Mary Elizabeth Herbert, Baroness Herbert of Lea (née Ashe à Court-Repington; 21 July 1822 – 30 October 1911), known simply as Elizabeth Herbert, was an English Roman Catholic writer, translator, philanthropist, and influential social figure.

Life

Born in 1822 at Richmond, Surrey, she was the daughter of Mary Elizabeth Gibbs (d. 1878), daughter of a West Indies planter, and

Charles Ashe à Court-Repington General (United Kingdom), General Charles Ashe à Court-Repington (17 June 1785 – 19 April 1861), born Charles Ashe à Court, was a senior British Army commander and politician. He was the third son of Sir William à Court, 1st Baronet, Sir ...

. In August 1846, aged 24, she married the young politician, Sidney Herbert, second son of the 11th Earl of Pembroke. Herbert is said to have had a five-year affair in the early 1840s, with author and social reformer

Caroline Norton Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton, Lady Stirling-Maxwell (22 March 1808 – 15 June 1877) was an active English social reformer and author.Perkin, pp. 26–28. She left her husband in 1836, who sued her close friend Lord Melbourne, then the Whig ...

, but they separated since she was unable to obtain a divorce. Elizabeth adopted her husband's politics and became a

Peelite The Peelites were a breakaway dissident political faction of the British Conservative Party from 1846 to 1859. Initially led by Robert Peel, the former Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader in 1846, the Peelites supported free trade whilst ...

. The Herberts first met Florence Nightingale whilst traveling in Italy in 1848. When Sidney was made Secretary at War during the Crimean War, Elizabeth became an ally of Nightingale.Thurston, Herbert. "Lady Elizabeth Herbert of Lea." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 16 (Index). New York: The Encyclopedia Press, 1914. 13 June 2019 In 1861 Sidney Herbert died, shortly after being created

Baron Herbert of Lea Baron Herbert of Lea, of Lea in the County of Wiltshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, since 1862 a subsidiary title of the earldom of Pembroke. The barony was created in 1861 for the politician Sidney Herbert, the fourth son ...

, leaving her a widow with three daughter and four sons. Lady Herbert of Lea became a Roman Catholic

convert Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

in 1866, practising as an "ardent Ultramontane", under the influence of her intimate friend, Cardinal Manning. Only her eldest daughter, Mary, followed her into the Catholic faith; in 1873, Lady Mary married Friedrich von Hügel. She disliked "of Lea" as an addition to her title, and never used it, becoming known as "Lady Lightning" for her efficiency and ardour working for Catholic charities and interests. She worked in partnership with

Cardinal Vaughan Herbert Alfred Henry Vaughan, MHM (15 April 1832 – 19 June 1903) was an English prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Westminster from 1892 until his death in 1903, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1893. He was th ...

for

St Joseph's Foreign Missionary College The Mill Hill Missionaries (MHM), officially known as the Saint Joseph's Missionary Society of Mill Hill ( la, Societas Missionariorum S. Ioseph de Mill Hill), is a Catholic society of apostolic life founded in 1866 by Herbert Alfred Vaughan, MH ...

Mill Hill Park Mill Hill Park is a large (14.3 hectare) public park in Mill Hill in the London Borough of Barnet. It one of Barnet's premier parks Belgrave Square, which Baron Herbert named "Belgrave Villa". Lady Herbert was the intimate friend and correspondent of many eminent

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

s, including politicians, such as

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

, Palmerston and

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

; reformers, such as Florence Nightingale; and leaders in the Roman Catholic revival, such as

Cardinal Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican priest and later as a Catholic priest and cardi ...

and Cardinal Manning. She figures as Lady Chiselhurst in W.H. Mallock's novel, ''The Old Order Changes'' (1886), and as Lady St Jerome in Disraeli's roman à clef, '' Lothair'' (1870). Disraeli described her as:

She was the daughter of a Protestant house, but, during a residence at Rome after her marriage, she had reverted to the ancient faith, which she professed with the enthusiastic convictions of a convert. Her whole life was dedicated to the triumph of the Catholic cause; and, being a woman of considerable intelligence and of an ardent mind, she had become a recognised power in the great confederacy which has so much influenced the human race, and which has yet to play perhaps a mighty part in the fortunes of the world.

Lady Herbert was a familiar figure in Rome, which she visited annually until almost the close of her long life.

Writings

* ''Impressions of Spain in 1866'' (Richard Bentley, 1867) * ''Cradle Lands'' (travels in Egypt and Palestine) (1867) *''Wives and Mothers of the Olden Time'' (1871) *''A Search after Sunshine, or Algeria in 1871'' (Bentley, 1872) *''Wayside Tales'' (1880) *''Edith'' (autobiographical novel) Besides these she wrote several stories, some of them autobiographical, articles (many contributed to the '' Dublin Review''), and a number of biographies and biographical essays, mostly of religious figures, which were translated or paraphrased from French originals. The latter included biographies of

St. Monica Monica ( – 387) was an early North African Christian saint and the mother of Augustine of Hippo. She is remembered and honored in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, albeit on different feast days, for her outstanding Christian virtues, partic ...

