Angela Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts

Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts (21 April 1814 – 30 December 1906), born Angela Georgina Burdett, was a nineteenth-century philanthropist, the daughter of Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet

Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet

Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet was an English reformist politician, the son of Francis Burdett and his wife Eleanor, daughter of William Jones of Ramsbury manor, Wiltshire, and grandson of Sir Robert Burdett, Bart...

and the former Sophia Coutts, daughter of banker Thomas Coutts

Thomas Coutts

Thomas Coutts was an Anglo-Scottish banker who was the founder of the banking house of Coutts & Co.He was the fourth son of John Coutts , who carried on business in Edinburgh as a corn factor and negotiator of bills of exchange, and who in 1742 was elected lord provost of the city...

. In 1837 she became the wealthiest woman in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

when she inherited her grandfather's fortune of nearly three million pounds sterling, following the death of his second wife, Harriot Mellon, who had enjoyed a life interest

Life interest

A life interest is some form of right, usually under a trust, which lasts only for the lifetime of the person benefiting from that right. A person with a life interest is known as a life tenant....

in the estate. Angela joined the surnames

Double-barrelled name

In English speaking and some other Western countries, a double-barrelled name is a family name with two parts, which may or may not be joined with a hyphen and is also known as a hyphenated name. An example of a hyphenated double-barrelled surname is Bowes-Lyon; an example of an unhyphenated...

of her father and grandfather, by royal licence

Letters patent

Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...

, to become Burdett-Coutts. King Edward VII

Edward VII of the United Kingdom

Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...

is reported to have described her as, "After my mother (Queen Victoria), the most remarkable woman in the kingdom."

Life

She was widely known as "the richest heiress in England". She was a great collector of paintings including many Old Masters. Amongst the contemporary paintings she purchased was Robert Scott Lauder

Robert Scott Lauder

Robert Scott Lauder was a Scottish mid-Victorian artist who described himself as a "historical painter". He was one of the original members of the Royal Scottish Academy.-Life and work:...

's Christ Walking on the Sea. The Reverend Richard Harris Barham

Richard Harris Barham

Richard Harris Barham was an English cleric of the Church of England, novelist, and humorous poet. He was known better by his nom de plume Thomas Ingoldsby.-Life:Richard Harris Barham was born in Canterbury...

, in a ballad

Ballad

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...

he wrote under the pen name "Thomas Ingoldsby" for the Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

's coronation as part of the Ingoldsby Legends, referred to her as "Miss Anjaley Coutts". She became a notable subject of public curiosity, receiving numerous offers of marriage. She inherited the country house at The Holly Lodge

Holly Lodge Estate

The Holly Lodge Estate is an estate located on the site and grounds of a villa built in 1798 by Sir Henry Tempest on the south-facing slopes of Highgate, London adjacent to Highgate Rise, now known as Highgate West Hill...

in Highgate

Highgate

Highgate is an area of North London on the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath.Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has an active conservation body, the Highgate Society, to protect its character....

, which was then just outside London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, where she was famous for throwing large parties.

Burdett-Coutts spent part of each year at the Royal Albion Hotel

Royal Albion Hotel

The Royal Albion Hotel is a 3-star hotel in the seaside resort of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove...

in Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

with her former governess and later companion Mrs Hannah Brown, to whom she was devoted. She was a great friend of both Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...

and the Duke of Wellington

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...

, and it was rumoured that she had proposed to the Duke despite the great disparity in their ages. When Hannah died in 1878, Burdett-Coutts wrote to a friend that she was utterly crushed by the loss of "my poor darling, the companion and sunshine of my life for 52 years".

Three years later, when she was 67, she shocked polite society by marrying her 29-year-old secretary,the American-born William Lehman Ashmead Bartlett, who became MP for Westminster

Westminster (UK Parliament constituency)

Westminster was a parliamentary constituency in the Parliament of England to 1707, the Parliament of Great Britain 1707-1800 and the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801. It returned two members to 1885 and one thereafter....

on 12 February 1881. Her new husband changed his surname to Burdett-Coutts. Lady Burdett-Coutts left no issue.

