Estella Cave, Countess Cave Of Richmond
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Estella Cave, Countess Cave of Richmond (April 1856 - 7 January 1938, Somerset), was an author and the first to hold the role of Division Commissioner for Kingston Girl Guides from 1911 to 1926. She was the recipient of the
Silver Fish Award The Silver Fish Award is the highest adult award in Girlguiding. It is awarded for outstanding service to Girlguiding combined with service to world Guiding. The award has changed greatly since it first appeared in 1911, initially being awarded ...
, Girl Guiding’s highest adult honour. She was married to
George Cave, 1st Viscount Cave George Cave, 1st Viscount Cave, (23 February 1856 – 29 March 1928) was a British lawyer and Conservative politician. He was Home Secretary under David Lloyd George from 1916 to 1919 and served as Lord Chancellor from 1922 to 1924 and again ...
, who became Lord Chancellor in 1922.


Early life and family

Annie Estella Sarah Penfold Mathews was born in April 1856 at Woolston Manor, North Cadbury, Somerset. She was the fifth child of Captain William Withey Mathew, of the 20th South Rifles, and Jane Wallas Penfold, a naturalist. Her brother, Sir Lloyd William Mathews was an abolitionist. As a child, her mother encouraged her to study nature. She took a particular interest in ants and in 1933 wrote a book about them, ''Ant Antics''.


Marriage to Rt Hon. George Cave

She married the Rt Hon. Lord High Chancellor, 1st Viscount Cave on 7 January 1885 at
All Saints Church, Fulham All Saints' Church is the ancient parish church of Fulham, in the County of Middlesex, pre-dating the Reformation. The parish was founded in the precinct of Fulham Manor, currently adjacent to it, which was in the possession of the Bishops o ...
. Over the years, she gave birth to four children, but none survived more than a few days. When they first married, the Caves lived on Richmond Hill, but from 1890 their principal residence was Wardrobe Court, part of
Richmond Palace Richmond Palace was a Tudor royal residence on the River Thames in England which stood in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Situated in what was then rural Surrey, it lay upstream and on the opposite bank from the Palace of Westminste ...
, where
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
had died. The name "Wardrobe Court" came from its previous incarnation providing soft furnishings for the palace, as well as storage for Elizabeth’s 2,000 gowns. George’s mother moved in with them after her husband’s death in 1894. Cave was a committed gardener. She researched the original planting of Richmond Palace’s gardens and reinstated the pomegranate tree, which once stood in the garden in memory of
Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...
, together with historically accurate walnut, mulberry, quince and chequer trees. In 1906, when George became a member of the Conservative Government, they had a home on
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 ...
. In 1915, when he became
Solicitor general A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...
, they moved to
Smith Square Smith Square is a square in Westminster, London, 250 metres south-southwest of the Palace of Westminster. Most of its garden square, garden interior is filled by St John's, Smith Square, a English Baroque, Baroque surplus church, the inside of w ...
. During their time at Smith Square, Cave experienced 19 German air raids, and more when at Wardrobe Court. When George became Lord of Appeal in 1918, they left Smith Square and moved back to Wardrobe Court full time. In 1922, when George became
Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
they had lodgings at the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
. She counted among her friends the author
J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...
. The two wrote dozens of letters to each other.


Travel

Cave accompanied her husband on three long journeys, to East Africa in 1901, South Africa in 1919 and North America in 1920. They were keen to move to South Africa for work, but George’s mother would not allow it. They also travelled to Cap Martin, Monte Carlo, Belgium, the Ardennes, the Channel Islands, Skye, Italy, Austria and Norway.


Canvassing

Cave became involved in politics in 1906, helping her husband with his electioneering. Of this experience she wrote, “At that time I knew nothing of politics, and cared less, but it was for the man I worked, because I knew what he and his work meant for the country.” She went on to become “famed as a first-class political canvasser”.


