Georgina Elizabeth Ward, Countess of Dudley (9 August 1846 – 2 February 1929) was a British noblewoman and a noted beauty of the Victorian era.
Early life and family
Georgina was born in Dunbarney,
Perthshire
Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...
, Scotland – "the third of a series of sisters all famous for their good looks" – to
Sir Thomas Moncreiffe of that Ilk, 7th Baronet, and Lady Louisa Hay-Drummond, daughter of
Thomas Hay-Drummond, 11th Earl of Kinnoull
Thomas Robert Hay-Drummond, 11th Earl of Kinnoull (5 April 1785 – 18 February 1866), styled Viscount Dupplin between 1787 and 1804, was a Scottish peer. His titles were Earl of Kinnoull, Viscount Dupplin and Lord Hay of Kinfauns in the Peerage ...
.
Her sister Harriet became
Lady Mordaunt; another sister,
Louisa, married
John Stewart-Murray, 7th Duke of Atholl
John James Hugh Henry Stewart-Murray, 7th Duke of Atholl, KT (6 August 1840 – 20 January 1917), styled Marquess of Tullibardine between 1846 and 1864, was a Scottish peer.
Background and education
Atholl was the only child of George Murr ...
.
Marriage
In the summer of 1865, the engagement was announced between the 18-year-old Georgina and the 48-year-old
William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley
William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley (27 March 1817 – 7 May 1885), known as The Lord Ward from 1835 to 1860, was a British landowner and benefactor.
Background and education
Ward was born on 27 March 1817 at Edwardstone, Boxford, Suffolk, Engl ...
, a wealthy land and mine owner. The earl had been widowed since November 1851 as his first wife, Selina Constance (''née'' de Burgh), died six months into their marriage. Georgina and the earl married on 21 November 1865 in London, and Dudley was proud to show off his beautiful new wife across Europe:
Over the course of their marriage, Georgina and Dudley had one daughter and six sons. Dudley spoiled his wife with the finest clothes and jewels, but gave her no say in the running of their magnificent homes at
Witley Court
Witley Court, Great Witley, Worcestershire, England is a ruined Italianate mansion. Built for the Foleys in the seventeenth century on the site of a former manor house, it was enormously expanded in the early nineteenth century by the architect ...
and
Dudley House.
![Witley Court from Morris's Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen (1880)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Witley_Court_from_Morris%27s_Seats_of_Noblemen_and_Gentlemen_%281880%29.JPG)
The theft of Lady Dudley's jewels on 12 December 1874 at
Paddington Station
Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great We ...
was a famous crime in Victorian England. The jewels, worth perhaps £25,000, were never recovered.
In 1879, the earl suffered a
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
, on the same day they had been preparing for a large party with a poetry reading by actress
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including '' La Dame Aux Camel ...
. The countess at once took charge of both the management of the family estates and his health. She dutifully nursed him and stayed by his side, with the exception of when business required her elsewhere. She was only rarely seen at social engagements without him.
He died of
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
on 7 May 1885.
Later life
![Georgina Ward, Countess of Dudley, 1902](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Georgina_Ward%2C_Countess_of_Dudley%2C_1902.jpg)
After the earl's death, Lady Dudley resumed a more active social calendar. She never remarried despite many offers for her hand in marriage, with a son of
Prince Bismarck
Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of ...
among her reported suitors. She remained wholly dedicated to her family and sons' education, as well as to national service and charitable organisations.
In 1908, she was appointed a Lady President of the
League of Mercy
The League of Mercy was a British foundation established in 1899 by royal charter of Queen Victoria. The goal of the organisation was to recruit a large number of volunteers to aid the sick and suffering at charity hospitals. It was disbanded a ...
, an organisation established to recruit volunteers to aid the sick and suffering at charity hospitals.
During 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 ...
and
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, she served with the
British Red Cross Society
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...
. In late 1900, she was involved in running the
Mayfair
Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...
nursing home
A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...
for disabled officers under its auspices. Her actions at that time proved to be pivotal in ensuring
Captain Trenchard (later to become
Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Marshal of the Royal Air Force (MRAF) is the highest rank in the Royal Air Force (RAF). In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), and to retired Chiefs of the Air Staff (CAS), who were ...
) recovered from a wound he had received in action. From 1914 to 1918, she worked nine hours per day at the convalescent hospital, taking care of the needs of the injured. She lost her youngest son in the early days of the war.
She was a close friend of
Queen Alexandra
Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of King ...
