Constance Gwladys Robinson, Marchioness of Ripon (22 April 1859 – 28 October 1917), was a British patron of the arts. She was a close friend of
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
, who dedicated his play ''
A Woman of No Importance'' to her; other celebrated friends included
Nellie Melba, whose success in London was largely due to Lady Ripon's support,
Nijinsky and
Diaghilev.
Biography
She was born in 1859 to
Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea and his wife,
Elizabeth, a writer and notable convert to Catholicism. She married
St George Lowther, 4th Earl of Lonsdale
St George Henry Lowther, 4th Earl of Lonsdale (4 October 1855 – 8 February 1882) was a British nobleman, the eldest son of Henry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale and Emily Caulfeild. From 1872 until his succession to the earldom in 1876, he was st ...
, and had a daughter, Gladys Mary Juliet. After Lonsdale's death she married
Frederick Robinson, 2nd Marquess of Ripon, then known by his courtesy title of Earl de Grey. She was thus known as Lady de Grey until he husband succeeded to his marquisate in 1909, when she became Marchioness of Ripon. They had no children.
Lady Ripon was a patron of the arts, supporting the restoration of the
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...
, Covent Garden. When
Jean and
Édouard de Reszke
Édouard de Reszke (22 December 185325 May 1917) was a Polish bass from Warsaw. A member of the musical Reszke family, he was a successful opera singer, as were his brother Jean and his sister Josephine. He made his debut in ''Aida'' in Paris on ...
were in London to perform at the Royal Opera House, she often entertained them during which she treated them like royal family members. She exerted great influence through the impresario
Augustus Harris, because of her ability to persuade important people to purchase season tickets in advance.
She died in October 1917, aged 58. Lord Ripon survived her by six years and died in September 1923, aged 71. They are buried together in the Ripon family tomb at
Studley Royal
Studley Royal Park including the ruins of Fountains Abbey is a designated World Heritage Site in North Yorkshire, England. The site, which has an area of features an 18th-century landscaped garden, some of the largest Cistercian ruins in Europe ...
Church.
Family
Ripon's paternal grandparents were
George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke
General George Augustus Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke and 8th Earl of Montgomery (10 September 1759 – 26 October 1827) was an English peer, army officer, and politician.
Early life
He was born Lord Herbert at the family home, Wilton House ...
, and the Russian-born Countess
Catherine Woronzow (or
Vorontsov), daughter of the Russian ambassador to Britain,
Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov
Count Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov (or Woronzow, russian: Семён Романович Воронцо́в; 26 June 17449 July 1832) was a Russian diplomat from the aristocratic Russian Vorontsov family, whose siblings included Alexander Vorontsov ...
.
[Woronzow]
HumphrysFamilyTree, accessed April 4, 2012[Lundy, Darryl]
ThePeerage.com, accessed 23 May 2012 Her mother was the granddaughter of
Sir William à Court, 1st Baronet
Sir William Pierce Ashe à Court, 1st Baronet (c. 1747 – 22 July 1817) was a British soldier and Member of Parliament (MP).
À Court was the son of General William Ashe-à Court and Anne Vernon. He represented Heytesbury in the House of Commo ...
.
Most of her six siblings were notable:
#Mary Catherine (1849–1935), who married, in 1873, the modernist theologian, Baron
Friedrich von Hügel.
#
George Robert Charles Herbert (1850–1895), who became the 13th
Earl of Pembroke.
#Elizabeth Maud (1851–1933), who married, in 1872, the composer, Sir Charles
Hubert Parry.
#
Sidney Herbert (1853–1913), a Member of Parliament, who succeeded his brother as the 14th Earl of Pembroke.
#
Michael Henry Herbert
Sir Michael Henry Herbert, (25 June 1857 – 30 September 1903), was a British diplomat and ambassador.
Early life
Sir Michael Herbert was the fourth and youngest son of distinguished parents: Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea, the Briti ...
(The Hon. Sir Michael Herbert, KCMG, CB, PC) (1857–1904), a diplomat who ended his career as British
Ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
to the U.S. in
Washington DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, after whom the town of
Herbert
Herbert may refer to:
People Individuals
* Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert
Name
* Herbert (given name)
* Herbert (surname)
Places Antarctica
* Herbert Mountains, Coats Land
* Herbert Sound, Graham Land
Australia
* Herbert, ...
in
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
, Canada, is named. One of his sons was
Sir Sidney Herbert, 1st Baronet
Sir Sidney Herbert, 1st Baronet (29 July 1890 – 22 March 1939) was a British Conservative politician.
From 1919 to 1920, he was Private Secretary to Winston Churchill when he was Secretary of State for War, and served as a Member of Parliament f ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Gwladys, Marchioness of Ripon
1859 births
1917 deaths
Lonsdale
Ripon
Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...
British people of Russian descent
Daughters of barons
Gwladys
Saint Gwladys ferch Brychan () or St Gladys ( la, Gladusa), daughter of King Brychan of Brycheiniog,
was the queen of the saint-king Gwynllyw Milwr and the mother of Cadoc "the Wise", whose ''Vita'' may be the earliest saint's life to mention ...
Gwladys
Saint Gwladys ferch Brychan () or St Gladys ( la, Gladusa), daughter of King Brychan of Brycheiniog,
was the queen of the saint-king Gwynllyw Milwr and the mother of Cadoc "the Wise", whose ''Vita'' may be the earliest saint's life to mention ...
Gwladys
Saint Gwladys ferch Brychan () or St Gladys ( la, Gladusa), daughter of King Brychan of Brycheiniog,
was the queen of the saint-king Gwynllyw Milwr and the mother of Cadoc "the Wise", whose ''Vita'' may be the earliest saint's life to mention ...