Dorothy Violet Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington ( Ashton; 30 July 1889 – 11 July 1956), styled Lady Gerald Wellesley between 1914 and 1943, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

author, poet, literary editor and socialite.

Background

She was born in

White Waltham White Waltham is a village and civil parish, west of Maidenhead, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is crossed briefly by the M4 motorway, which along with the Great Western Main Line and all other roa ...

, the daughter of Col. Robert Ashton of Croughton, Cheshire (himself a second cousin of the 1st Baron Ashton of Hyde), descended from wealthy cotton manufacturers, and his wife (Lucy) Cecilia Dunn-Gardner (later Countess of Scarbrough), and stepdaughter of the 10th Earl of Scarbrough.

Poetry

As Dorothy Wellesley, the name she took after her marriage to Lord Gerald Wellesley, she was the author of more than ten books, mostly of poetry, but including also ''Sir

George Goldie Sir George Dashwood Taubman Goldie (20 May 1846 – 20 August 1925) was a Manx administrator who played a major role in the founding of Nigeria. In many ways, his role was similar to that of Cecil Rhodes elsewhere in Africa but he did ...

, Founder of Nigeria'' (1934), and ''Far Have I Travelled'' (1952). She was editor for

Hogarth Press The Hogarth Press is a book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House that was founded as an independent company in 1917 by British authors Leonard Woolf and Virginia Woolf. It was named after their house in Richmond (then in Surrey and n ...

of the

Hogarth Living Poets {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 The Hogarth Living Poets were two series of books published by Hogarth Press, under the editorship of Dorothy Wellesley. The editions were limited, and the books are now rare. First Series (1928-1932) 24 books. * ...

series. She also edited ''The Annual'' in 1929. According to

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

, Wellesley was one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century - see his Introduction to the ''

Oxford Book of Modern Verse 1892–1935 The ''Oxford Book of Modern Verse 1892–1935'' was a poetry anthology edited by W. B. Yeats, and published in 1936 by Oxford University Press. A long and interesting introductory essay starts from the proposition that the poets included should ...

''. "Within two minutes of our first meeting at my house he said: ‘You must sacrifice everything and everyone to your poetry'". Yeats discovered her poetry while researching the ''Oxford Book of Modern Verse'' and said "My eyes filled with tears. I read in excitement that was more delightful because it showed that I had not lost my understanding of poetry." Only later did he find who she was and what was her station in life. Yeats scholar R. F. Foster, however, has written that she was "a moderately accomplished if minor poet" though adding that "the quality of some of her work has been vindicated by time". She was introduced to Yeats in 1935, and he eventually would edit and revise her poems as well as soliciting her comments on his works. Together they edited the second series of ''Broadsides: New Irish & English Songs'' in 1937. Yeats spent much of his final time towards the end of his life with Wellesley at her Sussex home, and she would be at his deathbed in 1939.

Marriage

Dorothy Ashton married Lord Gerald Wellesley (later 7th Duke of Wellington), on 30 April 1914; they separated in 1922 but did not divorce. They had two children: #

Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington Brigadier Arthur Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, (2 July 1915 – 31 December 2014), styled Marquess of Douro between 1943 and 1972, was a senior British peer and a brigadier in the British Army. His main residence was Stratfield S ...

(2 July 1915 – 31 December 2014) #

Lady Elizabeth Wellesley Lady Elizabeth Clyde (born Elizabeth Wellesley, 26 December 1918 – 25 November 2013) was an English socialite. She was the daughter of Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington, and Dorothy Violet Ashton, and thus a great-great-granddaughter of ...

(26 December 1918 – 25 November 2013)

Lesbianism

Dorothy Wellesley became the lover of

Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a successful novelist, poet and journalist, as wel ...

, for whom she left her husband and children in 1922, according to a memoir published in 2009 by her granddaughter, Lady Jane Wellesley. After that relationship ended, for eight years she became the lover and companion of

Hilda Matheson Hilda Matheson, OBE (7 June 1888 – 30 October 1940) was a pioneering English radio talks producer at the BBC and its first Director of Talks. After resigning from the BBC in 1931, she published a book on the development of broadcasting. Though ...

(1888–1940), a BBC producer who lived in "Rocks Farm" in the grounds of her house in the Sussex village of

Withyham Withyham is a village and large civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The village is situated 7 miles south west of Royal Tunbridge Wells and 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from Crowborough; the parish covers approxi ...

called "Penns-in-the-Rocks". A certain distance was called for due to Dorothy's (family nickname "Dotty") sometimes erratic and demanding behaviour. This relationship, a key stabilizer in both their lives, ended tragically with the death of Hilda during a routine thyroid operation.

Death

The Duchess of Wellington died at

, Sussex. After her death, her widower proposed to her half-sister, Lady Serena James ( Lumley), widow of his former brother-in-law the Hon. Robert James), but she refused him.

In popular culture

She was one of a series of society beauties photographed as classical figures by Madame Yevonde. Dorothy Wellesley is portrayed by

Karla Crome Karla Patsy Crome (born 22 June 1988) is a British actress and writer, best known for her work on Sky Atlantic's '' Hit & Miss'', playing series regular Jess on E4's ''Misfits'', and appearances in a number of other television series and film ...

in the 2018 film ''

Vita and Virginia ''Vita & Virginia'' is a 2018 biographical romantic drama film directed by Chanya Button. The screenplay, written by Button and Eileen Atkins, is adapted from the 1992 play ''Vita & Virginia'' by Atkins. The film stars Gemma Arterton, Elizabe ...

''.

References

Sources

* ''Letters on Poetry from W. B. Yeats to Dorothy Wellesley'' (1940, Oxford University Press) edited by

Kathleen Raine Kathleen Jessie Raine CBE (14 June 1908 – 6 July 2003) was a British poet, critic, and scholar, writing in particular on William Blake, W. B. Yeats and Thomas Taylor. Known for her interest in various forms of spirituality, most prominently ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wellington, Dorothy Wellesley, Duchess of 1889 births 1956 deaths

Dorothy Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington Dorothy Violet Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington ( Ashton; 30 July 1889 – 11 July 1956), styled Lady Gerald Wellesley between 1914 and 1943, was an English author, poet, literary editor and socialite. Background She was born in White Walth ...

English socialites British duchesses by marriage English women poets People from Maidenhead 20th-century English poets 20th-century English women writers LGBT writers from England Wives of knights