Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth
Encyclopedia
Judith Anne Dorothea Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth also known as Lady Wentworth (6 February 1873 – 8 August 1957) was a British
peeress
, Arabian horse
breeder and tennis
player. As the owner of the Crabbet Arabian Stud
from 1917 to 1957, her influence on Arabian horse breeding
was profound, with over 90 percent of all Arabian horses in the world today carrying lines to Crabbet bloodstock in their pedigrees.
Judith was the eldest daughter and only surviving child of the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
and his wife, Lady Anne
, a daughter of the 1st Earl of Lovelace
and his mathematician wife, Ada
. Judith spent most of her childhood in Egypt
and the Middle East
as her parents were buying Arabian horse
s for their Crabbet Arabian Stud
. Thus, the family was familiar with middle eastern culture and fluently spoke both Arabic
and Turkish
.
On 2 February 1899, Judith married Neville Stephen Lytton
, the youngest son of the Earl of Lytton
. The marriage took place in Cairo, and they later moved into a house in the grounds of her parents' estate, Crabbet Park
(near Crawley
), filled with relics from Judith's great-grandfather, Lord Byron. The couple later had three children: Noel Anthony Scawen
(1900–1985), Anne (later known as Lady Anne Lytton) (1901–1979) and Winifred (later known as Lady Winifrid Tryon) (1904-?). She later became estranged from her husband, and the couple divorced in 1923. Neville soon remarried, but Lady Wentworth never did, focusing on managing Crabbet Park until her death.
In 1904, Judith's father turned over the Crabbet property to her and she also changed her surname to Blunt-Lytton that year. Two years later, her estranged parents divided the estate, Wilfrid living close by at Newbuildings Place, while Lady Anne remained in Egypt
and maintained an estate near Cairo
, the Sheykh Obeyd
Stud, where she also continued to raise Arabian horse
s.
In 1917, Judith inherited her mother's barony of Wentworth
. Due primarily to the maneuvering of Wilfred in an attempt to disinherit Judith and obtain the entire Crabbet property, Judith and her mother were estranged at the time and thus Lady Anne's share of the Crabbet Stud passed to Judith's daughters, under the oversight of an independent trustee. This had angered Wilfrid and a lawsuit
soon followed. Ownership of the Arabian horses went back and forth between the estates of father and daughter in the following years. Wilfred sold a number of horse
s in his control, mostly to pay off debts. Some animals were later repurchased by Judith, though others, especially those exported to the United States, were unable to be recovered. The lawsuit was eventually settled in favour of the granddaughters and Judith. Between her own pre-existing ownership and the shares of the estate she purchased from the trustee for her daughters, Judith retained control of the Stud, though she had to overcome considerable financial difficulties.
Lady Wentworth's former husband had inherited his childless brother's earldom of Lytton
in 1947, and on his own death in 1951, it passed to their only son, Noel. Lady Wentworth had become estranged from her children since the divorce and saw Noel for the first time in thirty years on her deathbed in 1957. At the time of her death, the Wentworth title also passed to him. Her daughter, Lady Anne Lytton, later provided valuable historical recollections of the horses and practices of the Crabbet Stud
.
Lady Wentworth's will stipulated that Crabbet be left to her stud manager and tennis marker Geoffrey Covey, but he had died a few days earlier than Lady Wentworth, thus the Stud passed to his son, Cecil. The house remains to this day, but when the new M23 motorway
bisected the property in 1971, Covey, himself not a young man, had little choice but to sell the property and disperse the horses.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
peeress
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
, Arabian horse
Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological evidence of horses...
breeder and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player. As the owner of the Crabbet Arabian Stud
Crabbet Arabian Stud
The Crabbet Arabian Stud, also known as the Crabbet Park Stud, was a horse breeding farm established on 2 July 1878 when the first Arabian horses brought to England by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Blunt arrived at Crabbet Park, their estate in Sussex...
from 1917 to 1957, her influence on Arabian horse breeding
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
was profound, with over 90 percent of all Arabian horses in the world today carrying lines to Crabbet bloodstock in their pedigrees.
