Hester Stanhope, Viscountess Mahon (19 October 1755 – 20 July 1780), formerly Lady Hester Pitt, was the wife of Charles Stanhope, Viscount Mahon, later the 3rd

Earl Stanhope Earl Stanhope ()Debrett's Correct Form, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 1976, pg 408 was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. The earldom was created in 1718 for Major General James Stanhope,Edward Hasted, 'Parishes: Chevening', in The History and To ...

. She was the eldest daughter of

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British statesman of the Whig group who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him Chatham or William Pitt the Elder to distinguish ...

, by his wife, the former Hester Grenville (1720–1803), herself the daughter of the 1st Countess Temple. She was thus the sister of

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt the Younger (28 May 175923 January 1806) was a British statesman, the youngest and last prime minister of Great Britain (before the Acts of Union 1800) and then first prime minister of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Ire ...

, who, like their father, served as

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

. She may have been born at the Pay Office, which was at the time her parents' residence.Birdwood, V. (ed.) So Dearly Loved, So Much Admired: Letters to Hester Pitt, Lady Chatham from her relations and friends (1744-1801). London: HMSO, p. 5. Hester married Viscount Mahon on 19 December 1774. They had three children: *

Lady Hester Stanhope Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope (12 March 1776 – 23 June 1839) was a British aristocrat, adventurer, antiquarian, and one of the most famous travellers of her age. Her archaeological excavation of Ashkelon in 1815 is considered the first to ...

(1776–1839); a traveller and Arabist who died unmarried at the age of 63 in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. * Lady Griselda Stanhope (21 July 1778 – 13 October 1851); married John Tekell. * Lady Lucy Rachel Stanhope (20 February 1780 – 1 March 1814); eloped with and married Thomas Taylor of Sevenoaks, the family

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Ameri ...

, and had children. Their London house was in

Harley Street Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, which has, since the 19th century housed a large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery. It was named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.< ...

. Following the birth of her third daughter, Lady Hester suffered from

puerperal fever Postpartum infections, also known as childbed fever and puerperal fever, are any bacterial infections of the female reproductive tract following childbirth or miscarriage. Signs and symptoms usually include a fever greater than , chills, lower ab ...

, and was taken to

Chevening Chevening House () is a large country house in the parish of Chevening in Kent, in Southeast England. Built between 1617 and 1630 to a design reputedly by Inigo Jones and greatly extended after 1717, it is a Grade I listed building. The surround ...

for her health. She died there, aged 24, and was buried at St Botolph's Church, Chevening. Stanhope remarried in 1781 to Louisa Grenville, his first wife's first cousin.Louisa's father, the Hon.

Henry Grenville Henry Grenville (11 September 1717 – 22 April 1784) was a British diplomat and politician. Grenville was born into a family of politicians. His father was Sir Richard Grenville, MP; one of his elder brothers was Earl Temple, a governmen ...

, was the brother of Hester's mother, the Countess of Chatham. He inherited his father's title in 1786, his older brother having predeceased him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanhope, Hester, Viscountess Mahon 1755 births 1780 deaths Mahon Deaths in childbirth Daughters of British earls

Hester Hester is both a female given name and a surname. As a given name Hester is a variant of Esther. As a surname it is of Germanic origin and uncertain meaning, possible roots being the Middle High German ''heister'' beech tree indicating residence ne ...

18th-century English women 18th-century English people Children of prime ministers of the United Kingdom People from Chevening, Kent