Louisa Thynne, Viscountess Weymouth (c.1712 – 25 December 1736), formerly Lady Louisa Carteret (or De Carteret), was the second wife of

Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth (21 May 1710 – 1751) of Longleat House in Wiltshire was an English peer, descended from Sir John Thynne (c.1515-1580) builder of Longleat. Origins He was born on 21 May 1710, the son of Thomas Thynne (d.1 ...

. She was the daughter of

John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, 7th Seigneur of Sark, (; 22 April 16902 January 1763), commonly known by his earlier title Lord Carteret, was a British statesman and Lord President of the Council from 1751 to 1763; he worked extremely close ...

, and his first wife, the former Frances Worsley. She married the viscount on 3 July 1733, four years after the death of his first wife. They had two children: *

Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath, KG, PC (13 September 173419 November 1796), of Longleat in Wiltshire, was a British politician who held office under King George III. He served as Southern Secretary, Northern Secretary and Lord Lieuten ...

& 3rd Viscount Weymouth (13 September 1734 – 19 November 1796) * Henry Frederick Carteret, 1st Baron Carteret of Hawnes (17 November 1735 – 17 June 1826) Louisa's portrait was painted by

John Vanderbank John Vanderbank (9 September 1694 – 23 December 1739)Waterhouse, Ellis. ''Painting in Britain 1530–1790'' (Penguin Books, 1957). was a leading English portrait painter who enjoyed a high reputation during the last decade of George I of Gr ...

; in the picture, she wears "a fancy dress of pink and black". A myth has grown up that the family home of

Longleat House Longleat is an English stately home and the seat of the Marquesses of Bath. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, it is adjacent to the village of Horningsham and near the towns of Warminster and Westbury in Wiltshire, ...

is haunted by Louisa's ghost, grieving over the death of her lover, who was discovered and killed by her husband. There is no historical evidence for the existence of the lover. Her friend, Mrs Delany, wrote in her memoirs:"I know some who had higher virtues than she had, but none with fewer faults. Her husband's ... loss is irreparable." The viscountess died in childbirth at her home in Grosvenor Square, London, and was buried in the traditional Thynne family resting-place of

Longbridge Deverill Longbridge Deverill is a village and civil parish about south of Warminster in Wiltshire, England. It is on the A350 primary route which connects the M4 motorway and west Wiltshire with Poole, Dorset. The parish is in the Deverill valley which ...

, Wiltshire. The 3rd viscount succeeded to the Carteret estates on the death of Louisa's brother, Robert Carteret, 3rd Earl Granville, in 1776.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thynne, Louisa, Viscountess Weymouth 1710s births 1736 deaths English viscountesses 18th-century English nobility 18th-century English women Louisa Louisa Daughters of British earls English ghosts