK and the first woman member of Institute of Marine Engineers. In World War II she served at sea as an engineering officer in t ...

, a

goddaughter In infant baptism and denominations of Christianity, a godparent (also known as a sponsor, or '' gossiprede'') is someone who bears witness to a child's christening and later is willing to help in their catechesis, as well as their lifelon ...

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 ...

who was an engineer for 40 years from 1922, including with the

Blue Funnel Line Alfred Holt and Company, trading as Blue Funnel Line, was a UK shipping company that was founded in 1866 and operated merchant ships for 122 years. It was one of the UK's larger shipowning and operating companies, and as such had a significan ...

References

Obituary from
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The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

''
Obituary from
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The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''
Obituary from
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The Courier (Dundee) ''The Courier'' (known as ''The Courier & Advertiser'' between 1926 and 2012) is a newspaper published by DC Thomson in Dundee, Scotland. As of 2013, it is printed in six regional editions: Dundee, Angus & The Mearns, Fife, West Fife, Per ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Strange, Cherry Drummond, 16th Baroness Strange, Jean Drummond, 16th Baroness Strange, Jean Drummond, 16th Baroness Strange, Jean Drummond, 16th Baroness Strange, Jean Drummond, 16th Baroness Strange, Jean Drummond, 16th Baroness Hereditary women peers Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers 20th-century Scottish novelists 20th-century biographers Crossbench hereditary peers 20th-century British women politicians Barons Strange 20th-century English nobility Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act 1999