Philanthropy

She spent the majority of her wealth on scholarships, endowments, and a wide range of philanthropic causes. One of her earliest was to establish, with the novelist Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

, Urania Cottage, a home that helped young women who had 'turned to a life of immorality' including theft and prostitution

Prostitution

Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...

.

Burdett-Coutts carefully avoided taking any side in party politics, but she was actively interested in phases of Imperial extension which were calculated to improve the condition of the black races, as in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, or the education and relief of the poor or suffering in any part of the world. Though she made no special distinction of creed in her charities, Burdett-Coutts was a notable benefactor of the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

, building and endowing three churches including St Stephen's in Rochester Row, Westminster and church schools. As executor of the will of the Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend

Chauncy Hare Townshend

Chauncy Hare Townshend, born Chauncy Hare Townsend was a 19th century English poet, clergyman, mesmerist, collector, dilettante and hypochondriac...

(the author of several volumes of poetry), she, with the Reverend Thomas Helmore

Thomas Helmore

Thomas Helmore was a choirmaster, writer about singing and author and editor of hymns and carols.Helmore's father was a congregationalist minister...

(another poet), used a large sum from Townshend's estate, at his request, to build a primary school in Westminster

City of Westminster

The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...

. The school is called Burdett-Coutts & Townshend Foundation Church of England Primary School.

She also personally endowed the bishoprics of Cape Town

Cape Town

Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...

and Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

(1847), and the founding bishopric of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

(1857). The granite fountain in Edinburgh, with a statue of Greyfriars Bobby

Greyfriars Bobby

Greyfriars Bobby was a Skye Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner, John Gray , until he died himself on 14 January 1872...

, was erected by Baroness Burdett-Coutts.
She also established the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in 1883, the Westminster Technical Institute in 1893 and was closely involved with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a charity in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. In 2009 the RSPCA investigated 141,280 cruelty complaints and collected and rescued 135,293 animals...

(RSPCA).

Burdett-Coutts founded Columbia market in 1869, in Bethnal Green

Bethnal Green

Bethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...

in the East End of London

East End of London

The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...

, the district where much of her work was carried out. She was a pioneer in social housing with her project in Columbia Square. Through her support of missionary and nursing efforts she was associated with Louisa Twining

Louisa Twining

Louisa Twining was an English philanthropic worker who devoted herself to issues and tasks related to the English Poor Law.-Biography:She was born in London...

and Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...

. Her small housing development, Holly Village, on the corner of what was then her estate, is now in private hands and may still be seen in Highgate.

Other roles and philanthropic projects included:

President, British Beekeepers Association 1878–1906
President of the Ladies Committee of the RSPCA (England/Scotland).
Church bells for St Paul's cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
Cotton gins for Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
Drinking fountains for dogs
Help for Turkish peasants and the refugees of the 1877 Russo-Turkish War, receiving the order of the Medjidieh, the only time it was conferred on a woman
Housing schemes for the working-class along the lines of contemporary model dwellings companies.
Lifeboats in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
The London Ragged School
Ragged school
Ragged Schools were charitable schools dedicated to the free education of destitute children in 19th century England. The schools were developed in working class districts of the rapidly expanding industrial towns...

Union
A sewing school for women in Spitalfields
Spitalfields
Spitalfields is a former parish in the borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London, near to Liverpool Street station and Brick Lane. The area straddles Commercial Street and is home to many markets, including the historic Old Spitalfields Market, founded in the 17th century, Sunday...

when the silk trade declined
Soup kitchen
Soup kitchen
A soup kitchen, a bread line, or a meal center is a place where food is offered to the hungry for free or at a reasonably low price. Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, they are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as church groups or community groups...

s
Support organisations for the aboriginal peoples of Australia
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

and for the Dayak
Dayak people
The Dayak or Dyak are the native people of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily...

s of Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
The Temperance Society
Promotion of the fishing industry
Fishing industry
The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products....

