Margaretta Armstrong Finch-Hatton, Countess of Winchilsea and Nottingham (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Drexel) (March 1, 1885 – December 22, 1952) was an American heiress who married into the English aristocracy.

Early life

Margaretta was born in 1885 into a wealthy Philadelphia banking dynasty. She was the daughter of Margarita (née Armstrong) Drexel and Anthony Joseph Drexel Jr. Her brothers Anthony Joseph Drexel III and John Armstrong Drexel were also bankers (John was a partner in the securities firm of William P. Bonbright & Co. of London and New York along with her husband). In 1917, her parents divorced and, the following year, her mother married Brinsley FitzGerald (the son of Peter FitzGerald, 1st Baronet of Valencia) in 1918. Her paternal grandfather was

Anthony Joseph Drexel Anthony Joseph Drexel Sr. (September 13, 1826 – June 30, 1893) was an American banker who played a major role in the rise of modern global finance after the American Civil War. As the dominant partner of Drexel Burnham Lambert, Drexel & Co. of ...

, son of Francis M. Drexel and her maternal grandfather was John Armstrong of the Baltimore Armstrongs. Margaretta was presented at court in 1908 by

Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia (Louise Margaret Alexandra Victoria Agnes; 25 July 1860 – 14 March 1917), later Duchess of Connaught and Strathearn, was a member of the House of Hohenzollern who married into the British royal family. She ...

, the Duchess of Connaught. Reportedly, after her presentation at court, she "at once attained great popularity in London society, she became the most highly sought-after debutante that season. Her modesty and simple, easy manners, attracted many proposals. Among her reported suitors were Prince Christopher, sixth son of

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

George of Greece;

Prince Francis of Teck Prince Francis of Teck (Francis Joseph Leopold Frederick; 9 January 1870 – 22 October 1910) was the younger brother of the British queen Mary of Teck, wife of King George V. Family Francis Joseph Leopold Frederick, known as "Frank", was bor ...

; and Prince Francis Joseph, second son of the

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

and

Duchess of Braganza The title of Duchess of Braganza has existed in Portugal since the 15th century. This title designates the female head of the House of Braganza. Duchess of Braganza House of Braganza Claimants (prior 5 October 1910 revolution, 5 October 1910 ...

, whose eldest brother Prince Miguel, had married Margaretta's first cousin through their mothers, Miss Anita Stewart, Princess de Braganza."

Personal life

On 8 June 1910, Margaretta was married to Guy Finch-Hatton, Viscount Maidstone by the

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

St Margaret's, Westminster The Church of St Margaret, Westminster Abbey is in the grounds of Westminster Abbey on Parliament Square, London, England. It is dedicated to Margaret the Virgin, Margaret of Antioch, and forms part of a single World Heritage Site with the Pal ...

by the

. The reception was held at the Drexel home in 22

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...

attended by 1,500 guests. He was the son of

Henry Finch-Hatton, 13th Earl of Winchilsea Henry Stormont Finch-Hatton, 13th Earl of Winchilsea and 8th Earl of Nottingham (3 November 1852 – 14 August 1927) was an English peer. Early life He was born at the family seat of Eastwell Park and the third son of George Finch-Hatton, 10th ...

and the former Anne "Nan" Jane Codrington. His two siblings were Gladys Finch-Hatton (who married Capt. Osmond Williams, a son of

Sir Osmond Williams, 1st Baronet Sir Arthur Osmond Wynn Williams JP DL (17 March 1849 – 28 January 1927) was a Welsh Liberal Party politician. He became Constable of Harlech Castle, and Lord Lieutenant of Merionethshire. Early life He was born at Llanfihangel-y-Trae ...

) and Denys Finch Hatton, a noted

big-game hunter Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for trophies, taxidermy, meat, and commercially valuable animal by-products (such as horns, antlers, tusks, bones, fur, body fat, or special organs). The term is often associated with the ...

. Together, Guy and Margaretta were the parents of three children: * Christopher Finch-Hatton, 15th Earl of Winchilsea (1911–1950), who married Countess Gladys Széchényi Sárvár-Felsövidék, daughter of Count László Széchényi Sárvár-Felsövidék, of the Polish noble Széchényi family, and Gladys Vanderbilt Széchenyi, a member of the American

Vanderbilt family The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanth ...

. They divorced in 1945 and he married Agnes Mary Conroy in 1946. * Lady Daphne Margarita Finch-Hatton (1913–2003), who married

Whitney Straight Air Commodore Whitney Willard Straight, (6 November 1912 – 5 April 1979) was a British racing driver, aviator, businessman, and a member of the prominent Whitney family. Early life Born in New York City, Whitney Straight was the son of Maj ...

(1912–1979), a member of the old

Whitney family The Whitney family is a prominent American family descended from non-Norman English immigrant John Whitney (1592–1673), who left London in 1635 and settled in Watertown, Massachusetts. The historic family mansion in Watertown, known as The Elm ...

, in 1935. * Lady Henrietta Diana Juanita Finch-Hatton (1917–1977), who married Peter Frank Tiarks (1910–1975). Lady_Daphne_Finch-Hatton_and_Whitney_Straight_wedding

Lady_Daphne_Finch-Hatton_and_Whitney_Straight_wedding

They lived with Margaretta's parents at 22 Grosvenor Square until her parents separated in 1912, then they moved to 19 Grosvenor Street. In 1926 Guy (Toby) and Margaretta purchased their new country home, then named Buckfield House, at Sherfield-on-Loddon in Hampshire. The house was renovated and contained many amenities fit for aristocrat and social elites. 3B9A1828 da

In 1927, upon the death of his father, her husband became the 14th

Earl of Winchilsea Earl of Winchilsea is a title in the Peerage of England. It has been held by the Finch-Hatton family of Kent, and united with the title of Earl of Nottingham under a single holder since 1729. The Finch family is believed to be descended from He ...

and 9th

Earl of Nottingham :''See also Earl of Winchilsea'' Earl of Nottingham is a title that has been created seven times in the Peerage of England. It was first created for John de Mowbray, 1st Earl of Nottingham, John de Mowbray in 1377, at the coronation of Richard ...

, and Margaretta became known as the Countess of Winchilsea and Nottingham. Margaretta became a leader of Britain's Women's Land Army which trained 25,000 women to replace British farmers who had been called up for active service. At this time, she also gave Buckfield over to become a nurses home and two years after the war (1947) she sold the house. it became a private school for girls and was renamed North Foreland Lodge. Lord Winchilsea died in London on 10 February 1939, and was buried at

Ewerby Ewerby is a village in the civil parish of Ewerby and Evedon, in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies north-east from Sleaford and south from Anwick. The hamlet of Ewerby Thorpe lies to the east from Ewerby. Histo ...

in Lincolnshire. In September 1939, Lady Winchilsea survived the sinking of the S.S. ''Athenia'', which was torpedoed by a German

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

. Lady Winchilsea died in London in 1952.

References

External links

*
Margaretta Armstrong Finch-Hatton (née Drexel), Countess of Winchilsea and Nottingham (1885-1952), Heiress; wife of 14th Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham
at the

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winchilsea, Margaretta Finch-Hatton, Countess of 1885 births 1952 deaths English countesses Margaretta 20th-century English nobility People from Philadelphia