Hazel Marion Radclyffe Dolling (née Staples; 13 June 1923–24 April 2006) was the

châtelain Châtelain (from la, castellanus, derived from ''castellum''; pertaining to a castle, fortress. Middle English: '' castellan'' from Anglo-Norman: ''castellain'' and Old French: ''castelain'') was originally the French title for the keeper of a c ...

e of

Lissan House Lissan House is a historic house and tourist attraction in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, that was the seat of the Staples baronets. Lissan lies nestled at the foot of the Sperrin Mountains amid ancient woodland near the historic market town o ...

, a stately home near

Cookstown Cookstown ( ga, An Chorr Chríochach, IPA: �anˠˈxoːɾˠɾˠˈçɾʲiːxəx is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the fourth largest town in the county and had a population of 11,599 in the 2011 census. It, along with Maghe ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Lissan is set at the foot of the Sperrin Mountains. Dolling was the last surviving member of the Staples family.

Life

Her father was Sir Robert Staples, 13th Baronet of Lissan and Faughanvale. Her grandfather was Sir Robert Staples, 12th Baronet, who was a well-known painter. She was educated at the School of St Mary and St Anne,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. She then worked as an air radio mechanic during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was a third officer in the

Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in 1939 at the ...

. Afterwards she worked as an assistant purser on the Southampton-New York route of the

Cunard Line Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...

ships, , and . Later, she owned a travel agency in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. After selling it, she moved to

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 1970 her father died, and she married his land agent Harry Holbeche Radclyffe Dolling, who was 30 years older than she was. He was also a cousin. They moved to Lissan House to live with Hazel's mother. Harry Dolling died in 1986 and Hazel Dolling lived the rest of her life alone at Lissan without electricity, excepting that which was generated by the water turbine (which had been purchased second hand in 1902) at her house. She had to use a gas canister to cook food. When she went driving down her 1-mile-long avenue she always kept a chainsaw in her car boot in case the avenue was blocked by any trees that had fallen. She once attempted to create a bank account, and was told to bring an electricity bill for identity purposes. She replied "but I have never had an electricity bill."

Restoration

In 2003,

was a candidate in the

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

television show, ''

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

''. The prize was a £3,000,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore the winning building for use by the public. Instead of a celebrity making the case for the funding, she decided to try to persuade viewers to choose her home as the grant-winner. The ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'' described Mrs Dolling as a "natural television performer". Lissan House reached the final, but was very narrowly defeated by the

Victoria Baths Victoria Baths is a Grade II* listed building, in the Chorlton-on-Medlock area of Manchester, in northwest England. The Baths opened to the public in 1906 and cost £59,144 to build. Manchester City Council closed the baths in 1993 and the buildi ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. Following the programme, Hazel oversaw the re-founding of the Friends of Lissan Trust (now the Lissan House Trust), in 2004. The Charitable Trust had originally been founded on 5 August 1997 with the aim of finding a sustainable future for the Lissan Estate which kept it at the heart of the local community.

Death and legacy

Hazel Dolling died in 2006, aged 82, after a long battle with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. Before her death she donated her home, Lissan House, its contents and Estate to The Friends of Lissan House,. The trust has received a £45,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund; it is believed that the restoration work will cost £5,000,000. In August 2006 it was revealed that there are plans for "tourist, community and heritage facilities". In 2010, the first phase of restoration took place, securing the fabric of the house and restoring its exterior.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolling, Hazel 1923 births 2006 deaths Deaths from cancer in Northern Ireland Presbyterians from Northern Ireland People from Cookstown Women's Royal Naval Service officers People educated at Abbots Bromley School for Girls Royal Navy officers of World War II Daughters of baronets