Margaret Elizabeth Child Villiers, Countess of Jersey, (née Leigh; 29 October 1849 – 22 May 1945), was an English noblewoman, activist, writer and hymn-writer.

Family

Born Margaret Elizabeth Leigh, she was the daughter and eldest child of

William Henry Leigh, 2nd Baron Leigh William Henry Leigh, 2nd Baron Leigh, (17 January 1824 – 21 October 1905) was a British politician. Life He was the eldest of three sons born to Chandos Leigh, 1st Baron Leigh and his wife Margarette Willes. He was Lord of the Manor of Hunn ...

. On 19 September 1872 she married

Victor Child Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey Victor Albert George Child Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey, (20 March 1845 – 31 May 1915) was a British banker, Conservative politician and colonial administrator from the Villiers family. He served as Governor of New South Wales between 1891 an ...

. They had six children: * George Henry Robert Child Villiers, 8th Earl of Jersey (1873–1923) * Lady Margaret Child Villiers (1874–1874), died in infancy. * Lady Margaret Child Villiers (1875–1959), married

Walter Rice, 7th Baron Dynevor Walter FitzUryan Rice, 7th Baron Dynevor (17 August 1873 – 8 June 1956) was a British military officer, civil servant and Conservative politician. He was the only son and heir of the 6th Baron Dynevor. Early life and family He was educated ...

, and had issue. * Lady Mary Julia Child Villiers (1877–1933), married

Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford Brigadier-General Thomas Pakenham, 5th Earl of Longford, KP, MVO (19 October 1864 – 21 August 1915), known as Lord Silchester until 1887, was an Anglo-Irish hereditary peer and soldier. Biography Background and early life Born in Dublin, ...

, and had issue. * Lady Beatrice Child Villiers (1880–1970), married

Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron Dunsany (; 24 July 1878 – 25 October 1957), commonly known as Lord Dunsany, was an Anglo-Irish writer and dramatist. He published more than 90 books during his lifetime, and his output consist ...

, and had issue. * Hon. Arthur George Child Villiers (1883–1969)thepeerage.com Victor Albert George Child-Villiers, 7th Earl of Island of Jersey
/ref>

Charitable work and opposition to women's suffrage

She was the founding president (1901–1914) of the

Victoria League The Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship (1901–present) is a voluntary charitable organisation that connects people from Commonwealth countries. There are currently branches in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand with affiliated organisatio ...

and was known as an opponent of women's suffrage. In 1903, she laid the foundation stone of

Brentford Library Brentford Library is a Grade II listed building at Boston Manor Road, Brentford, London. It was built in 1903 by Joseph Dorey and Co; for the then Brentford District Council. The benefactor was Andrew Carnegie and the architect was Nowell Parr ...

, and five years later she formally opened Hove Library.

Writings

She was the author of travel articles, children's plays, verse and hymns. In 1871 the Religious Tract Society published a small collection of her hymns and poems under the title of ''Hymns and Poems for very Little Children''. A second series under the same title appeared in 1875. Six of these hymns were included in W. R. Stevenson's School Hymnal, 1880. Some of these are also included in ''The Voice of Praise: for Sunday School and home'' (London S. S. Union) and other collections. In 1920 she published ''A brief history of Osterley Park'' (her husband's seat) and in 1922 ''Fifty-One Years of Victorian Life''.A brief history of Osterly Park
by the Dowager Countess of Jersey, 1920, from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF)

Honours

She was appointed

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

(DBE) in 1927.

Later life and death

Having suffered a stroke in 1909, Lord Jersey died at

Osterley Park Osterley Park is a Georgian era, Georgian country estate in west London, which straddles the London boroughs of London Borough of Ealing, Ealing and London Borough of Hounslow, Hounslow. Originally dating from the 1570s, the estate contains a ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

,''Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition'': Jersey, seventh Earl of (1845–1915)
/ref> in May 1915, aged 70. She survived her husband by 30 years and died at Middleton Park, Oxfordshire, in May 1945, aged 95.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jersey, Margaret Child Villiers, Countess of 1849 births 1945 deaths Nobility from Oxfordshire People from Warwickshire 19th-century English women writers 19th-century English writers 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English writers British activists English women activists

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

English women historians Daughters of barons Church of England hymnwriters Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire English children's writers English women poets English women dramatists and playwrights Victorian women writers Victorian writers

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

English women autobiographers English women hymnwriters Spouses of New South Wales governors British anti-suffragists