Mary Jenkinson, Countess of Liverpool (; 24 June 1777 – 18 October 1846) was the second wife of
Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool who served as
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
from 1812 to 1827.
Biography
Mary Chester was born on 24 June 1777, the daughter of Charles Bagot Chester and Catherine Legge. She had three brothers and one sister.
[Burke's 2003]
Vol 2, p 2092.Her father was the son of
Sir Walter Bagot, Bt[Burke's 1999]
Vol 1, p 162. and the brother of the first
Lord Bagot. Born Charles Bagot, her father took the additional surname Chester in 1755 on inheriting
Chicheley Hall
Chicheley Hall, Chicheley, Buckinghamshire, England is a country house built in the first quarter of the 18th century. The client was Sir John Chester, the main architect was Francis Smith of Warwick and the architectural style is Baroque. Later ...
, Buckinghamshire from his cousin,
Sir Charles Bagot Chester, Bt.
Her mother was the granddaughter of
William Legge, 1st Earl of Dartmouth
William Legge, 1st Earl of Dartmouth (14 October 1672 – 15 December 1750), was Lord Privy Seal from 1713 to 1714. He was a Hanoverian Tory, supporting the Hanoverian succession following the death of Queen Anne.
Life
The only son of George ...
.
[Burke's 2003]
Vol 1, p 1037.
In 1815, Mary Chester was granted a grace and favour apartment at Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...
, where her elder sister Catherine Chester had been a resident since 1808. By this time Mary had become the close friend and companion of Louisa, Countess of Liverpool, the wife of the prime minister, Robert Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool.
Louisa died after a long illness in June 1821 aged 54. The following year, on 24 September 1822, Lord Liverpool was married to Mary Chester at Hampton Court by the Lord Bishop of London
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
. Miss Mary Chester, aged 45 at the time, then became the Countess of Liverpool.[ Lord Liverpool had been grief-stricken at Louisa's death, and his re-marriage to her long-time friend was seen as proof of his need for a 'peaceful domestic refuge', with Louisa's sister, Lady Erne, describing Mary as 'a person of more than ordinary merit'.
Liverpool began to suffer from ill-health, and finally retired as prime minister in April 1827, after having a severe stroke two months earlier. After this, he and Mary remained at their country house at Coombe, Surrey. Here his conditioned remained poor, and he died on 4 December 1828 in the presence of Mary. Having died childless, he was succeeded as ]Earl of Liverpool
Earl of Liverpool is a title that has been created twice in British history. The first time was in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1796 for Charles Jenkinson, 1st Baron Hawkesbury, a favourite of King George III (see Jenkinson baronets for ...
by his younger half-brother Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
.
In 1829, Mary, now known as the Dowager
A dowager is a widow or widower who holds a title or property—a "dower"—derived from her or his deceased spouse. As an adjective, ''dowager'' usually appears in association with monarchy, monarchical and aristocracy, aristocratic Title#Aristocr ...
Countess of Liverpool, bought Norbiton Hall near Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...
from Charles Pallmer MP. Here she lived, along with Robert Henry Jenkinson, her late husband's cousin. Mary died on the 18 October 1846, aged 69 years, at Norbiton Hall. She had been suffering from heart disease for a number of years. She was buried at All Saints Church, Kingston upon Thames
All Saints Church is the historic parish church of Kingston upon Thames on the edge of London, and is set between the ancient Market Place and the main shopping centre. It forms part of the Diocese of Southwark and with the church of St John, ...
, on 24 October.Howard 1886
p. 238.
References
Bibliography
* ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 1999'', 106th edition
* ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 2003'', 107th edition
*
*
* Accessed 27 March 2020
* Accessed 27 March 2020
* Accessed 25 March 2020
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkinson, Mary, Countess of Liverpool
1777 births
1846 deaths
Spouses of prime ministers of the United Kingdom
Burials at All Saints Church, Kingston upon Thames
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
Wives of knights