Lady Mary Frances Catherine Feilding (9 April 1823 – 24 April 1896) was an English aristocrat and founder of the Working Ladies' Guild.

Life

Feilding and her twin brother Rudolph were born in 1823 at Woodchester Park in

Nympsfield Nympsfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire. It is located around four miles south-west of the town of Stroud. As well as Nympsfield village, the parish contains the hamlet of Cockadilly. The population take ...

, Gloucestershire. Her father was William Basil Percy Feilding, 7th Earl of Denbigh. She became the de-facto parent to her siblings after her mother, Mary Elizabeth Kitty, died in 1842 while her twin brother inherited her father's title and became

Rudolph Feilding, 8th Earl of Denbigh Rudolph William Basil Feilding, 8th Earl of Denbigh, 7th Earl of Desmond (9 April 1823 – 10 March 1892), styled as Viscount Feilding until 1865, was a British peer and noted Roman Catholic convert, who founded the Franciscan friary at Pantas ...

in 1865. Her younger brother was General William Feilding. She was the philanthropic founder and President of the Working Ladies' Guild in January 1877 with 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 ...

John Jackson as patron. The idea had come from a letter to the first issue of Louisa Hubbard's ''Women's Gazette''. This was a self-help organisation that offered assistance to unmarried or widowed upper class women who had not been brought up to be self sufficient. They were described as "poor victims of a false code of honour and gentility" by Mayo. The organisation offered help via "associates" of the guild and in time it was hoped that they would in time become associates themselves. Associates would supply time and money and refer on other women who needed the guild's assistance. The founding committee members of the guild were

Jessie Boucherett (Emilia) Jessie Boucherett (November 1825 – 18 October 1905) was an English campaigner for women's rights. Life She was born in November 1825 at North Willingham, near Market Rasen, Lincolnshire. She was the grandchild of Lt. Colonel Ayscoghe ...

, Lady Eden, Louisa Hubbard, Lady Knightley and from the Royal College of Needlework Louisa Wade. By 1879, there were said to be 1,000 associates and their details were recorded at the Guild's main offices in London. The guild used the ''Woman's Gazette'' and ''Work and Leisure'' to improve their social profile. Sub-offices grew in number with one opening in

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

and more successfully in Northumberland until the organisation decided to re-centre its activities. The help given was not money but tickets for a concert or to pay for someone to go on a course. In 1883 one associate funded a home for elderly ladies. Feilding herself organised reasonably priced accommodation. She bought a building in

Campden Hill Campden Hill is a hill in Kensington, West London, bounded by Holland Park Avenue on the north, Kensington High Street on the south, Kensington Palace Gardens on the east and Abbotsbury Road on the west. The name derives from the former ''Camp ...

which was let at reasonable prices and one floor had ten rooms at low prices. One was kept for emergencies but the other nine were attached to the Guild and the tenants could decide to have their dinners included for a reasonable fee. The guild worked with other charitable organisations including the

Society for Promoting the Employment of Women The Society for Promoting the Employment of Women (SPEW) was one of the earliest British women's organisations. The society was established in 1859 by Jessie Boucherett, Barbara Bodichon, Adelaide Anne Proctor and Lydia Becker to promote the ...

. The Guild was wound up in 2020 when the last of its residential properties, in

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

, was sold and the few remaining residents were relocated to other care homes. The archives of the Guild are now kept at the

Highgate Literary and Scientific Institution The Highgate Literary and Scientific Institution (HLSI) is a Charitable Company ( CIO) Limited by Guarantee. It was founded in 1839 in Highgate, North London, as a friendly society with the aim of helping local people to better understand new d ...

in north London. Feilding died on 24 April 1896 and she was buried at the family estate of Newnham Paddox near Rugby.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Feilding, Mary category:1823 births category:1896 deaths People from Gloucestershire British women philanthropists Daughters of British earls

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

Fraternal twins British twins