Anne Vaughan, Duchess of Bolton (1689 – 20 September 1751), formerly Lady Anne Vaughan, was the wife of

Charles Powlett, 3rd Duke of Bolton Charles Powlett (sometimes spelled Paulet), 3rd Duke of Bolton (3 September 168526 August 1754), styled Earl of Wiltshire from 1685 until 1699, and Marquess of Winchester from 1699 until 1722, was a British landowner and Whig politician who sat ...

. Although her married name was Powlett (or Paulet), she is generally known by her maiden name of Vaughan, under which name she was a signatory to

Thomas Coram Sea captain, Captain Thomas Coram ( – 29 March 1751) was an English sea captain and philanthropist who created the London Foundling Hospital in Lamb's Conduit Fields, Bloomsbury, to look after abandoned children on the streets of London. It is ...

's petition of 1729, which led to the foundation of the

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital (formally the Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children) was a children's home in London, England, founded in 1739 by the philanthropy, philanthropic Captain (nautical), sea captain ...

. Lady Anne Vaughan was a daughter of

John Vaughan, 3rd Earl of Carbery John Vaughan, 3rd Earl of Carbery KB, FRS (baptised 8 July 1639 – 12 January 1713), styled Lord Vaughan from 1643 to 1686, was a Welsh nobleman and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Jamaica between 1675 and 1678. Life H ...

, and his second wife Lady Anne Saville, who died after giving birth to her. On 21 July 1713, she married Charles Powlett or Paulet, son of

Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton (1661 – 21 January 1722) was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Member of Parliament for Hampshire and a supporter of William III of Orange. Life He was the son of Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton, and Mary S ...

, but the marriage, forced on him by his father, was childless and unhappy. As soon as he succeeded to his father's title, the couple separated. In 1728, the duke began an affair with the actress, Lavinia Fenton, which resulted in three illegitimate sons; he married Lavinia shortly after Anne's death. It was said of the duchess that "crammed with virtue and good qualities, she thought it impossible not to find gratitude, though she failed to give passion; and upon this she threw away her estate, was despised by her husband and laughed at by the public". She retired from public life, while her husband used her inheritance to fund a lavish lifestyle and support his illegitimate family. From 1731 to her death in 1749, she lived in a newly-built townhouse at 49 Upper Brook Street. She was only the second of the aristocratic women to sign Coram's petition, and is thought to have encouraged her step-mother-in-law Henrietta, Dowager Duchess of Bolton, who signed three days later. Anne's noted philanthropy made her a good candidate for Coram to approach, since the aristocratic ladies lent their cachet to the project as well as supporting its 'Christian, virtuous and humanitarian aspects'. As the last of the line of the Vaughans of

Golden Grove, Carmarthenshire Golden Grove () is a mansion and estate in the Welsh county of Carmarthenshire, located southwest of Llandeilo. History There have been three mansions on the estate. The first was built in 1560 by the Vaughan family, which was later ennobled ...

, she bequeathed the estate to a relative, Richard Vaughan, who was then living at Shenfield in Essex. Anne's portrait, by Sir

Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723) was a German-born British painter. The leading Portrait painting, portraitist in England during the late Stuart period, Stuart and early Georgian eras ...

, is held by Carmarthenshire County Museum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolton, Anne Vaughan, Duchess of 1689 births 1751 deaths English duchesses by marriage English women philanthropists Daughters of Irish earls