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[[File:Mary Amelia Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury.png|thumb|220px|Lady Salisbury, by [[Joshua Reynolds]], 1780]]


'''Mary Amelia Cecil, Marchioness of Salisbury''' (16 August 1750 – 22 November 1835), known as '''Emily Mary Cecil''', was an [[Anglo-Irish]] aristocrat, Tory political hostess and sportswoman.
[[File:Mary Amelia Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury.png|thumb|Emily Cecil, 1st Marchioness of Salisbury, by [[Joshua Reynolds]] (1780)]]
'''Mary Amelia 'Emily Mary' Cecil, Marchioness of Salisbury''' (16 August 1750 – 22 November 1835), was an English aristocrat, Tory political hostess and sportswoman.


The marchioness's eccentricity was frequently remarked upon, in particular her style of dress; her clothes were often of her own design.<ref name="Grumley-Grennan">{{cite book|author=Tony Grumley-Grennan|title=Tales of English Eccentrics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TXs3AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA38|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-0-9538922-4-2|pages=38–}}</ref>
The marchioness's eccentricity was frequently remarked upon, in particular her style of dress; her clothes were often of her own design.<ref name="Grumley-Grennan">{{cite book|author=Tony Grumley-Grennan|title=Tales of English Eccentrics|date=25 October 2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TXs3AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA38|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-0-9538922-4-2|pages=38–}}</ref>


==Family==
==Early life==
Emily Cecil was born in [[Dublin]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-68357|title=Cecil [née Hill], Mary Amelia [Emily Mary], marchioness of Salisbury|website=Oxford DNB|access-date=13 February 2018}}</ref> as Mary Amelia Hill, the daughter of [[Wills Hill, 2nd Viscount Hillsborough]] (later the first [[Marquess of Downshire]]), and his first wife, Margaretta Fitzgerald (1729–1766), sister of [[James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster]]. Her father was the [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]] under [[Lord North]] from 1768 to 1772, a critical period leading toward the [[American War of Independence]].
Emily Cecil was born in [[Dublin]]<ref name=ODNB>{{cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-68357|title=Cecil [née Hill], Mary Amelia [Emily Mary], marchioness of Salisbury|year=2004|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/68357|isbn=978-0-19-861412-8|access-date=13 February 2018}}</ref> as Mary Amelia Hill, the daughter of [[Wills Hill, 2nd Viscount Hillsborough]] (later the first [[Marquess of Downshire]]), and his first wife, Margaretta Fitzgerald (1729–1766), sister of [[James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster]]. Her father was the [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]] under [[Lord North]] from 1768 to 1772, a critical period leading toward the [[American War of Independence]].<ref name=ODNB/>


==Life==
==Marriage and political hostess==
[[File:J F Sartorius - Coursing at Hatfield.jpg|thumb|left|''Coursing at Hatfield'', an engraving by [[John Francis Sartorius]], depicts the Marchioness riding side-saddle for [[hare coursing]]]]
[[File:J F Sartorius - Coursing at Hatfield.jpg|thumb|left|''Coursing at Hatfield'', an engraving by [[John Francis Sartorius]], depicts the Marchioness riding side-saddle for [[hare coursing]]]]
Emily married [[James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury|James Cecil, Viscount Cranborne]], the heir of [[James Cecil, 6th Earl of Salisbury]], on 2 December 1773. After marriage, she became a prominent political hostess of the Tory party.<ref>http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/68357</ref>
Emily married [[James Cecil, 1st Marquess of Salisbury|James Cecil, Viscount Cranborne]], the heir of [[James Cecil, 6th Earl of Salisbury]], on 2 December 1773. After marriage, she became a prominent political hostess of the Tory party.<ref>{{Cite ODNB|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/68357|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/68357|title=The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|year=2004}}</ref> Unusually for a woman at the time, she not only took part in the sport of [[fox hunting]] but also became the first Englishwoman to serve as a Master of Foxhounds,<ref>Lida Fleitmann Bloodgood, ''The Saddle of Queens: The Story of the Side-saddle'' (1959), p. 19</ref> taking over the command of the Hatfield Hunt from her husband in 1775.<ref>Jackie C. Burke, ''Equal to the Challenge: Pioneering Women of Horse Sports'' (1997), p. 29</ref>


==Children==
==Children==
The couple had four children:
The couple had four children:
*Lady Georgiana Charlotte Augusta Cecil (d. 1860), married [[Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley]]
*Lady Georgiana Charlotte Augusta Cecil (d. 1860), married [[Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley]]<ref name=lodge>[[Edmund Lodge]], ''The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing'' (1872), [https://books.google.com/books?id=rxMwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA585 p. 585]</ref>
*Lady Emily Anne Bennet Elizabeth Cecil (d. 1858), married [[George Nugent, 1st Marquess of Westmeath]] and had issue
*[[Emily Nugent, Marchioness of Westmeath|Lady Emily Anne Bennet Elizabeth Cecil]] (d. 1858), married [[George Nugent, 1st Marquess of Westmeath]] and had issue<ref name=lodge/>
*Caroline Cecil, died young
*Caroline Cecil, died young<ref name=lodge/>
*[[James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury|James Brownlow William Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury]] (1791–1868)
*[[James Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury|James Brownlow William Gascoyne-Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Salisbury]] (1791–1868)<ref name=lodge/>


