Elizabeth Reid Cotton, (9 December 1842 – 8 March 1922) who became Lady Hope when she married
Sir James Hope in 1877, was a British evangelist active in the
Temperance movement
The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...
.
In 1915, she claimed to have visited the British naturalist
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...
shortly before his death in 1882, during which interview Hope said Darwin spoke of second thoughts about publicising his theory of
natural selection
Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Cha ...
. That Hope visited Darwin is possibly true, though denied by Darwin's family, but her interpretation of what Darwin said at the putative interview is much less likely.
Early life and ministry
Elizabeth Cotton was born on 9 December 1842 in
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
,
Australia. She was the daughter of British irrigation engineer, General Sir
Arthur Cotton
General Sir Arthur Thomas Cotton (15 May 1803 – 24 July 1899) was a British general and irrigation engineer.
Cotton devoted his life to the construction of irrigation and navigation canals throughout British India. He helped many people by b ...
, and spent her childhood in
Madras, India
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, while her father supervised water management and canal projects in
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
. Returning to England after her father's retirement in 1861, the family resided in
Hadley Green and came under the influence of the Rev. William Pennefather, an evangelical Anglican clergyman. Cotton also met many contemporary evangelicals during a three-year stay in Ireland.
In 1869 the family settled in
Dorking, Surrey, about 12 miles from
Downe
Downe, formerly Down, () is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley but beyond the London urban sprawl. Downe is south west of Orpington and south east of Charing Cross. Downe lies on a hill, and ...
, home of Charles Darwin—where Elizabeth began evangelistic and philanthropic work, first organising a Sunday school and then a "Coffee-Room" where food and non-alcoholic drinks were served. (
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, i ...
distributed copies of Cotton's book ''Our Coffee-Room'' and established her own coffee room in her village of
Whatstandwell in
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
.) Cotton held Bible classes and prayer meetings in the hall, and spoke at a Sunday evening service. A contemporary reported that she had "a pleasing, engaging manner and silvery voice, and her message was simple." In 1874–75, Cotton assisted in the evangelistic meetings held by American evangelists
Dwight L. Moody
Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 26, 1899), also known as D. L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massa ...
and
Ira Sankey
Ira David Sankey (August 28, 1840 – August 13, 1908) was an American gospel singer and composer, known for his long association with Dwight L. Moody in a series of religious revival campaigns in America and Britain during the closing decades ...
, counseling women converts.
In 1877, at the age of 35, Cotton married a widower, retired Admiral Sir
James Hope, an evangelical and a
temperance advocate who was 34 years her senior. Cotton therefore became Lady Hope of
Carriden. Sir James died four years later.
Thereafter Lady Hope opened several additional coffee houses and settled in London where she became involved in the work of the Golden Bells Mission in
Notting Hill Gate
Notting Hill Gate is one of the main thoroughfares of Notting Hill, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Historically the street was a location for toll gates, from which it derives its modern name.
Location
At Ossington Street/Ke ...
. She was a prolific author of more than thirty books that "dealt with evangelistic and temperance themes," many containing "personal anecdotes reminiscent of the Darwin story."
In 1893, she married
T. A. Denny, an evangelical Irish businessman, 24 years her senior—though she continued to use the name "Lady Hope." She and Denny opened hostels for working men and provided accommodation for soldiers returned from the
Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...
. She published a biography of her father after he died in 1899. In 1903, she opened her largest temperance hostel, the Connaught Club in
Marble Arch
The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 to be the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near the site of what is toda ...
, which offered accommodation for several hundred men. Cotton also patented a
headband
A headband is a clothing accessory worn in the hair or around the forehead, usually to hold hair away from the face or eyes. Headbands generally consist of a loop of elastic material or a horseshoe-shaped piece of flexible plastic or metal. T ...
, which she called the "Hope Bandeau", designed to secure a women's hat without the use of a
hatpin
A hatpin is a decorative and functional pin for holding a hat to the head, usually by the hair. In Western culture, hatpins are almost solely used by women and are often worn in a pair. They are typically around in length, with the pinhead be ...