Golf

Cave and her husband were both keen golfers and played courses in England, Ireland, Scotland and
Le Touquet Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (, Picard language, Picard: ''Ech Toutchet-Paris-Plache''), commonly referred to as Le Touquet (), is a Communes of France, commune near Étaples, in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, northern France. ...
. The course at Burnham and Berrow in Somerset inspired them to buy a home – St. Ann’s – there in 1917, which lay between the ladies’ course and the men’s course. They would spend all their free time at St Ann’s, and regularly attended St Mary Magdalene church in Berrow.


Countess Cave

The day her husband died, in March 1928, it was announced that he was to have been bestowed an earldom. The title passed to Cave and the following May, she was created Countess Cave of Richmond, moving to Burnham permanently. Cave died on 7 January 1938 and was buried alongside her husband at St Mary Magdelene, Berrow.


Community work

* President, Burnham Women’s Conservative Association * President, Burnham Ladies’ Club * Worked with
Barnardo's Barnardo's is a global charity headquartered in Barkingside in the London Borough of Redbridge. It was founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children. As of 2013, it raised and spent around £200 million each ye ...
* Division Commissioner of Kingston Girl Guides (1911 to 1926) * President, Burnham and District Girl Guides * Raised funds for the Royal Star and Garter Home, Richmond * Lord and Lady Cave “made a practice of visiting the old folk in the Richmond workhouse on Christmas morning.”


Writing

* ''Memories of Old Richmond, with some sidelights on English history'', illustrated by George Brandram (1922) * ''From my Rhodesian Diary'' (1923) * ''Odd and Ends of My Life'' (1928) * ''Three Journeys'' (1928), based on her journeys to East Africa, including Zanzibar and Uganda, South Africa, America and Canada. It was written in response to a bet from Cave’s sister-in-law that she wouldn’t be able to maintain a diary for her entire travels. * ''Lord Cave: A Memoir'' (1931) by Sir
Charles Mallet Sir Charles Edward Mallet (2 December 1862 – 21 November 1947), was a British historian and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician. He was knighted in 1917. Life He was the only son of the activist Louisa Mallet, Louisa (born Udny) and Cha ...
(introductory chapter) * ''Ant Antics'', including illustrations (1933), a book of verse in praise of ants, with additional poems from
Stanley Baldwin Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (3 August 186714 December 1947), was a British statesman and Conservative politician who was prominent in the political leadership of the United Kingdom between the world wars. He was prime ministe ...
,
Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder of The Scout Association, The Boy Scou ...
, and
Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...
among others. The foreword read: “For many years Lady Cave has taken a special interest in the high character and domestic virtues of the ant. She has acquired much quaint information about them, and her enthusiasm has impelled some of her friends to break out at her behest into (often most unaccustomed) verse. Prime Ministers and Professors, Men of Business and Men of Leisure, all contribute to this very real ant-hology.” Cave contributed articles to ''
The Nineteenth Century and After ''The Nineteenth Century'' was a British monthly literary magazine founded in 1877 by James Knowles. It is regarded by historians as 'one of the most important and distinguished monthlies of serious thought in the last quarter of the nineteent ...
'' periodical including ''From my Rhodesian diary'' (1922), ''From my Canadian diary'' (1923) and ''Some Notes on Dress'' (1924).


Awards and honours

* 1926 - Silver Fish Award * 1935 - King George’s Jubilee medal *
Queen Elisabeth Medal The Queen Elisabeth Medal (, ) was a Belgian decoration created by royal decree in October 1916 to recognise exceptional services to Belgium in the relief of the suffering of its citizens during the First World War. Its statute was ratified on 14 ...


See also

* http://www.captureburnham.co.uk/people/movers-and-shakers/lord-cave * Bury, Adrian (1968) ''Just a Moment in Time: Some Recollections of a Versatile Life in Art, Literature & Journalism'' Pub. Charles Skilton


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cave, Estella 1856 births 1938 deaths Recipients of the Silver Fish Award Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting Girlguiding Girlguiding officials British countesses Hereditary peeresses created by George V Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom English writers English women writers