in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

by helping to start schools and provide boats; she also advanced £250,000 in 1880 for supplying seed to the impoverished tenants
Placement of hundreds of destitute boys in training ships for the navy and merchant service
Financing the first archaeological survey of Jerusalem in 1864 to improve its sanitation
Prominent supporter of the British Horological Institute
British Horological Institute
The British Horological Institute is the representative body of the horological industry in the United Kingdom.-History:...

at a crucial time in its history, due to her acquaintance with John Jones, a BHI founder
In 1858 donated £500 to the Cotton Supply Association and contributed an annual subscription of £100 for five years. Ten years letter she donated another £500 to the Association.
In 1864 purchased more than one hundred Greek manuscripts (532
Minuscule 532
Minuscule 532 , ε 255 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 12th century.Scrivener labeled it number 545....

-546
Minuscule 546
Minuscule 546 , ε 511 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. It is dated palaeographically to the 13th century. It has some marginalia, the scribe has made numerous errors....

) from Janina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...

(Epirus), transported them to England between 1870 and 1872 and presented them to Sir Roger Cholmely's School, they were housed at the Highgate, in London
Commissioned a monument for St Pancras Old Church
St Pancras Old Church
St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church in central London. It is believed to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England, and is dedicated to the Roman martyr Saint Pancras, although the building itself is largely Victorian...

, containing the names of many people whose bodies had been dug up from the churchyard to make space for the railway.

In recognition of her philanthropic work, in 1871 Queen Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

conferred a peerage on her under the title Baroness Burdett-Coutts, of Highgate and Brookfield in the County of Middlesex. On 18 July 1872 she became the first woman to be presented with the Freedom of the City

Freedom of the City

Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...

of London at the Guildhall

Guildhall, London

The Guildhall is a building in the City of London, off Gresham and Basinghall streets, in the wards of Bassishaw and Cheap. It has been used as a town hall for several hundred years, and is still the ceremonial and administrative centre of the City of London and its Corporation...

and in 1874 was Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

's first woman Burgess

Burgh

A burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...

, also being presented with the Freedom of that city.

Death

Lady Burdett-Coutts died of acute bronchitis at her house in Stratton Street, Piccadilly

Piccadilly

Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...

. By the time of her death she had given more than £3 million to good causes. She was buried on 5 January 1907 near the West Door in the nave of Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...

. The barony became extinct on her death.

Legacy

Charles Dickens

dedicated his novel Martin Chuzzlewit
Martin Chuzzlewit
The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit is a novel by Charles Dickens, considered the last of his picaresque novels. It was originally serialized between 1843-1844. Dickens himself proclaimed Martin Chuzzlewit to be his best work, but it was one of his least popular novels...

to her and she had many royal and eminent friends. The book Flashman's Lady
Flashman's Lady
Flashman's Lady is a 1977 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the sixth of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...

by George MacDonald Fraser

George MacDonald Fraser

George MacDonald Fraser, OBE was an English-born author of Scottish descent, who wrote both historical novels and non-fiction books, as well as several screenplays.-Early life and military career:...

makes reference to her (fictional) love interest for James Brooke

James Brooke

James, Rajah of Sarawak, KCB was the first White Rajah of Sarawak. His father, Thomas Brooke, was an English Judge Court of Appeal at Bareilly, British India; his mother, Anna Maria, born in Hertfordshire, was the illegitimate daughter of Scottish peer Colonel William Stuart, 9th Lord Blantyre,...

(The White Rajah); and his rejection of her due to his physical affliction.

External links

Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts at the Victorian Web
Victorian Web
The Victorian Web is an online resource of information about the Victorian Era created at Brown University and at the University Scholars Program of the National University of Singapore....
Article on Angela Burdett-Coutts from Anglicans Online
Anglicans online
Anglicans Online is an unofficial weekly news magazine of the Anglican Communion. Its editorial staff is private and unaffiliated. A project of the Society of Archbishop Justus founded in 1994, AO includes more than 30,000 links and has more than 250,000 readers. calls it 'a kind voice in what...

Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet

and the former Sophia Coutts, daughter of banker Thomas Coutts

Thomas Coutts

. In 1837 she became the wealthiest woman in England

England

when she inherited her grandfather's fortune of nearly three million pounds sterling, following the death of his second wife, Harriot Mellon, who had enjoyed a life interest

Life interest

A life interest is some form of right, usually under a trust, which lasts only for the lifetime of the person benefiting from that right. A person with a life interest is known as a life tenant....

in the estate. Angela joined the surnames

Double-barrelled name

of her father and grandfather, by royal licence

Letters patent

, to become Burdett-Coutts. King Edward VII

Edward VII of the United Kingdom

Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...

is reported to have described her as, "After my mother (Queen Victoria), the most remarkable woman in the kingdom."

Life

She was widely known as "the richest heiress in England". She was a great collector of paintings including many Old Masters. Amongst the contemporary paintings she purchased was Robert Scott Lauder

Robert Scott Lauder

Robert Scott Lauder was a Scottish mid-Victorian artist who described himself as a "historical painter". He was one of the original members of the Royal Scottish Academy.-Life and work:...

's Christ Walking on the Sea. The Reverend Richard Harris Barham

Richard Harris Barham

, in a ballad

Ballad

he wrote under the pen name "Thomas Ingoldsby" for the Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

Holly Lodge Estate

in Highgate

Highgate

, which was then just outside London

London

, where she was famous for throwing large parties.

Burdett-Coutts spent part of each year at the Royal Albion Hotel

Royal Albion Hotel

The Royal Albion Hotel is a 3-star hotel in the seaside resort of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove...

in Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

with her former governess and later companion Mrs Hannah Brown, to whom she was devoted. She was a great friend of both Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

and the Duke of Wellington

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Westminster (UK Parliament constituency)

on 12 February 1881. Her new husband changed his surname to Burdett-Coutts. Lady Burdett-Coutts left no issue.

Philanthropy

She spent the majority of her wealth on scholarships, endowments, and a wide range of philanthropic causes. One of her earliest was to establish, with the novelist Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

, Urania Cottage, a home that helped young women who had 'turned to a life of immorality' including theft and prostitution

Prostitution

Africa

Church of England

, building and endowing three churches including St Stephen's in Rochester Row, Westminster and church schools. As executor of the will of the Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend

Chauncy Hare Townshend

Chauncy Hare Townshend, born Chauncy Hare Townsend was a 19th century English poet, clergyman, mesmerist, collector, dilettante and hypochondriac...

(the author of several volumes of poetry), she, with the Reverend Thomas Helmore

Thomas Helmore

Thomas Helmore was a choirmaster, writer about singing and author and editor of hymns and carols.Helmore's father was a congregationalist minister...

(another poet), used a large sum from Townshend's estate, at his request, to build a primary school in Westminster

City of Westminster

. The school is called Burdett-Coutts & Townshend Foundation Church of England Primary School.

She also personally endowed the bishoprics of Cape Town

Cape Town

and Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

(1847), and the founding bishopric of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

(1857). The granite fountain in Edinburgh, with a statue of Greyfriars Bobby

Greyfriars Bobby

Greyfriars Bobby was a Skye Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner, John Gray , until he died himself on 14 January 1872...

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

(RSPCA).

Burdett-Coutts founded Columbia market in 1869, in Bethnal Green

Bethnal Green

in the East End of London

East End of London

Louisa Twining

Louisa Twining was an English philanthropic worker who devoted herself to issues and tasks related to the English Poor Law.-Biography:She was born in London...

and Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale

. Her small housing development, Holly Village, on the corner of what was then her estate, is now in private hands and may still be seen in Highgate.

Other roles and philanthropic projects included:

President, British Beekeepers Association 1878–1906
President of the Ladies Committee of the RSPCA (England/Scotland).
Church bells for St Paul's cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
Cotton gins for Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
Drinking fountains for dogs
Help for Turkish peasants and the refugees of the 1877 Russo-Turkish War, receiving the order of the Medjidieh, the only time it was conferred on a woman
Housing schemes for the working-class along the lines of contemporary model dwellings companies.
Lifeboats in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
The London Ragged School
Ragged school
Ragged Schools were charitable schools dedicated to the free education of destitute children in 19th century England. The schools were developed in working class districts of the rapidly expanding industrial towns...

