Christian Mary McEwen,

Dowager A dowager is a widow or widower who holds a title or property—a "dower"—derived from her or his deceased spouse. As an adjective, ''dowager'' usually appears in association with monarchy, monarchical and aristocracy, aristocratic Title#Aristocr ...

Lady Hesketh, OBE, DL (17 July 1929,

Marchmont House Marchmont House lies on the east side of the small village of Greenlaw, and near to a church in Polwarth in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is about five miles (8 km) south west of Duns, about west of Berwick-upo ...

Greenlaw Greenlaw is a town and civil parish situated in the foothills of the Lammermuir Hills on Blackadder Water at the junction of the A697 and the A6105 in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of ...

Berwickshire Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of th ...

, Scotland – 7 April 2006, London) was a British politician, journalist and educationist.

Early life

Christian McEwen was born on 17 July 1929 at

, Scotland. She was the only daughter of Captain Sir John Helias Finnie McEwen, MP, and his wife, Brigid Mary (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Lindley). Her brother was Rory McEwen (1932–1982), the artist. She was brought up a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and educated at

St Mary's School, Ascot St Mary's School Ascot is a Roman Catholic independent day and boarding school for girls in Ascot, Berkshire, England.2011 ISI InspectioReport/ref> It is a member of the Girls' Schools Association. It was named 2015 " Public School of the Yea ...

Public service

From 1952–1983, she was county organiser for the

WRVS The Royal Voluntary Service (known as the Women's Voluntary Services (WVS) from 1938 to 1966; Women's Royal Voluntary Service (WRVS) from 1966 to 2004 and WRVS from 2004 to 2013) is a voluntary organisation concerned with helping people in need ...

and a member of the Arts Council from 1960 to 1963. She wrote several works of history and obtained a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

with a thesis published in 1999, ''The Political Opposition to the Government of Charles I in Scotland''. She was a part-time journalist including

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

correspondent of

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

for a while. In 1981, Lady Hesketh was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Northamptonshire (as her husband had also been) and also served as High Sheriff in 1981. She was awarded the OBE in 1984. Lady Hesketh was a chairman of

Daventry Daventry ( , historically ) is a market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority in Northamptonshire, England, close to the border with Warwickshire. At the 2021 Census Daventry had a population of 28,123, making ...

Conservative Association A Conservative Association (CA) is a local organisation composed of Conservative Party members in the United Kingdom. Every association varies in membership size but all correspond to a parliamentary constituency in England, Wales, Scotland and No ...

and also became a

County Councillor A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

for Northamptonshire from 1989-1993, and Daventry District Councillor with special interest in education. She was chairman of the Governors of the

Sponne School Sponne School in Towcester, Northamptonshire, England, is the oldest secondary school in Northamptonshire, and one of the oldest in the country. Part of the school was originally Towcester Grammar School, until Grammar schools were abolished i ...

Towcester Towcester ( ) is an affluent market town in Northamptonshire, England. It currently lies in West Northamptonshire but was the former administrative headquarters of the South Northamptonshire district council. Towcester is one of the oldest ...

Personal life

On 22 November 1949, she married

Frederick Fermor-Hesketh, 2nd Baron Hesketh Frederick Fermor-Hesketh, 2nd Baron Hesketh DL (8 April 1916 – 10 June 1955), was a British peer and soldier. Background and education Hesketh was the son of Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron Hesketh, and Florence Louise Breckinridge, of Kentuck ...

(1916–1955). Lord Hesketh was the son of

Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron Hesketh Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 1st Baron Hesketh (17 November 1881 – 20 July 1944), known as Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, Bt, from 1924 to 1935, was a British peer, soldier and Conservative Member of Parliament. Early life Hesketh was the son of Sir Th ...

and the former Florence Louise Breckinridge (a granddaughter of the former American Vice President

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

). They had three sons (a fourth son was

stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term i ...

soon after her husband's death.): *

Alexander Fermor-Hesketh, 3rd Baron Hesketh Thomas Alexander Fermor-Hesketh, 3rd Baron Hesketh, KBE, PC (born 28 October 1950) is a British peer and UK Independence Party politician. Early life Hesketh succeeded in the barony (and baronetcy) on 6 October 1955, aged four, when his fath ...

(b. 1950), who married Hon. Claire Georgina Watson, a daughter of

Rupert Watson, 3rd Baron Manton (Joseph) Rupert Eric Robert Watson, 3rd Baron Manton (22 January 1924 – 8 August 2003), DL, of Houghton Hall in the parish of Sancton, Yorkshire, was a British soldier, landowner and racehorse owner who served as Senior Steward of the Jockey ...

. * Robert Fermor-Hesketh (1951–1997), who was killed in a car accident * John Fermor-Hesketh (1953–2008Johnny Hesketh obituary in The Telegraph
/ref>) After her husband's early death, which left her a widow at the age of 25 with three young sons, she took charge of the family house and estate of

Easton Neston Easton Neston is situated in south Northamptonshire, England. Though the village of Easton Neston which was inhabited until around 1500 is now gone, the parish retains the name. At the 2011 Census the population of the civil parish remained le ...

, near

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. She had two serious motoring accidents, both on the

M1 Motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which lat ...

; in the second of these, in 1972, she lost an eye. Following her death in 2006, a number of her jewels were auctioned off, including a diamond floral tiara and an aquamarine and diamond tiara. She was survived by her sons Alexander (the 3rd Lord Hesketh) and John.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McEwen, Christian Mary People educated at St Mary's School, Ascot Alumni of King's College London 1929 births 2006 deaths Conservative Party (UK) councillors Councillors in Northamptonshire

Hesketh Hesketh may refer to: People * Baron Hesketh: the various barons or lords Hesketh, who lived at Easton Neston in Northamptonshire, England ** Lord Hesketh: the Conservative Party politician, formally titled Alexander Fermor-Hesketh, 3rd Baron Heske ...

British Roman Catholics British women journalists British educational theorists Officers of the Order of the British Empire Daughters of baronets Deputy Lieutenants of Northamptonshire High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire Women councillors in England