Mary Benson (née Sidgwick; 1841–1918) was an English hostess of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

. She was the wife of Revd. Edward Benson, who during their marriage became

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

. Their children included several prolific authors and contributors to cultural life. During her marriage, she was involved with Lucy Tait (11 February 1856 – 5 December 1938), daughter of the previous Archbishop of Canterbury. She was described by

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

, the British Prime Minister, as the 'cleverest woman in Europe'.

Life

Miss Tait, Archbishop Davidson (Archbishop of Canterbury), Mrs

Mary Sidgwick was born in Britain in 1841, at

Skipton Skipton (also known as Skipton-in-Craven) is a market town and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the East Division of Staincliffe Wapentake in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is on the River Air ...

, Yorkshire, the only daughter of Rev. William Sidgwick of Skipton, Yorkshire, who was a headmaster, and his wife, Mary (née Crofts), whose parents were the Rev. William Crofts, B.D., vicar of North Grimston, and Miss Carr of Bolton Abbey, who were married at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in 1804. She was the youngest of six children, and was nicknamed Minnie. Among her older brothers was the philosopher,

Henry Sidgwick Henry Sidgwick (; 31 May 1838 – 28 August 1900) was an English utilitarian philosopher and economist. He was the Knightbridge Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1883 until his death, and is best known in philos ...

. She and

Edward White Benson Edward White Benson (14 July 1829 – 11 October 1896) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 until his death. Before this, he was the first Bishop of Truro, serving from 1877 to 1883, and began construction of Truro Cathedral. He was previousl ...

were married on 23 June 1859 at

Rugby, Warwickshire Rugby is a market town in eastern Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon. In the 2021 census its population was 78,125, making it the second-largest town in Warwickshire. It is the main settlement within the larger Borough of Rugby whi ...

, by

Frederick Temple Frederick Temple (30 November 1821 – 23 December 1902) was an English academic, teacher and churchman, who served as Bishop of Exeter (1869–1885), Bishop of London (1885–1896) and Archbishop of Canterbury (1896–1902). Early life T ...

. Between 1860 and 1871 they had six children. Their daughter,

Margaret Benson Margaret Benson (16 June 1865 – 13 May 1916) was an English author and Egyptologist best known for her excavation of the Precinct of Mut. Early life and family Margaret was born in 1865 near Reading, England, as one of the six children ...

was an artist, author and amateur

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...

. Mary Eleanor "Nellie" Benson was a social worker and writer. Their fifth child was the novelist,

E. F. Benson Edward Frederic Benson (24 July 1867 – 29 February 1940) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, archaeologist and short story writer. Early life E.F. Benson was born at Wellington College (Berkshire), Wellington College in Berkshir ...

, best remembered for the ''

Mapp and Lucia ''Mapp and Lucia'' is a 1931 comic novel written by E. F. Benson. It is the fourth of six novels in the popular Mapp and Lucia series, about idle women in the 1920s and their struggle for social dominance over their small communities. It bring ...

'' novels. Another son was A. C. Benson, the author of the lyrics to

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

's "

Land of Hope and Glory "Land of Hope and Glory" is a British patriotic song, with music by Edward Elgar written in 1901 and lyrics by A. C. Benson later added in 1902. Composition The music to which the words of the refrain 'Land of Hope and Glory, &c' below ar ...

" and master of

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

. Their sixth and youngest child,

Robert Hugh Benson Robert Hugh Benson AFSC KC*SG KGCHS (18 November 1871 – 19 October 1914) was an English Catholic priest and writer. First an Anglican priest, he was received into the Catholic Church in 1903 and ordained therein the next year. He wa ...

, became a priest in the Church of England before converting to Roman Catholicism and writing many popular novels. After her husband's death in 1896 Mary set up household with Lucy Tait, daughter of the previous archbishop of Canterbury,

Archibald Campbell Tait Archibald Campbell Tait (21 December 18113 December 1882) was an Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England and theologian. He was the first Scottish Archbishop of Canterbury and thus, head of the Church of England. Life Tait was bor ...

, who had first moved in with the Bensons in 1889. She died on 15 June 1918 in

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

. Tait and Benson are buried at St Mary's Church, Addington, Surrey, with their respective families.

Children

Mary, with her husband Edward, had six children. #Martin Benson – A prodigy who was raising high hopes by academic excellence, but died at the age of 18 by a not clearly defined disease. # Arthur Christopher Benson – An academic at Cambridge University, author of popular books in his time, and now remembered for his lyrics to Elgar's "Land of Hope and Glory". #

(Maggie) – An amateur Egyptologist who was committed to a psychiatric institution in her later life, following a now unclear incident involving her mother and possibly Lucy Tait. #

Edward Frederic Benson Edward Frederic Benson (24 July 1867 – 29 February 1940) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, archaeologist and short story writer. Early life E.F. Benson was born at Wellington College in Berkshire, the fifth child of the headma ...

– a socialiser in London's high society and author of much popular fiction, including "Mapp and Lucia". #Nellie Benson – social worker. Died at the early age of 26. #

-Church of England priest, converted to Roman Catholicism and author of popular religious and supernatural novels centred on apologetic themes of his religion. There were no grandchildren.

Ancestry

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20110812004046/http://auden.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/auden/individual.php?pid=I10766&ged=auden-bicknell.ged
The Daily Telegraph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Mary 1841 births 1918 deaths

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

British salon-holders English LGBT people People from Skipton

Life

Children

Ancestry

References

Further reading

External links