Susan, Viscountess Pellew ( Frowde; 1756–1837) was the wife of

Edward Pellew Admiral Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB (19 April 1757 – 23 January 1833) was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars. His younger brother ...

, 1st Viscount Exmouth. Susan Frowde was born in East Knoyle in Wiltshire, the daughter of James Frowde Esq. She met Edward Pellew in 1782. They married on 28 May 1783 when she was reportedly aged eighteen and he was twenty-six. The couple lived in Truro, Cornwall, for a short period after their marriage before moving to New Road in Flushing, close to Falmouth where Susan's brother-in-law, Samuel Pellew, was Collector of Customs. The Pellews had six children: * Emma Mary Pellew (18 January 1785 – March 1835) * Pownoll Bastard Pellew, later 2nd Viscount Exmouth (1 July 1786 – 2 December 1833) * Julia Pellew (28 November 1787 – 26 December 1831) * Fleetwood Broughton Reynolds Pellew, later an admiral and knight (13 December 1789 – 28 July 1861) * George Pellew, Dean of Norwich (3 April 1793 – 13 October 1866) * Edward William Pellew, later a minister (3 November 1799 – 29 August 1869) After Pellew was knighted for defeating the French frigate ''

Cléopâtre ''Cléopâtre'' is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Payen. It was first performed at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo on 23 February 1914, nearly two years after Massenet's death. ''Cléopâtre'' is one of three ope ...

'' in the action of 18 June 1793, King George III awarded Susan a £150 annuity from the Privy Purse to cover additional household expenses associated with her husband's new title. She later became Lady Exmouth, when Pellew was made

Baron Exmouth Viscount Exmouth, of Canonteign in the County of Devon, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. History The title was created in 1816 for the prominent naval officer Edward Pellew, 1st Baron Exmouth. He had already been created a baro ...

of Canonteign in 1814. In 1797, as her husband's fame increased following the action of 13 January 1797, when Pellew's frigate HMS ''Indefatigable'' and her consort HMS ''Amazon'' defeated the French 74-gun ship '' Droits de l'Homme'', she and the family moved from their terraced house in Flushing to the rented Trefusis Manor. Susan was a devoted wife who supported her husband's naval career, managed their estate and raised their family during his absences at sea; however, she vehemently opposed his political ambitions and when he was appointed MP for

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

in 1802 she refused to accompany him to London. When Pellew was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies Station in 1805, Susan chose to remain in England with her family. Though the couple were apart for five years, they maintained a regular correspondence. While Pellew was serving in the East Indies, Susan took in a young woman in reduced circumstances, Jane Smith, who came to regard Susan and Pellew as her adopted parents. In 1804, she bought the family's first property, Hampton House in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

. She lived there until 1811 when she sold the property to the Reverend

Robert Hawker Robert Hawker (1753–1827) was an Anglican priest in Devon, vicar of Charles Church, Plymouth. Called "Star of the West" for his popular preaching, he was known as an evangelical and author. The Cornish poet Robert Stephen Hawker was his gr ...

. In 1812, she purchased two new properties for the family: Canonteign House, where her eldest son, Pownoll, lived with his wife, Eliza, and West Cliffe House (now Bitton House) in Teignmouth where she and her husband resided after his retirement, with various children and grandchildren, until his death in 1833. Susan disapproved of the posthumous biography of Pellew, commissioned by his brother Samuel and written by Edward Osler, and she burned the majority of her husband's personal correspondence. Susan Pellew died on 29 October 1837, four years after her husband, and is buried with him at Christow in Devon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pellew, Susan 1837 deaths 1756 births Royal Navy Exmouth Wives of knights People from Wiltshire People from Teignmouth