Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts ( Burdett; 21 April 1814 – 30 December 1906) was a British philanthropist, the daughter of Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet and Sophia, formerly Coutts, daughter of banker Thomas Coutts. In 1837 she became one of the wealthiest women in England when she inherited her grandfather's fortune of around £1.8 million () following the death of her stepgrandmother, Harriot Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans. She joined the surnames of her father and grandfather, by

royal licence Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Roy ...

, to become Burdett-Coutts.

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

is reported to have described her as " ter my mother, the most remarkable woman in the kingdom".

Life

Burdett-Coutts was widely known as "the richest heiress in England". She was a collector of paintings, including

Old Masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

. Among the contemporary paintings she purchased was Robert Scott Lauder's ''Christ Walking on the Sea''. The Reverend Richard Harris Barham, in a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

(part of the ''

Ingoldsby Legends ''The Ingoldsby Legends'' (full title: ''The Ingoldsby Legends, or Mirth and Marvels'') is a collection of myths, legends, ghost stories and poems written supposedly by Thomas Ingoldsby of Tappington Manor, actually a pen-name of an English cl ...

'') he wrote under the pen name "Thomas Ingoldsby" for

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's coronation, referred to her as "Miss Anja-ly Coutts". She became a subject of public curiosity, receiving numerous offers of marriage. She inherited the country house at Holly Lodge Estate in

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

, which was then just outside London, where she was famous for holding receptions. Burdett-Coutts spent part of each year at Ehrenberg Hall in

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

with her former governess and later companion Hannah Brown, to whom she was devoted. When Brown died in 1878, Burdett-Coutts wrote to a friend that she was utterly crushed by the loss of "my poor darling, the companion and sunshine of my life for 52 years". She was a friend of both

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

and Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, and she proposed marriage to the Duke despite the great disparity in their ages. Three years later, when she was 67, she shocked polite society by marrying her 29-year-old secretary, the American-born William Lehman Ashmead Bartlett, who became MP for

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

on 12 February 1881. Her new husband changed his surname to Burdett-Coutts. Because of her husband's American birth a clause in her stepgrandmother's will forbidding her heir to marry a foreign national was invoked and Burdett-Coutts forfeited three-fifths of her income to her sister.

Philanthropy

Burdett-Coutts spent the majority of her wealth on scholarships, endowments, and a wide range of philanthropic causes. One of her earliest philanthropic acts was to co-found (with

) a home for young women who had "turned to a life of immorality", including theft and prostitution. The home was known as Urania Cottage. She avoided taking sides in partisan politics, but was actively interested in improving the condition of indigenous Africans, or the education and relief of the poor or suffering in any part of the world. Though she made no special distinction of creed in her charities, Burdett-Coutts was a notable benefactor of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, building two churches – including St Stephen's Church, Rochester Row, Westminster – and endowing church schools. As executor of the will of the Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend (the author of several volumes of poetry), she, with the Rev. Thomas Helmore (also a poet), used money from Townshend's estate to build a primary school in

, known as Burdett-Coutts & Townshend Foundation Church of England Primary School. She endowed the bishoprics of

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

and

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

(1847), and the founding bishopric of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

(1857). The granite Greyfriars Bobby Fountain in Edinburgh, with a bronze statue of Greyfriars Bobby, was erected by Baroness Burdett-Coutts. She was involved with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). Burdett-Coutts was influential in the formation of the RSPCA's ladies committee in 1869 and was its first president. In 1864, she financed the

Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem The Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem of 1864–65 was the first scientific Cartography of Jerusalem, mapping of Jerusalem, and the first Ordnance Survey to take place outside the United Kingdom. It was undertaken by Charles William Wilson, a 28-year-o ...

; the primary goal of the endeavour was to find better drinking water for those living in the city. During this work (1864–1865), the group, led by

Charles William Wilson Major general (United Kingdom), Major-General Sir Charles William Wilson (14 March 183625 October 1905) was a British Army officer, geographer and archaeologist. Early life and career He was born in Liverpool on 14 March 1836. He was educat ...

, was able to produce the most accurate and comprehensive map of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

but was unable to find a new source of water. ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...

'' commented that "Charles Wilson’s work on the Jerusalem Ordnance Survey served as the basis for all future Jerusalem research". Burdett-Coutts subsequently helped fund other explorations in the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

, sometimes in conjunction with the

Palestine Exploration Fund The Palestine Exploration Fund is a British society based in London. It was founded in 1865, shortly after the completion of the Ordnance Survey of Jerusalem by Royal Engineers of the War Department. The Fund is the oldest known organization i ...

. This effort included a subsequent offer to fund another exploration to find water for Jerusalem, to be led by

Charles Warren Sir Charles Warren (7 February 1840 – 21 January 1927) was a British Army officer of the Royal Engineers. He was one of the earliest European archaeologists of the Biblical Holy Land, and particularly of the Temple Mount. Much of his military ...

. Burdett-Coutts founded Columbia Market in 1869, in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

in the East End of London, the district where much of her work was carried out. With her project in Columbia Square she became a pioneer in

social housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

. Through her support of missionary and nursing efforts she was associated with Louisa Twining and

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...

. Her small housing development, Holly Village, on the corner of what was then her estate, is now in private hands and may still be seen in Highgate. She was also the president of the British Goat Society. In 1884, she was a co-founder of the London Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which became the

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity founded as the Liverpool Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (LSPCC) by Thomas Agnew on 19 April 1883. The NSPCC lobbies t ...

