Lady Theodora Guest; Theodora Grosvenor; Lady Theodora Grosvenor (July 7, 1840 – March 24, 1924) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

author,

anti-suffragist Anti-suffragism was a political movement composed of both men and women that began in the late 19th century in order to campaign against women's suffrage in countries such as Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States. To ...

, collector and benefactor. In 1913 she sold the 15th century

Braque Triptych The ''Braque Triptych'' (or the ''Braque Family Triptych'') is a c. 1452 oil-on-oak altarpiece by the Early Netherlandish painter Rogier van der Weyden. When open, its three half-length panels reveal, from left to right, John the Baptist, The ...

to the Louvre.

Life

Guest was born in 1840 in

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was developed for fashionable re ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Her parents were Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster and Lady Elizabeth (born Leveson-Gower). They were very rich and also very generous benefactors. They had thirteen children, ten of whom survived to be adults. Her brother Hugh Lupus Grosvenor succeeded her father as 3rd Marquess; he was later created

Duke of Westminster Duke of Westminster is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. It is the most recent dukedom conferred on someone not related to the ...

. Her brother Lord Richard Grosvenor became

Baron Stalbridge Baron Stalbridge, of Stalbridge in the County of Dorset, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 22 March 1886 for the politician and businessman Lord Richard Grosvenor. He was the third son of Richard Grosvenor, 2 ...

. Her magazine writing lead on to ''Motcombe Past and Present'' in 1867 and her enthusiastic Christianity and study was demonstrated in her 1873 book ''Simple Thoughts on Bible Truths''. During this time her father died and left her estates in Dorset and Wiltshire. He had also left her with the obligation to shoulder the responsibility of this endowment and in 1872 she founded the Hunt Servants Benefit Society. Grand canal Venice by Theodora Guest

Her mother bought land in 1874 and had Barcote Manor built for her at Buckland, but Guest married and went to live in Somerset after the birth of their child in 1879. Her husband was Thomas Merthyr Guest, their only daughter was Elizabeth Augusta and they lived at Inwood House at

Henstridge Henstridge is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated east of Sherborne in the South Somerset district, near the border with Dorset. The parish includes the hamlet of Yenston. In 2011, the village had a population of 1,814. H ...

. In 1895 she published ''A Round Trip to North America'' which recounted her journey the year before accompanied by her husband, a friend and her maid "Byatt". The book contained photographs which Guest had taken. Guest's husband died in 1904 and after this she funded the building of

Templecombe Templecombe is a village in Somerset, England, situated on the A357 road five miles south of Wincanton, east of Yeovil, and west of Salisbury. The village has a population of 1,560. Along with the hamlet of Combe Throop, it forms the parish of ...

's "Merthyr Guest

Cottage hospital A cottage hospital is a semi-obsolete type of small hospital, most commonly found in the United Kingdom. The original concept was a small rural building having several beds.The Cottage Hospitals 1859–1990, Dr. Meyrick Emrys-Roberts, Tern Publicati ...

" and paid towards its upkeep for several years. It opened in 1906 and it would treat children for free. It had over 100 in-patients in 1947 and operated until 1974. In 1908 she published the reasons why she would not be joining the

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

s and became a recognised

. In 1913 she sold the 15th century

to the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

for $130,000. It was said to be their most important purchase for decades and created a record price for the artist

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...

. The painting had been in her drawing room and over forty years before it had belonged to her father. Guest was also a gardener and a collector of porcelain and enamels. She died at Inwood House in

in 1924.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guest, Theodora 1840 births 1924 deaths People from London Anti-suffragists 19th-century English women writers Daughters of British marquesses