. As dowager countess, Lady Dudley lived at
Pembroke Lodge
Pembroke Lodge is an initial, mainstream category listed (Grade II) Georgian two-storey large house in Richmond Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It sits on high ground with views across the Thames valley to Windsor, the Chi ...
in London, granted to her by "
grace and favour
''Grace & Favour'' (American title: ''Are You Being Served? Again!'') is a British sitcom and a spin-off of ''Are You Being Served?'' that aired on BBC1 for two series from 1992 to 1993. It was written by ''Are You Being Served?'' creators and ...
" of
King Edward.
She died at Pembroke Lodge in February 1929
at the age of 82, having spent more than half of her life as a widow.
Children
The earl and countess had six sons and one daughter. Their fourth son, Capt. Reginald Ward, died in 1904 after an
appendectomy
An appendectomy, also termed appendicectomy, is a Surgery, surgical operation in which the vermiform appendix (a portion of the intestine) is removed. Appendectomy is normally performed as an urgent or emergency procedure to treat complicated acu ...
in London. Their youngest son, Lieutenant Gerald Ward, a first class-cricketer for
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...
,
was killed in action in 1914 while serving with the 1st Life Guards
at
Zandvoorde, Belgium.
*
William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley
William Humble Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley, (25 May 1867 – 29 June 1932), was a British aristocrat, politician, and military officer who served as the fourth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1908 to 1911. He was previously Lord Lieut ...
(25 May 1867 – 29 June 1932)
*
Hon. Sir John Hubert Ward (20 March 1870 – 2 December 1938)
* Hon. Robert Arthur Ward (23 February 1871 – 14 June 1942)
* Lady Edith Amelia Ward, later Lady Wolverton
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(16 September 1872 – 6 June 1956), married
Frederick Glyn, 4th Baron Wolverton
Frederick Glyn, 4th Baron Wolverton (24 September 1864 – 3 October 1932), was a British banker and Conservative politician. He served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household under Arthur Balfour from 1902 to 1905.
Background
Glyn was the younger ...
* Captain Hon. Reginald Ward
DSO (11 June 1874 – 7 March 1904)
* Captain Hon. Cyril Augustus Ward (31 January 1876 – 11 January 1930)
* Lieutenant Hon. Gerald Ernest Francis Ward
MVO (9 November 1877 – 30 October 1914)
Honours
The Countess was made a Dame of Grace of the
Order of Saint John
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...
in 1901, and promoted to Dame of Justice of that order in 1928. She was awarded the
Royal Red Cross
The Royal Red Cross (RRC) is a military decoration awarded in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth for exceptional services in military nursing.
Foundation
The award was established on 27 April 1883 by Victoria of the Un ...
in 1902.
Mention in ''A Room of One's Own''
In ''
A Room of One's Own
''A Room of One's Own'' is an extended essay by Virginia Woolf, first published in September 1929. The work is based on two lectures Woolf delivered in October 1928 at Newnham College and Girton College, women's colleges at the University of C ...
'', by
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device.
Woolf was born i ...
, the Countess is written about thus: "That profoundly interesting subject, the value that men set upon women's chastity and its effect upon their education, here suggests itself for discussion, and might provide an interesting book if any student at
Girton or
Newnham cared to go into the matter. Lady Dudley, sitting in diamonds among the midges of a Scottish moor, might serve for
frontispiece. Lord Dudley, THE TIMES said when Lady Dudley died the other day, 'a man of cultivated taste and many accomplishments, was benevolent and bountiful, but whimsically despotic. He insisted upon his wife's wearing full dress, even at the remotest shooting-lodge in the Highlands; he loaded her with gorgeous jewels', and so on, 'he gave her everything--always excepting any measure of responsibility'. Then Lord Dudley had a stroke and she nursed him and ruled his estates with supreme competence for ever after. That whimsical despotism was in the nineteenth century too."
References
External links
Art UK Your Paintings – Georgina Ward (1846–1929), Countess of Dudley(Oil on canvas full-length portrait of Georgina Ward)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dudley, Georgina Ward, Countess Of
1846 births
1929 deaths
Dudley
Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...
Dames of Grace of the Order of St John
Daughters of baronets
Members of the Royal Red Cross
People from Perthshire
Residents of Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Park
Scottish noblewomen
Georgina Georgina may refer to:
Names
*Georgina (name), a feminine given name
Places
Australia
* Georgina, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Boulia, Queensland
* Georgina Basin, a large sedimentary basin in Australia
* Georgina River, a river ...
Women of the Victorian era
Virginia Woolf