. After Denny died in 1909, Hope befriended an ex-convict, and after she entrusted her finances to him, he betrayed her trust. In 1911 she was declared bankrupt.
In 1913, she came to the United States as a delegate to a convention of the
World's Woman's Christian Temperance Union being held in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, and afterwards she decided to remain in the United States. On 4 August 1915, 33 years after Darwin's death and shortly after she was diagnosed with
breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...
, Hope led a devotional service at a Bible conference in
Northfield, Massachusetts
Northfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Northfield was first settled in 1673. The population was 2,866 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Connecticut R ...
,
where she apparently first told her story about meeting Darwin.
Lady Hope's story of her meeting with Charles Darwin
![Down House RC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Down_House_RC.jpg)
Lady Hope's story first appeared in an American Baptist newspaper, the ''Watchman-Examiner'', on 15 August 1915, the story preceded by a four-page report on the summer Bible conference held in Northfield, which that year ran from 30 July to 15 August 1915.
Original text
:It was one of those glorious autumn afternoons, that we sometimes enjoy in England, when I was asked to go in and sit with the well known professor, Charles Darwin. He was almost bedridden for some months before he died. I used to feel when I saw him that his fine presence would make a grand picture for our Royal Academy; but never did I think so more strongly than on this particular occasion.
:He was sitting up in bed, wearing a soft embroidered dressing gown, of rather a rich purple shade.
:Propped up by pillows, he was gazing out on a far-stretching scene of woods and cornfields, which glowed in the light of one of those marvellous sunsets which are the beauty of Kent and Surrey. His noble forehead and fine features seem to be lit up with pleasure as I entered the room.
:He waved his hand toward the window as he pointed out the scene beyond, while in the other hand he held an open Bible, which he was always studying.
::"What are you reading now?" I asked as I seated myself beside his bedside. "Hebrews!" he answered – "still Hebrews. 'The Royal Book' I call it. Isn't it grand?"
:Then, placing his finger on certain passages, he commented on them.
:I made some allusions to the strong opinions expressed by many persons on the history of the creation, its grandeur, and then their treatment of the earlier chapters of the Book of Genesis.
:He seemed greatly distressed, his fingers twitched nervously, and a look of agony came over his face as he said: "I was a young man with unformed ideas. I threw out queries, suggestions, wondering all the time over everything, and to my astonishment, the ideas took like wildfire. People made a religion of them."
:Then he paused, and after a few more sentences on "the holiness of God" and the "grandeur of this book," looking at the Bible which he was holding tenderly all the time, he suddenly said: "I have a summer house in the garden which holds about thirty people. It is over there," pointing through the open window. "I want you very much to speak there. I know you read the Bible in the villages. To-morrow afternoon I should like the servants on the place, some tenants and a few of the neighbours; to gather there. Will you speak to them?"
::"What shall I speak about?" I asked.
:"Christ Jesus!" he replied in a clear, emphatic voice, adding in a lower tone, "and his salvation. Is not that the best theme? And then I want you to sing some hymns with them. You lead on your small instrument, do you not?" The wonderful look of brightness and animation on his face as he said this I shall never forget, for he added: "If you take the meeting at three o'clock this window will be open, and you will know that I am joining in with the singing."
:How I wished I could have made a picture of the fine old man and his beautiful surroundings on that memorable day!
Rebuttal by Darwin's children and others
On 2 November 1915, Rev. A.T. Robertson, who had given a lecture at the Northfield Conference on the same day as Lady Hope,
received a letter about her story from an acquaintance in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
who claimed to have known her back in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
and had little confidence in "her judgement or her imagination".
Everyone in
Darwin's family denied the validity of the story. In 1917, Darwin's son
Francis wrote that "Lady Hope's account of my father's views on religion is quite untrue. I have publicly accused her of falsehood, but have not seen any reply. My father's agnostic point of view is given in my ''
Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, Vol. I.'', pp. 304–317. You are at liberty to publish the above statement. Indeed, I shall be glad if you will do so." In 1922, Darwin's daughter,
Henrietta Litchfield
Henrietta Emma Litchfield (née Darwin; 25 September 1843 – 17 December 1927) was a daughter of Charles Darwin and his wife Emma Wedgwood.