(NSPCC) in 1889; she also founded the Westminster Technical Institute in 1893.

Selected other roles and projects

* President, British Beekeepers Association 1878–1906 * President of the Ladies Committee of the RSPCA (England/Scotland) * Church bells for

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

* Cotton gins for

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

* Only female Patron of Queen's Medical College, Birmingham. * Construction of the Angela Burdett-Coutts retail and wholesale produce market, which opened in 1869 * The Baroness Burdett Coutts Drinking Fountain in Victoria Park * Drinking fountains for dogs * Help for Turkish peasants and the refugees of the 1877 Russo-Turkish War, receiving the Order of the Medjidiyeh * Housing schemes for the working-class along the lines of contemporary model dwellings companies * The London Ragged School Union * A sewing school for women in

Spitalfields Spitalfields () is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and situated in the East End of London, East End. Spitalfields is formed around Commercial Street, London, Commercial Stre ...

, when the silk trade declined * Support organisations for the aboriginal peoples of Australia and for the Dayaks of

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

* Promotion of the

fishing industry The fishing industry includes any industry or activity that takes, cultures, processes, preserves, stores, transports, markets or sells fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including recreational, sub ...

in Ireland by helping to start schools and provide boats; she also advanced £250,000 in 1880 for supplying seed potatoes to the impoverished tenants * Placement of hundreds of destitute boys in training ships for the navy and merchant service * Financing the first ordnance survey of

in 1864, to improve its sanitation * Supporter of the British Horological Institute * Supporter of the Cotton Supply Association and contributed £500 in 1870 to the organisation * Purchased more than 100 Greek manuscripts ( 532– 546) from

Janina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...

(Epirus) in 1864, transported them to England between 1870 and 1872, and presented them to Sir Roger Cholmeley's School, Highgate School. * The Burdett-Coutts Memorial Sundial, commissioned for

St Pancras Old Church St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church on Pancras Road, Somers Town, London, Somers Town, in the London Borough of Camden. Somers Town is an area of the ancient parish and later Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras, London, St ...

, listing the names of many people whose bodies had been dug up from the churchyard to make space for the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...

. * Created Holly Village, the first

gated community A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences ...

, in 1865, in Highgate, London, which is a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

listed site.

Honours

In 1871, in recognition of her philanthropic work,

conferred on her a

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

peerage as Baroness Burdett-Coutts of Highgate and Brookfield in the County of Middlesex. On 18 July 1872 she became the first woman to be presented with the Freedom of the City of London at the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a guild hall or guild house, is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Europe, with many surviving today in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commo ...

, and in 1874 she became

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

's first woman Freeman and was also presented with the Freedom of that city. A road in east London was named after her in 1862 and now forms part of the A1205 in Tower Hamlets.

Death

Lady Burdett-Coutts died of acute bronchitis at her home on Stratton Street,

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

. By the time of her death she had given more than £3 million to good causes. Nearly 30,000 people filed past her coffin before she was buried on 5 January 1907 near the West Door in the nave of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

. She left no issue and the barony became extinct on her death. Preparations had been made to inter her ashes, but on the day of her funeral, Westminster Abbey unexpectedly received her uncremated body and was forced to bury her standing up. A portrait of her is included in the mural of heroic women by Walter P. Starmer unveiled in 1921 in the church of St Jude-on-the-Hill in Hampstead Garden Suburb, London.

Legacy

dedicated his novel ''

Martin Chuzzlewit ''The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit'' (commonly known as ''Martin Chuzzlewit'') is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialised between January 1843 and July 1 ...

'' to her and she had many royal and eminent friends. The book ''

Flashman's Lady ''Flashman's Lady'' is a 1977 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the sixth of the Harry Paget Flashman, Flashman novels. Plot introduction Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book descr ...

'' by

George MacDonald Fraser George MacDonald Fraser (2 April 1925 – 2 January 2008) was a Scottish author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Harry Paget Flashman, Flashman. Over the course of his career he wrote eleven n ...

makes reference to her (fictional) love for

James Brooke James Brooke (29 April 1803 – 11 June 1868), was a British soldier and adventurer who founded the Raj of Sarawak in Borneo. He ruled as the first White Rajahs, White Rajah of Sarawak from 1841 until his death in 1868. Brooke was born and ra ...

(The White Rajah), and his rejection of her due to his physical affliction. She also puts a lecherous Flashman firmly in his place by dislocating his thumb. Angela Burdett-Coutts also features in

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...

's novel '' Dodger''; in an afterword, he states that part of his reason for writing the book was to bring Burdett-Coutts to the attention of modern readers. George Meredith wrote a poem, 'Angela Burdett-Coutts', in her memory. Angela Burdett-Coutts is also a main character in the novel 'The Household' by Stacey Halls, published in 2024, which focuses on life at Urania Cottage and explores Burdett-Coutts' experience of being stalked by Richard Dunn for over a decade.

References

External links

Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts
at the Victorian Web
Article on Angela Burdett-Coutts
from Anglicans Online * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burdett-Coutts, Angela Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness 1814 births 1906 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom British women philanthropists Burials at Westminster Abbey Daughters of baronets Deaths from respiratory failure English art collectors Ernle family Hereditary peeresses created by Queen Victoria National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children people Philanthropists from London RSPCA workers British women art collectors Women of the Victorian era