Judith was the eldest daughter and only surviving child of the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt was an English poet and writer. He was born at Petworth House in Sussex, and served in the Diplomatic Service from 1858 to 1869. His mother was a Catholic convert and he was educated at Twyford School, Stonyhurst and at St Mary's College, Oscott...
and his wife, Lady Anne
Lady Anne Blunt
Anne Isabella Noel Blunt, née King-Noel, 15th Baroness Wentworth , known for most of her life as Lady Anne Blunt, was co-founder, with her husband the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, of the Crabbet Arabian Stud. The two married on 8 June 1869...
, a daughter of the 1st Earl of Lovelace
William King-Noel, 1st Earl of Lovelace
William King-Noel, 1st Earl of Lovelace FRS , known as the Hon. William King until 1833 and as the Lord King from 1833 to 1838, was an English nobleman and scientist....
and his mathematician wife, Ada
Ada Lovelace
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace , born Augusta Ada Byron, was an English writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's early mechanical general-purpose computer, the analytical engine...
. Judith spent most of her childhood in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
as her parents were buying Arabian horse
Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological evidence of horses...
s for their Crabbet Arabian Stud
Crabbet Arabian Stud
The Crabbet Arabian Stud, also known as the Crabbet Park Stud, was a horse breeding farm established on 2 July 1878 when the first Arabian horses brought to England by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Blunt arrived at Crabbet Park, their estate in Sussex...
. Thus, the family was familiar with middle eastern culture and fluently spoke both Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
.
On 2 February 1899, Judith married Neville Stephen Lytton
Neville Bulwer-Lytton, 3rd Earl of Lytton
Neville Stephen Bulwer-Lytton, 3rd Earl of Lytton, OBE was a British military officer and artist.He was a son of Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton and grandson of the famous novelists, Edward Bulwer-Lytton and Rosina Doyle Wheeler. Neville Lytton was born in India while his father served...
, the youngest son of the Earl of Lytton
Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton
Edward Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton, GCB, GCSI, GCIE, PC was an English statesman and poet...
. The marriage took place in Cairo, and they later moved into a house in the grounds of her parents' estate, Crabbet Park
Crabbet Arabian Stud
The Crabbet Arabian Stud, also known as the Crabbet Park Stud, was a horse breeding farm established on 2 July 1878 when the first Arabian horses brought to England by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Blunt arrived at Crabbet Park, their estate in Sussex...
(near Crawley
Crawley
Crawley is a town and local government district with Borough status in West Sussex, England. It is south of Charing Cross, north of Brighton and Hove, and northeast of the county town of Chichester, covers an area of and had a population of 99,744 at the time of the 2001 Census.The area has...
), filled with relics from Judith's great-grandfather, Lord Byron. The couple later had three children: Noel Anthony Scawen
Noel Lytton, 4th Earl of Lytton
Noel Anthony Scawen Lytton, 4th Earl of Lytton was a British Army officer, Arabian horse fancier and writer....
(1900–1985), Anne (later known as Lady Anne Lytton) (1901–1979) and Winifred (later known as Lady Winifrid Tryon) (1904-?). She later became estranged from her husband, and the couple divorced in 1923. Neville soon remarried, but Lady Wentworth never did, focusing on managing Crabbet Park until her death.
In 1904, Judith's father turned over the Crabbet property to her and she also changed her surname to Blunt-Lytton that year. Two years later, her estranged parents divided the estate, Wilfrid living close by at Newbuildings Place, while Lady Anne remained in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and maintained an estate near Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, the Sheykh Obeyd
Sheykh Obeyd
Sheykh Obeyd was a stud farm that raised Arabian horses, located near Cairo, Egypt. It was founded by Wilfred Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Blunt in the late 19th century, was the home of Lady Anne following her divorce from Wilfred, and was where she lived until her death...
Stud, where she also continued to raise Arabian horse
Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological evidence of horses...
s.
Baron Wentworth
Baron Wentworth is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1529 for Thomas Wentworth, who was also de jure sixth Baron le Despencer of the 1387 creation. The title was created by writ, which means that it descends according to the male-preference cognatic...
