Louisa Finch, Countess of Aylesford (née Thynne; 25 March 1760 – 28 December 1832) was an English naturalist and botanical illustrator who made studies and paintings of the plants, algae, and fungi from the

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

area.

Life

She was born the eldest daughter of the politician

Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath (13 September 173419 November 1796), of Longleat in Wiltshire, was a British politician who held office under King George III. He served as Southern Secretary, Northern Secretary and Lord Lieutenant of Irel ...

, and his wife, the former Lady Elizabeth Bentinck.Cokayne George Edward. et al., eds. (2000) ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed.'', 13 volumes in 14. 1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes. Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing. Vol. I, p. 366. In 1781 she married

Heneage Finch, 4th Earl of Aylesford Heneage Finch, 4th Earl of Aylesford, PC, FRS, FSA (4 July 1751 – 21 October 1812), styled Lord Guernsey between 1757 and 1777, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1772 to 1777 when he succeeded to a peerage. He ...

. She had thirteen children, including Heneage Finch, 5th Earl of Aylesford. She was widowed in 1812. In 1816, she leased Stanmore Park House,

Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the List of highest points in London, highest point ...

, Middlesex: the site is now a housing estate, Lady Aylesford Avenue. She died at the age of 72 at the family home of Packington Hall.

Botany

Upon settling in Warwickshire, the Countess of Aylesford took to studying the region's flora. She produced over 2,800 botanical watercolour drawings and was a correspondent of botanists such as

William Withering William Withering Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (17 March 1741 – 6 October 1799) was an English botanist, geologist, chemist, physician and first systematic investigator of the bioactivity of digitalis. Withering was born in Wellington, S ...

, William Thomas Bree, and

George Don George Don (29 April 1798 – 25 February 1856) was a Scottish botanist and plant collector. Life and career George Don was born at Doo Hillock, Forfar, Angus, Scotland on 29 April 1798 to Caroline Clementina Stuart and George Don (b.1756), pr ...

. Additionally, she documented about 30 first records of plants from Warwickshire. She amassed an extensive collection of minerals, which was acquired by Henry Heuland after her death. Her plants are collected in

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, and her minerals and manuscripts in the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

Marriage and issue

Lady Louisa married

, on 18 November 1781. They lived at Packington Hall near Meriden, Warwickshire and had thirteen children: * Charles Finch, Lord Guernsey (b. 1784 - d. 18 July 1794) * Heneage Finch, 5th Earl of Aylesford (1786–1859) * Hon. Daniel Finch (25 February 1789 – 17 January 1868), artist. * Lady Frances Finch (c. 1791 – 12 July 1886), unmarried. * Hon. Edward Finch (1792 – 9 April 1830) *

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

the Hon. John Finch (1793 – 25 November 1861), married in 1835 Katherine Ellice (d. 1872) * Hon. Henry Finch (1795–1829) * Lady Charlotte Finch (d. 17 January 1869), married Charles Palmer on 22 January 1823. * Hon. Charles Finch (b. 1799) * Lady Mary Finch (d. 24 July 1823) * Lady Elizabeth Finch (d. 1 June 1879) * Lady Henrietta Finch (d. 1828) * Lady Caroline Finch (d. 1821)

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finch, Louisa Countess of Aylesford 1760 births 1832 deaths 18th-century English painters 19th-century English painters 18th-century English women artists 18th-century English naturalists 19th-century English naturalists 18th-century English women scientists English botanical illustrators

Aylesford Aylesford is a village and civil parish on the River Medway in Kent, England, northwest of Maidstone. Originally a small riverside settlement, the old village comprises around 60 houses, many of which were formerly shops. Two pubs, a villa ...

Daughters of British marquesses English watercolourists Louisa Finch English women watercolourists 18th-century British women painters 19th-century English women painters 18th-century British women