Lady Margaret Fortescue (13 December 1923 – 25 May 2013) was a British huntswoman, and one of the country's largest private landowners, including the Castle Hill estate and of

Exmoor Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simonsbath. ...

Early life

Lady Margaret Fortescue was born on 13 December 1923 at Ebrington Manor,

Chipping Campden Chipping Campden is a market town in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It is notable for its terraced High Street, dating from the 14th century to the 17th century. ("Chipping" is from Old English ''cēping'', 'market', 'market- ...

, Gloucestershire, the elder daughter of

Hugh Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue Hugh William Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue, (14 June 1888 – 14 June 1958), styled Viscount Ebrington from 1905 until 1932, of Castle Hill in the parish of Filleigh, of Weare Giffard Hall, both in Devon and of Ebrington Manor in Gloucest ...

(1888–1958), and his wife, the Hon. Margaret Helen Fortescue, née Beaumont (1892–1958), the daughter of

Wentworth Beaumont, 1st Viscount Allendale Wentworth Canning Blackett Beaumont, 1st Viscount Allendale PC, JP, DL (2 December 1860 – 12 December 1923), styled The Hon. Wentworth Beaumont between 1906 and 1907, and Lord Allendale from 1907, was a British Liberal politician. Backgro ...

. She was educated at home by governesses in Castle Hill, followed by a Swiss

finishing school A finishing school focuses on teaching young women social graces and upper-class cultural rites as a preparation for entry into society. The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the education, wit ...

Career

During the Second World War, Fortescue worked in London's

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

as a secretary, and living in a

Belgravia Belgravia () is a Districts of London, district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' Tudor Period, during the ...

flat in known as "The Hovel", as well as in Cairo. Fortescue was well known for riding

side saddle Sidesaddle riding is a form of equestrianism that uses a type of saddle which allows female riders to sit aside rather than astride an equine. Sitting aside dates back to antiquity and developed in European countries in the Middle Ages as a way ...

. Fortescue was a fearless rider, and had several falls, and "after consulting her doctor and swallowing a few painkillers with wine, she almost invariably carried on". In the 1950, she travelled by private train, "with horses, grooms and a retinue of staff on board." On her father's death in 1958, she inherited the Castle Hill estate, and became one of the country's largest private landowners. Fortescue served as a Deputy Lieutenant of Devon.

Personal life

On 31 July 1948, Fortescue married Bernard Henry Richard Harcourt van Cutsem (1916–1975), the racehorse trainer and breeder. They had two daughters, and the elder one Eleanor (b. 1949), married

Arthur Gore, 9th Earl of Arran Arthur Desmond Colquhoun Gore, 9th Earl of Arran (born 14 July 1938), styled Viscount Sudley between 1958 and 1983, is a British peer and Lord Temporal in the House of Lords, sitting with the Conservative Party. Biography Early life Lord Arr ...

. She had two stepsons from van Cutsem's first marriage. In 1966, she left van Cutsem, resumed her maiden name, and they divorced in 1968.

Later life

She died at the Garden House, Castle Hill,

Filleigh Filleigh is a small village, civil parish and former manor in North Devon, on the southern edge of Exmoor, west of South Molton. The village centre's street was, until the 1980s opening of the North Devon Link Road, the main highway between ...

, on 25 May 2013, and was survived by her two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortescue, Margaret 1923 births 2013 deaths

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

Van Cutsem family People from Chipping Campden Deputy Lieutenants of Devon Daughters of British earls People from North Devon (district)