Union
A sewing school for women in Spitalfields
Spitalfields
Spitalfields is a former parish in the borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London, near to Liverpool Street station and Brick Lane. The area straddles Commercial Street and is home to many markets, including the historic Old Spitalfields Market, founded in the 17th century, Sunday...

when the silk trade declined
Soup kitchen
Soup kitchen
A soup kitchen, a bread line, or a meal center is a place where food is offered to the hungry for free or at a reasonably low price. Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, they are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as church groups or community groups...

s
Support organisations for the aboriginal peoples of Australia
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

and for the Dayak
Dayak people
The Dayak or Dyak are the native people of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily...

s of Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
The Temperance Society
Promotion of the fishing industry
Fishing industry
The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products....

in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

by helping to start schools and provide boats; she also advanced £250,000 in 1880 for supplying seed to the impoverished tenants
Placement of hundreds of destitute boys in training ships for the navy and merchant service
Financing the first archaeological survey of Jerusalem in 1864 to improve its sanitation
Prominent supporter of the British Horological Institute
British Horological Institute
The British Horological Institute is the representative body of the horological industry in the United Kingdom.-History:...

at a crucial time in its history, due to her acquaintance with John Jones, a BHI founder
In 1858 donated £500 to the Cotton Supply Association and contributed an annual subscription of £100 for five years. Ten years letter she donated another £500 to the Association.
In 1864 purchased more than one hundred Greek manuscripts (532
Minuscule 532
Minuscule 532 , ε 255 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 12th century.Scrivener labeled it number 545....

-546
Minuscule 546
Minuscule 546 , ε 511 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. It is dated palaeographically to the 13th century. It has some marginalia, the scribe has made numerous errors....

) from Janina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...

(Epirus), transported them to England between 1870 and 1872 and presented them to Sir Roger Cholmely's School, they were housed at the Highgate, in London
Commissioned a monument for St Pancras Old Church
St Pancras Old Church
St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church in central London. It is believed to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England, and is dedicated to the Roman martyr Saint Pancras, although the building itself is largely Victorian...

, containing the names of many people whose bodies had been dug up from the churchyard to make space for the railway.

In recognition of her philanthropic work, in 1871 Queen Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

Freedom of the City

of London at the Guildhall

Guildhall, London

and in 1874 was Edinburgh

Edinburgh

's first woman Burgess

Burgh

, also being presented with the Freedom of that city.

Death

Lady Burdett-Coutts died of acute bronchitis at her house in Stratton Street, Piccadilly

Piccadilly

. By the time of her death she had given more than £3 million to good causes. She was buried on 5 January 1907 near the West Door in the nave of Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

. The barony became extinct on her death.

Legacy

Charles Dickens

George MacDonald Fraser

George MacDonald Fraser, OBE was an English-born author of Scottish descent, who wrote both historical novels and non-fiction books, as well as several screenplays.-Early life and military career:...

makes reference to her (fictional) love interest for James Brooke

James Brooke

(The White Rajah); and his rejection of her due to his physical affliction.

External links

Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts at the Victorian Web
Victorian Web
The Victorian Web is an online resource of information about the Victorian Era created at Brown University and at the University Scholars Program of the National University of Singapore....
Article on Angela Burdett-Coutts from Anglicans Online
Anglicans online
Anglicans Online is an unofficial weekly news magazine of the Anglican Communion. Its editorial staff is private and unaffiliated. A project of the Society of Archbishop Justus founded in 1994, AO includes more than 30,000 links and has more than 250,000 readers. calls it 'a kind voice in what...

Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet

and the former Sophia Coutts, daughter of banker Thomas Coutts

Thomas Coutts

. In 1837 she became the wealthiest woman in England

England

when she inherited her grandfather's fortune of nearly three million pounds sterling, following the death of his second wife, Harriot Mellon, who had enjoyed a life interest

Life interest

A life interest is some form of right, usually under a trust, which lasts only for the lifetime of the person benefiting from that right. A person with a life interest is known as a life tenant....

in the estate. Angela joined the surnames

Double-barrelled name

of her father and grandfather, by royal licence

Letters patent

, to become Burdett-Coutts. King Edward VII

Edward VII of the United Kingdom

Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...

is reported to have described her as, "After my mother (Queen Victoria), the most remarkable woman in the kingdom."

Life

She was widely known as "the richest heiress in England". She was a great collector of paintings including many Old Masters. Amongst the contemporary paintings she purchased was Robert Scott Lauder

Robert Scott Lauder

Robert Scott Lauder was a Scottish mid-Victorian artist who described himself as a "historical painter". He was one of the original members of the Royal Scottish Academy.-Life and work:...

's Christ Walking on the Sea. The Reverend Richard Harris Barham

Richard Harris Barham

, in a ballad

Ballad

he wrote under the pen name "Thomas Ingoldsby" for the Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

Holly Lodge Estate

in Highgate

Highgate

, which was then just outside London

London

, where she was famous for throwing large parties.

Burdett-Coutts spent part of each year at the Royal Albion Hotel

Royal Albion Hotel

The Royal Albion Hotel is a 3-star hotel in the seaside resort of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove...

in Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

with her former governess and later companion Mrs Hannah Brown, to whom she was devoted. She was a great friend of both Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

and the Duke of Wellington

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Westminster (UK Parliament constituency)

on 12 February 1881. Her new husband changed his surname to Burdett-Coutts. Lady Burdett-Coutts left no issue.

Philanthropy

She spent the majority of her wealth on scholarships, endowments, and a wide range of philanthropic causes. One of her earliest was to establish, with the novelist Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

, Urania Cottage, a home that helped young women who had 'turned to a life of immorality' including theft and prostitution

Prostitution

Africa

Church of England

, building and endowing three churches including St Stephen's in Rochester Row, Westminster and church schools. As executor of the will of the Reverend Chauncy Hare Townshend

Chauncy Hare Townshend

Chauncy Hare Townshend, born Chauncy Hare Townsend was a 19th century English poet, clergyman, mesmerist, collector, dilettante and hypochondriac...

(the author of several volumes of poetry), she, with the Reverend Thomas Helmore

Thomas Helmore

Thomas Helmore was a choirmaster, writer about singing and author and editor of hymns and carols.Helmore's father was a congregationalist minister...

(another poet), used a large sum from Townshend's estate, at his request, to build a primary school in Westminster

City of Westminster

. The school is called Burdett-Coutts & Townshend Foundation Church of England Primary School.

She also personally endowed the bishoprics of Cape Town

Cape Town

and Adelaide

Adelaide

Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

(1847), and the founding bishopric of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

(1857). The granite fountain in Edinburgh, with a statue of Greyfriars Bobby

Greyfriars Bobby

Greyfriars Bobby was a Skye Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner, John Gray , until he died himself on 14 January 1872...

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

(RSPCA).

Burdett-Coutts founded Columbia market in 1869, in Bethnal Green

Bethnal Green

in the East End of London

East End of London

Louisa Twining

Louisa Twining was an English philanthropic worker who devoted herself to issues and tasks related to the English Poor Law.-Biography:She was born in London...

and Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale

. Her small housing development, Holly Village, on the corner of what was then her estate, is now in private hands and may still be seen in Highgate.

Other roles and philanthropic projects included:

President, British Beekeepers Association 1878–1906
President of the Ladies Committee of the RSPCA (England/Scotland).
Church bells for St Paul's cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
Cotton gins for Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
Drinking fountains for dogs
Help for Turkish peasants and the refugees of the 1877 Russo-Turkish War, receiving the order of the Medjidieh, the only time it was conferred on a woman
Housing schemes for the working-class along the lines of contemporary model dwellings companies.
Lifeboats in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
The London Ragged School
Ragged school
Ragged Schools were charitable schools dedicated to the free education of destitute children in 19th century England. The schools were developed in working class districts of the rapidly expanding industrial towns...