, St.

John Baptist de Rossi Giovanni Battista de' Rossi (22 February 1698 – 23 May 1764) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest. He served as the canon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin after his cousin, who was a priest serving there, died. He was a popular confessor despite his ...

, Bishop

Félix Dupanloup Mgr. Félix Antoine Philibert Dupanloup (3 January 180211 October 1878) was a French ecclesiastic. He was among the leaders of Liberal Catholicism in France. Biography Dupanloup was born at Saint-Félix, in Haute-Savoie, an illegitimate son of ...

, St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, Garcia Moreno, Frédéric-François-Xavier Ghislain de Mérode, Sister Apolline Andreveau DC, etc.: *''Three Phases of Christian Love'' (St Monica, Mlle Victorine de Galard Terraube, Ven. Mère Devos) (translated, 1866) *Devin, A., ''Abyssinia and its Apostle'' (life of Saint Justin de Jacobis) (London: Burns and Oates, 1867) *Berthe, P. Augustine, ''Garcia Moreno, President of Ecuador, 1821–1875'', abridged edition translated from the French (London: Burns and Oates, 1889) *Lagrange, F., ''Life of Monseigneur Dupanloup: Bishop of Orléans'' (translated)

Family

Lady Herbert of Lea was the only daughter of General

, who was a member of Parliament as well as a soldier, and niece of William à Court, 1st Baron Heytesbury, who was British Ambassador at St. Petersburg. She had seven children by Lord Herbert of Lea:''Armorial Families: A Complete Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage, and a Directory of Some Gentlemen of Coat-armour, and Being the First Attempt to Show which Arms in Use at the Moment are Borne by Legal Authority'', Part 1, 1895, p. 488
/ref> # George Robert Charles Herbert (1850–1895), who succeeded in the title and later became the 13th Earl of Pembroke, and the barony is now merged in that earldom. # Sidney Herbert (1853–1913), also a member of parliament, who succeeded his brother as the 14th Earl of Pembroke. # William Reginald Herbert, b. 12 May 1854; lost at sea on 7 September 1870 aboard . #

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 Rt Hon. Sir Michael Herbert) (1857–1904), a diplomat who ended his career as British Ambassador to the United States in Washington, D.C., in succession to

Lord Pauncefote Julian Pauncefote, 1st Baron Pauncefote (13 September 1828 – 24 May 1902), known as Sir Julian Pauncefote between 1874 and 1899, was a British barrister, judge and diplomat. He was Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs between ...

, after whom the town of

Herbert, Saskatchewan Herbert is a town located in the Rural Municipality of Morse No. 165, in southwest Saskatchewan, Canada. The community is 48 km east of the city of Swift Current, and 197 km west of Regina the provincial capital, on the Trans-Canada ...

, Canada, is named. # Mary Catherine, b. 21 May 1849; m. 27 November 1873 the Roman Catholic modernist theologian, Baron Friedrich von Hügel; and d. 2 December 1935. # Elizabeth Maud, b. 30 July 1851; m. 25 June 1872 the composer, Sir Charles Hubert Parry, 1st Baronet (son of

Thomas Gambier Parry Thomas Gambier Parry, J.P., D.L., (22 February 1816 – 28 September 1888) was a British artist and art collector. He is best remembered for his development of the Gambier Parry process of fresco painting, and for forming the significant col ...

), of Highnam Court, near Gloucester; and d. 28 February. 1933. # Constance Gladwys, patroness of the arts and of the Royal Opera House, b. 24 April 1859; m. 1st 6 July 1878

St. George Henry 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 ...

(d. Feb. 1882) (1 daughter); m. 2ndly 7 May 1885

Frederick Oliver Robinson, the Earl de Grey Frederick Oliver Robinson, 2nd Marquess of Ripon, (29 January 1852 – 23 September 1923), styled Viscount Goderich between 1859 and 1871 and Earl de Grey between 1871 and 1909, was a British courtier and Liberal politician. A descendant of Ol ...

, later 2nd and last Marquess of Ripon (no issue); she d. 27 October 1917 at 13 Bryanston Square.

References

Attribution

* The entry cites: ** Autobiographical details incidentally included in her writings ** '' The Tablet'' (4 and 11 November 1911) ** Herbert Alfred, Cardinal Vaughan, ''Letters of Herbert Cardinal Vaughan to Lady Herbert of Lea'' (London, Burns & Oates, 1942) ** Sir Tresham Lever, ''The Herberts of Wilton'' (Murray, 1967)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herbert, Elizabeth 1822 births 1911 deaths

Elizabeth Herbert, Baroness Herbert of Lea Mary Elizabeth Herbert, Baroness Herbert of Lea (née Ashe à Court-Repington; 21 July 1822 – 30 October 1911), known simply as Elizabeth Herbert, was an English Roman Catholic writer, translator, philanthropist, and influential social figure ...

Herbert of Lea Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism English Roman Catholics English philanthropists English writers Roman Catholic writers People from Wiltshire Writers from London People from Surrey Victorian women writers Victorian writers 19th-century British women writers 19th-century British writers