Henrietta was born at Down House, Downe, Kent, in 1843. She was Darwin's third daughter and the eldest da ...
, said she did not believe Lady Hope had ever seen her father and that "he never recanted any of his scientific views, either then or earlier. We think the story of his conversion was fabricated in the U.S.A."
Leonard
Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname.
The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek Λέων ("lion") through the Latin '' L ...
, Darwin's last surviving child, dismissed Lady Hope's account as a "hallucination" (1930) and "purely fictitious" (1934).
Subsequent retellings and investigations
Lady Hope gave the fullest account of her story in a letter written (circa 1919–20) to S. James Bole, who first published it in 1940. The story became a popular legend, and Hope's claims were republished as late as October 1955 in the ''Reformation Review'' and in the ''Monthly Record'' of the
Free Church of Scotland in February 1957.
In 1925,
J. W. C. Fegan, an evangelist and sometime associate of Lady Hope, commented on her character to one S. J. Pratt, who was investigating the story. Fegan said that although Darwin had certainly been an agnostic, he was also "an honourable, courteous, benevolent gentleman." In contrast, Fegan noted that after Hope had been "adjudicated bankrupt," she had asked him for "a commendatory letter to take with her to America, and it was my painful duty to tell her that I did not feel I could do so."
In 1994
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
lecturer and biographer
James Moore published ''The Darwin Legend'', in which he suggested that Hope had visited Darwin sometime between 28 September and 2 October 1881, when Francis and Henrietta were absent and Charles' wife
Emma was present, but that Hope had subsequently embellished the story. Moore argued that the Lady Hope story bore "all the hallmarks of Lady Hope's anecdotal imagination. Years of tract and novel writing had made her a skilled raconteur, able to summon up poignant scenes and conversations, and embroider them with sentimental spirituality. The distinction between fact and fancy in her writings was never well defined. In her dotage now, she was even less likely to be hard-headed about history. Disgraced in England, displaced in America, she had only a short time before her cancer proved fatal. With everything to gain, what better than to trade off her title, ingratiate herself with 'impressionable' Americans, and launch an edifying myth?"
The Lady Hope story has been promoted by a few modern
creationists
Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of Creation myth, divine creation.#Gunn 2004, Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' say ...
, including Kenyan
Boniface Adoyo, but one of the most influential creationist organisations, ''
Answers in Genesis
Answers in Genesis (AiG) is an American fundamentalist Christian apologetics parachurch organization. It advocates Young Earth creationism on the basis of its literal, historical-grammatical interpretation of the Book of Genesis and the Bibl ...
'', has disputed the legend.
Death
When, in 1920, Lady Hope's illness had progressed to the extent she could no longer continue her ministry, she settled in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
and took up painting.
She later travelled to
Sydney, Australia, for medical treatment and died there on 9 March 1922.
Notes
References
* Clark, R. W. (1984). ''The Survival of Charles Darwin''. New York: Random House.
* Cotton, Elizabeth R. (1876)
''Our Coffee-Room'' London: James Nisbet & Co.
*
Moore, James (1994). ''The Darwin Legend''. New York: Baker Books.
* Croft, L.R. (2012)
''Darwin and Lady Hope: The Untold Story''Preston, Lancashire.
* Croft, L.R. (2016). "The Lady Hope Story" The English Churchman, 8 January 2016, p. 9.
* Croft, L.R. (2017). ''LADY HOPE : The Life and Work of Lady Hope of Carriden'', Preston, Lancashire : Elmwood Books. .
* Moore, James (1999)
"Telling tales: evangelicals and the Darwin legend."In David Livingstone, et al. ''Evangelicals and science in historical perspective''. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. 1999, pp. 220–233.
* Moore, James (2005)
"Darwin – A 'Devil's Chaplain'?"American Public Media. Retrieved on 2009-01-08
External links
Paul Marston, "Charles Darwin and Christian Faith" (2002)Bert Thompson, "Did Darwin Repent?" (1991), ApologeticsPress.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hope, Elizabeth
1842 births
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Charles Darwin
British Christian creationists
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Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
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* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
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Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
British women activists