==Death==
==Death==
Following her husband's death, Lady Salisbury continued to live with her son and grandchildren at [[Hatfield House]], Hertfordshire, where she died in a fire on 27 November 1835 at the age of eighty-five.<ref name="Bentley2001">{{cite book|author=Michael Bentley|title=Lord Salisbury's World: Conservative Environments in Late-Victorian Britain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Eqdav38BVyQC&pg=PA10|date=6 September 2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-42904-7|pages=10–}}</ref> It was thought that feathers in her hat caught alight when she was at her writing-desk and caused the conflagration.<ref name="Grumley-Grennan"/> The fire destroyed the west wing of the house and only a few bones of hers were found.
Following her husband's death, Lady Salisbury continued to live with her son and grandchildren at [[Hatfield House]], Hertfordshire, where she died in a fire on 27 November 1835 at the age of eighty-five.<ref name="Bentley2001">{{cite book|author=Michael Bentley|title=Lord Salisbury's World: Conservative Environments in Late-Victorian Britain|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Eqdav38BVyQC&pg=PA10|date=6 September 2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-42904-7|pages=10–}}</ref> It was thought that feathers in her hat caught alight when she was at her writing-desk and caused the conflagration.<ref name="Grumley-Grennan"/> The fire destroyed the west wing of the house and only a few bones of hers were found.<ref name=ODNB/>


==References==
==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cecil, Emily, Marchioness of Salisbury}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salisbury, Emily Cecil, Marchioness of}}
[[Category:British marchionesses|Salisbury]]
[[Category:English marchionesses|Salisbury]]
[[Category:English political hostesses]]
[[Category:English political hostesses]]
[[Category:1750 births]]
[[Category:1750 births]]
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[[Category:Cecil family|Emily]]
[[Category:Cecil family|Emily]]
[[Category:Daughters of British marquesses]]
[[Category:Daughters of British marquesses]]
[[Category:Wives of knights]]
[[Category:Masters of foxhounds in England]]

Latest revision as of 01:08, 4 February 2024

Lady Salisbury, by Joshua Reynolds, 1780

Mary Amelia Cecil, Marchioness of Salisbury (16 August 1750 – 22 November 1835), known as Emily Mary Cecil, was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat, Tory political hostess and sportswoman.

The marchioness's eccentricity was frequently remarked upon, in particular her style of dress; her clothes were often of her own design.[1]

Early life

[edit]

Emily Cecil was born in Dublin[2] as Mary Amelia Hill, the daughter of Wills Hill, 2nd Viscount Hillsborough (later the first Marquess of Downshire), and his first wife, Margaretta Fitzgerald (1729–1766), sister of James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster. Her father was the Secretary of State for the Colonies under Lord North from 1768 to 1772, a critical period leading toward the American War of Independence.[2]

Leben

[edit]
Coursing at Hatfield, an engraving by John Francis Sartorius, depicts the Marchioness riding side-saddle for hare coursing

Emily married James Cecil, Viscount Cranborne, the heir of James Cecil, 6th Earl of Salisbury, on 2 December 1773. After marriage, she became a prominent political hostess of the Tory party.[3] Unusually for a woman at the time, she not only took part in the sport of fox hunting but also became the first Englishwoman to serve as a Master of Foxhounds,[4] taking over the command of the Hatfield Hunt from her husband in 1775.[5]

Children

[edit]

The couple had four children:

Death

[edit]

Following her husband's death, Lady Salisbury continued to live with her son and grandchildren at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, where she died in a fire on 27 November 1835 at the age of eighty-five.[7] It was thought that feathers in her hat caught alight when she was at her writing-desk and caused the conflagration.[1] The fire destroyed the west wing of the house and only a few bones of hers were found.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Tony Grumley-Grennan (25 October 2010). Tales of English Eccentrics. Lulu.com. pp. 38–. ISBN 978-0-9538922-4-2.
  2. ^ a b c "Cecil [née Hill], Mary Amelia [Emily Mary], marchioness of Salisbury". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/68357. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 13 February 2018. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. ^ "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/68357. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  4. ^ Lida Fleitmann Bloodgood, The Saddle of Queens: The Story of the Side-saddle (1959), p. 19
  5. ^ Jackie C. Burke, Equal to the Challenge: Pioneering Women of Horse Sports (1997), p. 29
  6. ^ a b c d Edmund Lodge, The Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire as at Present Existing (1872), p. 585
  7. ^ Michael Bentley (6 September 2001). Lord Salisbury's World: Conservative Environments in Late-Victorian Britain. Cambridge University Press. pp. 10–. ISBN 978-1-139-42904-7.