Jane Fane, Countess of Westmorland (1783 – ), formerly Jane Saunders (or Huck-Saunders), was the second wife of

John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland, (1 June 175915 December 1841), styled Lord Burghersh between 1771 and 1774, was a British Tory politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, who served in most of the cabinets of the period, primari ...

Life

Jane was one of the two daughters of Dr Richard Huck-Saunders (born Richard Huck) and his wife, the former Jane Kinsey. Her great-uncle was Admiral Sir Charles Saunders. Her sister Anne became Viscountess Melville. Through the admiral, his wife's maternal uncle, Dr Huck-Saunders came into possession of a sizeable inheritance, which was left to their daughters. It was said of the countess that she was "... perhaps not mad, but nobody ever approached so near it with so much reason." She was a patron of the poet

John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tub ...

and his friend, the artist

Joseph Severn Joseph Severn (7 December 1793 – 3 August 1879) was an English portrait and subject painter and a personal friend of the English poet John Keats. He exhibited portraits, Italian genre, literary and biblical subjects, and a selection of ...

, and later a supporter of

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

, despite her friendship with

Lady Caroline Lamb Lady Caroline Lamb (née Ponsonby; 13 November 1785 – 25 January 1828) was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat and novelist, best known for '' Glenarvon'', a Gothic novel. In 1812, she had an affair with Lord Byron, whom she described as "mad, bad, a ...

(who first met Byron at the countess's house).

John Hoppner John Hoppner (4 April 175823 January 1810) was an English portrait painter, much influenced by Joshua Reynolds, who achieved fame as a colourist. Early life Hoppner was born in Whitechapel, London, the son of German parents – his mother w ...

painted her portrait in the guise of Hebe. After her husband's death, the dowager countess bought Cotterstock Hall near

Oundle Oundle () is a market town and civil parish on the left bank of the River Nene in North Northamptonshire, England, which had a population of 6,254 at the time of the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. It is north of London and south-wes ...

. It was at

Brympton d'Evercy Brympton d'Evercy (alternatively Brympton House) is a Listed building, Grade I listed manor house near Yeovil in the county of Somerset, England. The house has been called the most beautiful of its kind in England; in 1927, Christopher Hussey ( ...

that she died, predeceasing her two surviving sons, Henry and Montagu, by only a few weeks; the latter suffered from heart disease. The countess was buried in St Andrew's Church, Brympton.

Family

Jane and Lord Fane were married in 1800, when Jane was seventeen and her husband 41. The earl's first wife,

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woma ...

, had died in 1793, after producing five children. Jane had three sons and two daughters, of whom only the eldest child, Lady Georgiana Fane, outlived both parents by more than a year; Lady Georgiana became notorious for her pursuit of the

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

. *Lady Cecily Jane Georgiana Fane (1801-1875), who died unmarried *Hon. Charles Saunders John Fane (1802–1810), who died unmarried *Hon. Col. Henry Sutton Fane (1804–1857), MP, who died unmarried *Hon. Montagu Augustus Villiers Fane (1805–1857), who died unmarried *Lady Evelina Fane (1807–1808) In 1810, the couple separated and the countess lived at Brympton d'Evercy near

Yeovil Yeovil () is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England. It is close to Somerset's southern border with Dorset, west of London, south of Bristol, west of Sherborne and east of Taunton. The population of the bui ...

with Lady Georgiana. She was living outside the country at the time of her husband's death in 1841.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westmorland, Jane Fane, Countess of 1783 births 1857 deaths English countesses