. Susanna Brudenell-Bruce, Countess of Ailesbury (15 April 1732 – 4 February 1783), formerly Susanna(h) Hoare, was the first wife of Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury, and the mother of the 1st Marquess. She was born at Stourhead, Wiltshire, the daughter of wealthy banker

Henry Hoare Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

and his second wife Sarah, formerly Sarah Colt. Her elder sister, Anne, married Sir Richard Hoare, 1st Bt., and died in 1759. Her first husband was

Charles Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan Charles Boyle, Viscount Dungarvan (27 January 1729 – 16 September 1759) was an Anglo-Irish politician. Boyle was the eldest son of John Boyle, 5th Earl of Cork and his first wife, Henrietta, daughter of George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney. He ...

, whom she married in 1753; the marriage was rumoured to be unhappy. They had one child, Henrietta Boyle (c.1756–1793), who married

John O'Neill, 1st Viscount O'Neill John O'Neill, 1st Viscount O'Neill PC (16 January 1740 – 18 June 1798) was an Irish politician. O'Neill was the son of Charles O'Neill (died 1769), Member of Parliament for Randalstown, by Catherine Brodrick, daughter of St John Brodrick, of ...

, and had children. Henrietta became widely known in literary circles. Viscount Dungarvan died in 1759. The widowed Lady Dungarvan married Brudenell-Bruce on 17 February 1761 at Tottenham Park, Wiltshire. Their children were: *Lady Caroline Anne Brudenell-Bruce (d. 1824), who died unmarried *George Brudenell-Bruce, Lord Bruce (1762–1783), who as a child was painted by William Hoare, died unmarried *Lady Frances Elizabeth Brudenell-Bruce (1765–1836), who as a child was painted by William Hoare, married Sir Henry Wilson; the couple later took the surname Wright to secure an inheritance *Hon. Charles Bruce (1767–1768) *

Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Marquess of Ailesbury (14 February 1773 – 4 January 1856), styled The Honourable Charles Brudenell-Bruce from birth until 1776, Lord Bruce from 1776 to 1814 and The Earl of Ailesbury from 1814 to 1821, was a Britis ...

(1773–1856), who married twice, first to Henrietta Maria Hill and second to Maria Elizabeth Tollemache, and had children by both marriages The countess died in 1783, aged 50. She was an artist in needlework whose “piece of flowers in needle-work” was considered sufficiently of interest to be exhibited publicly in 1768 by the Free Society of Artists, as was subsequently catalogued by the publisher and art historian

Algernon Graves Algernon Graves (London 1845–1922 London) was a British art historian and art dealer, who specialised in the documentation of the exhibition and sale of works of art. He created reference sources that began the modern discipline of provenance r ...

. The portrait of her by William Hoare shows her holding yarn and she appears to be engaged in lace tatting. Her dress carries prominent black lace tatting decorations. Five years after his first wife's death, the earl married Lady Anne Elizabeth Rawdon (1753–1813); they had no children. The earl himself died in 1814. A portrait of the countess, dated 1757, by

Arthur Pond Arthur Pond (–1758) was an English painter and engraver. Life Born about 1705, he was educated in London, and stayed for a time in Rome studying art, in company with the sculptor Roubiliac. He became a successful portrait-painter. From ...

, is held by the National Trust at

Stourhead Stourhead () is a 1,072-hectare (2,650-acre) estate at the source of the River Stour in the southwest of the English county of Wiltshire, extending into Somerset. The estate is about northwest of the town of Mere and includes a Grade I listed ...

. Another portrait, by William Hoare of Bath, is held at the Victoria Art Gallery in Bath.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ailesbury, Susanna Brudenell-Bruce, Countess of 1732 births 1783 deaths British countesses

Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...