Hilda Madeline Gordon-Lennox, Duchess of Richmond and Gordon (''née'' Brassey; 16 June 1872 – 29 December 1971) was a British aristocrat, horticulturist, and philanthropist. She was known as Lady Settrington from 1893 to 1903, and as Countess of March from 1903–28. She was born at 51

Queen's Gate Queen's Gate is a street in South Kensington, London, England. It runs south from Kensington Gardens' Queen's Gate (the edge of which gardens are here followed by Kensington Road) to Old Brompton Road, intersecting Cromwell Road. The street i ...

, Kensington, the daughter of Henry Brassey, M.P. and Anna Harriet Stevenson (died 15 July 1898), and granddaughter of the railway pioneer

Thomas Brassey Thomas Brassey (7 November 18058 December 1870) was an English civil engineering contractor and manufacturer of building materials who was responsible for building much of the world's railways in the 19th century. By 1847, he had built about o ...

. She married Charles Gordon-Lennox, Lord Settrington in 1893. Her husband succeeded as 8th Duke of Richmond and 3rd Duke of Gordon in 1928. Lady Settrington joined her husband in South Africa in early 1900, when he served there during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

. She was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

in 1902, and in 1927 she became the first chairman of the

National Gardens Scheme The National Garden Scheme opens privately owned gardens in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and the Channel Islands on selected dates for charity. It was founded in 1927 with the aim of "opening gardens of quality, character and interest to th ...

. The Duchess was closely involved with the Soldiers', Sailors', and Airmen's Families Association (SSAFA). She was national vice-chairman of the charity from 1925–45 and acting national chairman from 1939–41. She also held the office of Justice of the Peace (JP) for

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

and, later,

Morayshire The County of Moray, ( ) or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county in Scotland. The county town was Elgin. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 most of the historic ...

. She was invested as a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1919 New Year Honours The 1919 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Janu ...

and as DBE in the

1946 New Year Honours The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginn ...

in recognition of her work with the SSAFA. Her husband died in 1935. She died in 1971, aged 99.

Family

On 8 June 1893, Hilda Madeline Brassey married Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, the 8th Duke of Richmond (born 30 December 1870 – died 7 May 1935); they had the following children: * Lady Amy Gwendoline Gordon-Lennox (5 May 1894 – 1975); married, in 1917, Sir James Stuart Coats. * Hon. Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox (15 August 1895 – 5 September 1895) * Lady Doris Hilda Gordon-Lennox (6 September 1896 – ); married Commander Clare George Vyner. She was a bridesmaid to Princess Mary and a close friend of

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

. * Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, Lord Settrington (26 January 1899 – 24 August 1919) * Frederick Charles Gordon-Lennox, 9th Duke of Richmond, 9th Duke of Lennox, 4th Duke of Gordon (5 February 1904 – 2 November 1989)

References

* Charles Mosley, editor, ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage'', 107th edition'', 3 volumes (

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, page 489. {{DEFAULTSORT:Richmond, Hilda Gordon-Lennox, Duchess of 1872 births 1971 deaths Hilda English duchesses by marriage Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire People from Kensington People from Sussex Fellows of the Royal Horticultural Society Hilda