Lucy Hartstonge (born Lucy Pery) was an Irish heiress and philanthropist who founded the first fever hospital in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

(located in the city of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

), in the late 18th century.

Family

Lucy Pery was born into one of

city's most politically influential families, the only daughter of the Rev. Stackpole Pery and Jane Twigge. Her maternal grandfather was William Twigg,

Archdeacon of Limerick The Archdeacon of Limerick was a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Diocese of Limerick (and later in the Church of Ireland) from the thirteenth century to the early twentieth. Crockford's Clerical Directory 1908 p81 London, Horace Cox, 19 ...

. She was the younger sister of

Edmund Pery, 1st Viscount Pery Edmund Sexton Pery, 1st Viscount Pery (8 April 1719 – 24 February 1806; middle name also spelt ''Sexten'') was an Anglo-Irish politician who served as Speaker of the Irish House of Commons between 1771 and 1785. Early life He was born in Limeri ...

and

William Pery, 1st Baron Glentworth William Cecil Pery, 1st Baron Glentworth (26 July 1721 – 4 July 1794) was an 18th-century Anglican bishop in Ireland. He was born on 26 July 1721, the son of Reverend Stackpole Pery and Jane Twigg, daughter of William Twigg, Archdeacon of L ...

. In 1751 she married

Sir Henry Hartstonge, 3rd Baronet Sir Henry Hartstonge, 3rd Baronet (c. 1725 – 1797) was an Anglo-Irish politician and landowner who sat in the Irish House of Commons as member for Limerick County. He was a close political associate of his influential brother-in-law Edmund Per ...

, also MP for Limerick, after whom the Limerick streets of Henry Street and Sir Harry's Mall are named; Hartstonge Street (now divided into Upper and Lower sections) is named for them both. The Hartstonges had no children, and the baronetcy died with Henry. She died on 20 March 1793 in Limerick City and interred in her husband's family vault in Bruff, County Limerick.

Projects

In 1776, she erected a new church in

Bruff Bruff () is a town in east County Limerick, in the midwest of Ireland, located on the old Limerick–Cork road ( R512). The town lies on the Morning Star river, with two bridges in the town itself. The horseshoe lake of Lough Gur is nearby ...

, County Limerick.

Hospital

Independently wealthy, Lady Hartstonge purchased the site of the old St John's Barracks in 1780, and founded the ''Lock and Fever Hospital'' (now

St. John's Hospital, Limerick St. John's Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal Naomh Eoin) is an acute general voluntary hospital located in the city of Limerick, County Limerick, Ireland. St. John's Hospital is governed and managed independently by its own hospital board in accordance wi ...

), the city's first hospital, in an old guard-house, beginning with three wards opened in 1781. She persuaded wealthy friends to donate to the hospital project, and her husband agreed to act as treasurer; she worked in the hospital herself until her death in 1793. In 1988, the

Limerick Civic Trust The Limerick Civic Trust is an environmental, architectural conservation and educational organisation founded in 1982 that works to identify, record, preserve and publicise Limerick's culture, history, environment and architectural heritage. Alth ...

erected a plaque detailing her involvement in the foundation of the hospital.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartstone, Lucy Irish philanthropists Health professionals from Limerick (city)

Lucy Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Luci ...

18th-century philanthropists 18th-century Irish women 18th-century women philanthropists