Lady Victoria Buxton (née Noel; 1 July 1839 – 9 August 1916) was a British philanthropist principally known for her work with the Mothers' Union and

Young Women's Christian Association The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

(YWCA).

Early life

She was the daughter of Charles Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough and Lady Frances Jocelyn, daughter of

Robert Jocelyn, 3rd Earl of Roden Robert Jocelyn, 3rd Earl of Roden, (27 October 1788 – 20 March 1870), styled Viscount Jocelyn between 1797 and 1820, was an Irish Tory politician and supporter of Protestant causes. Background Jocelyn was the son of Robert Jocelyn, 2nd Ear ...

. She spent her early years at the Noel family's ancestral home at

Exton Hall Exton Hall is an English country house on the western edge of the village of Exton, Rutland, England, standing in its own extensive park. The Hall It was the family seat of the family of Sir James Harington and later the Noel family, Earls of G ...

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

and later at

Barham Court Barham Court is an English country house in the village of Teston, Kent. History It was once the home of Reginald Fitz Urse, one of the knights who murdered Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. As a result of that deed, Fitz Urse f ...

, Maidstone. She was educated by governess and travelled extensively on the continent. Her parents were of strong

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

faith and placed great emphasis on community work in which Lady Victoria also participated.

Philanthropic works

In 1862 she married

Sir Thomas Buxton, 3rd Baronet Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, 3rd Baronet, (26 January 1837 – 28 October 1915), commonly known as Sir Fowell Buxton, was the Governor of South Australia from 29 October 1895 until 29 March 1899. He was the grandson of Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, a ...

and resided with him at Warlies,

Upshire Upshire is a village and area of Waltham Abbey in the Epping Forest District of Essex, England. The centre of the village is on Horseshoe Hill (a minor road), on which is The Horseshoe public house, and the church of St Thomas, a Grade II* listed ...

near Waltham Abbey. The couple had thirteen children of whom ten survived. She assisted her husband with his political career and worked to support social services and church missions including the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

and

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

. In 1869 she began to suffer from

osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of degenerative joint disease that results from breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bone which affects 1 in 7 adults in the United States. It is believed to be the fourth leading cause of disability in the w ...

. Although she found travel difficult she remained reasonably active and retained her cheerful disposition. She held mothers' meetings at Warlies and established a branch of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Mothers' Union. She served as diocesan president of the Mothers' Union in London where she was also president of the Time and Talents Association of young factory girls. She accompanied her husband to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

in 1895 upon his appointment as

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. She continued her

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

activity by sponsoring reading circles and supporting missionary work. She was the founding president of the Mother's Union of South Australia and actively supported the YWCA in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. She and her husband held a convention at which a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

for a united

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

was first discussed. In 1896 she laid a foundation stone for a new junior branch of the YMCA in Adelaide, the

Our Boys Institute Our Boys Institute (OBI) was a junior branch of YMCA. Opened in 1896, the club was housed in a purpose-built premises at 221 Wakefield Street, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The Our Boys Institute included lecture and games rooms, indoor ...

. In 1898 Lady Victoria returned to England with her husband on leave. Her health deteriorated and she did not return to Australia. In 1902 the Buxtons built St Thomas's Church in Upshire.

Death/Legacy

She died at North Lodge, Cromer on 9 August 1916, aged 77.

References

*Joan B. Huffman, ''Buxton, Lady Victoria (1839–1916)'', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Buxton, Lady Victoria 1839 births 1916 deaths British Christians People from Waltham Abbey, Essex People from Rutland People from Maidstone Daughters of British earls Victoria Victoria Wives of baronets 19th-century British philanthropists