Elizabeth Onslow, Baroness Onslow
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Elizabeth Onslow (1692 – 19 April 1731) was an English aristocrat and social reformer. She was the daughter of the merchant John Knight, and niece to Colonel Charles Knight, both of whom derived great fortunes from trading in Jamaica. She was heir to both men, whose wealth derived from trading and slave plantations in Jamaica. She was married to
Thomas Onslow, 2nd Baron Onslow Thomas Onslow, 2nd Baron Onslow (27 November 1679 – 5 June 1740), of West Clandon, Surrey, was a British landowner and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1702 and 1717. He commissioned the building ...
, at
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 ...
on 17 November 1708. He may have used her great wealth to contribute to the rebuilding of his family home,
Clandon Park House Clandon Park House is an early 18th-century grade I listed Palladian mansion in West Clandon, near Guildford in Surrey. It stands in the south east corner of Clandon Park, a agricultural parkland estate which has been the seat of the Earls of ...
, as a fashionable
Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
-style mansion. She was one of a group of noblewomen who signed their names to the Ladies' petition for
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 ...
to establish the London
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 ...
. Gillian Wagner speculates that Coram was introduced to her through her husband's cousin
Arthur Onslow Arthur Onslow (1 October 169117 February 1768) was an English politician. He set a record for length of service when repeatedly elected to serve as Speaker of the House of Commons, where he was known for his integrity. Early life and educat ...
, who was
Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...
. Coram called her 'a woman of the truest goodness of mind and heart that I ever knew'. She signed the petition on 8 April 1730.Exhibition catalogue, 'Ladies of Quality and Distinction', The Foundling Museum, London, 2018.https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/events/ladies-of-quality-distinction/


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onslow, Elizabeth 1692 births 1731 deaths 18th-century English philanthropists