Union
A sewing school for women in Spitalfields
Spitalfields
Spitalfields is a former parish in the borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London, near to Liverpool Street station and Brick Lane. The area straddles Commercial Street and is home to many markets, including the historic Old Spitalfields Market, founded in the 17th century, Sunday...

when the silk trade declined
Soup kitchen
Soup kitchen
A soup kitchen, a bread line, or a meal center is a place where food is offered to the hungry for free or at a reasonably low price. Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, they are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as church groups or community groups...

s
Support organisations for the aboriginal peoples of Australia
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

and for the Dayak
Dayak people
The Dayak or Dyak are the native people of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily...

s of Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
The Temperance Society
Promotion of the fishing industry
Fishing industry
The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products....

in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

by helping to start schools and provide boats; she also advanced £250,000 in 1880 for supplying seed to the impoverished tenants
Placement of hundreds of destitute boys in training ships for the navy and merchant service
Financing the first archaeological survey of Jerusalem in 1864 to improve its sanitation
Prominent supporter of the British Horological Institute
British Horological Institute
The British Horological Institute is the representative body of the horological industry in the United Kingdom.-History:...

at a crucial time in its history, due to her acquaintance with John Jones, a BHI founder
In 1858 donated £500 to the Cotton Supply Association and contributed an annual subscription of £100 for five years. Ten years letter she donated another £500 to the Association.
In 1864 purchased more than one hundred Greek manuscripts (532
Minuscule 532
Minuscule 532 , ε 255 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 12th century.Scrivener labeled it number 545....

-546
Minuscule 546
Minuscule 546 , ε 511 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. It is dated palaeographically to the 13th century. It has some marginalia, the scribe has made numerous errors....

) from Janina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...

(Epirus), transported them to England between 1870 and 1872 and presented them to Sir Roger Cholmely's School, they were housed at the Highgate, in London
Commissioned a monument for St Pancras Old Church
St Pancras Old Church
St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church in central London. It is believed to be one of the oldest sites of Christian worship in England, and is dedicated to the Roman martyr Saint Pancras, although the building itself is largely Victorian...

, containing the names of many people whose bodies had been dug up from the churchyard to make space for the railway.

In recognition of her philanthropic work, in 1871 Queen Victoria

Victoria of the United Kingdom

Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

Freedom of the City

of London at the Guildhall

Guildhall, London

and in 1874 was Edinburgh

Edinburgh

's first woman Burgess

Burgh

, also being presented with the Freedom of that city.

Death

Lady Burdett-Coutts died of acute bronchitis at her house in Stratton Street, Piccadilly

Piccadilly

. By the time of her death she had given more than £3 million to good causes. She was buried on 5 January 1907 near the West Door in the nave of Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

. The barony became extinct on her death.

Legacy

Charles Dickens

George MacDonald Fraser

George MacDonald Fraser, OBE was an English-born author of Scottish descent, who wrote both historical novels and non-fiction books, as well as several screenplays.-Early life and military career:...

makes reference to her (fictional) love interest for James Brooke

James Brooke

(The White Rajah); and his rejection of her due to his physical affliction.

External links

Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts at the Victorian Web
Victorian Web
The Victorian Web is an online resource of information about the Victorian Era created at Brown University and at the University Scholars Program of the National University of Singapore....
Article on Angela Burdett-Coutts from Anglicans Online
Anglicans online
Anglicans Online is an unofficial weekly news magazine of the Anglican Communion. Its editorial staff is private and unaffiliated. A project of the Society of Archbishop Justus founded in 1994, AO includes more than 30,000 links and has more than 250,000 readers. calls it 'a kind voice in what...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Life

Philanthropy

Death

Legacy

Further reading

External links

Life

Philanthropy

Death

Legacy

Further reading

External links

Life

Philanthropy

Death

Legacy

Further reading

External links