. Due primarily to the maneuvering of Wilfred in an attempt to disinherit Judith and obtain the entire Crabbet property, Judith and her mother were estranged at the time and thus Lady Anne's share of the Crabbet Stud passed to Judith's daughters, under the oversight of an independent trustee. This had angered Wilfrid and a lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
soon followed. Ownership of the Arabian horses went back and forth between the estates of father and daughter in the following years. Wilfred sold a number of horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s in his control, mostly to pay off debts. Some animals were later repurchased by Judith, though others, especially those exported to the United States, were unable to be recovered. The lawsuit was eventually settled in favour of the granddaughters and Judith. Between her own pre-existing ownership and the shares of the estate she purchased from the trustee for her daughters, Judith retained control of the Stud, though she had to overcome considerable financial difficulties.
Lady Wentworth's former husband had inherited his childless brother's earldom of Lytton
Earl of Lytton
Earl of Lytton, in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1880 for the diplomat and poet Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Baron Lytton. He was Viceroy of India from 1876 to 1880 and British Ambassador to France from 1887 to 1891...
in 1947, and on his own death in 1951, it passed to their only son, Noel. Lady Wentworth had become estranged from her children since the divorce and saw Noel for the first time in thirty years on her deathbed in 1957. At the time of her death, the Wentworth title also passed to him. Her daughter, Lady Anne Lytton, later provided valuable historical recollections of the horses and practices of the Crabbet Stud
Crabbet Arabian Stud
The Crabbet Arabian Stud, also known as the Crabbet Park Stud, was a horse breeding farm established on 2 July 1878 when the first Arabian horses brought to England by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Blunt arrived at Crabbet Park, their estate in Sussex...
.
Lady Wentworth's will stipulated that Crabbet be left to her stud manager and tennis marker Geoffrey Covey, but he had died a few days earlier than Lady Wentworth, thus the Stud passed to his son, Cecil. The house remains to this day, but when the new M23 motorway
M23 motorway
The M23 motorway is a motorway in England. The motorway runs from south of Hooley in Surrey, where it splits from the A23, to Pease Pottage, south of Crawley in West Sussex where it rejoins the A23. The northern end of the motorway starts at junction 7 on what is effectively a spur north from...
bisected the property in 1971, Covey, himself not a young man, had little choice but to sell the property and disperse the horses.
See also
- Crabbet Arabian StudCrabbet Arabian StudThe Crabbet Arabian Stud, also known as the Crabbet Park Stud, was a horse breeding farm established on 2 July 1878 when the first Arabian horses brought to England by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Blunt arrived at Crabbet Park, their estate in Sussex...
- Arabian horseArabian horseThe Arabian or Arab horse is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological evidence of horses...
- Lady Anne BluntLady Anne BluntAnne Isabella Noel Blunt, née King-Noel, 15th Baroness Wentworth , known for most of her life as Lady Anne Blunt, was co-founder, with her husband the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, of the Crabbet Arabian Stud. The two married on 8 June 1869...
- Wilfrid Scawen BluntWilfrid Scawen BluntWilfrid Scawen Blunt was an English poet and writer. He was born at Petworth House in Sussex, and served in the Diplomatic Service from 1858 to 1869. His mother was a Catholic convert and he was educated at Twyford School, Stonyhurst and at St Mary's College, Oscott...
- George Byron, 6th Baron Byron
- Ada LovelaceAda LovelaceAugusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace , born Augusta Ada Byron, was an English writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage's early mechanical general-purpose computer, the analytical engine...
- Noel Lytton, 4th Earl of LyttonNoel Lytton, 4th Earl of LyttonNoel Anthony Scawen Lytton, 4th Earl of Lytton was a British Army officer, Arabian horse fancier and writer....
Sources
- Wentworth, Judith Anne Dorothea Blunt-Lytton. The Authentic Arabian Horse, 3rd ed. George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1979.
- "Lady Wentworth in The Times," includes obituary of Lady Wentworth. R.J.CADRANELL from Arabian Visions Mar/Apr 1993
- The Welara Registry
- The Androom Archives
- Burke's Peerage & Gentry
- Arabian Bloodlines - Crabbet