Lady Anne Blunt
Encyclopedia
Anne Isabella Noel Blunt, née
King-Noel, 15th Baroness Wentworth (22 September 1837 – 15 December 1917), 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. From the late 1870s, Wilfrid and Lady Anne travelled extensively in Arabia and the Middle East
, buying Arabian horse
s from Bedouin
tribesmen and the Egyptian Ali Pasha Sherif
. Among the great and influential horses they took to England were Azrek, Dajania, Queen of Sheba, Rodania and the famous Ali Pasha Sherif stallion Mesaoud
. To this day, the vast majority of purebred Arabian horse
s trace their lineage to at least one Crabbet ancestor.
, said by some to be the world's first computer programmer. Her maternal grandparents were the poet Lord Byron
and Annabella Byron, 11th Baroness Wentworth
. In childhood, she was known as "Annabella," after the grandmother for whom she was named.
Lady Anne was fluent in French
, German
, Italian
, Spanish
and Arabic
, a skilled violinist and a gifted artist who studied drawing with John Ruskin
. She also had a lifelong love of horses, dating from childhood, and was an accomplished equestrienne
. Her interest in the Arabian horse
, combined with Wilfrid's interest in Middle East
ern politics, led to their mutual interest in saving the Arabian breed and thus their many journeys.
The books Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates and A Pilgrimage to Nejd are attributed to her and were based on her journals, but were extensively edited by her husband. Her own voice comes through more clearly in her published journals.
Lady Anne's 1869 marriage to Blunt was not a happy one. Her many pregnancies produced a single surviving child, Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth
. Lady Anne never ceased to grieve her miscarriages and the babies who died soon after birth. Though a fond father to Judith when she was a child, Blunt made no secret that he would have preferred a son. However, her daughter noted that Lady Anne was a gentle, loving person with a very kind heart and forgiving nature, which allowed her to tolerate situations that others would find untenable.
Lady Anne and Wilfrid differed over management of their horses, with Wilfrid, though the less talented horseman, often prevailing on management decisions. At times, this meant leaving valuable bloodstock in Egypt
under the care of inept managers who neglected the horses to the point that some died of exposure and thirst. In England, his theory that Arabian horses should live under "desert conditions," even in a cold, damp climate, often meant the animals lived with insufficient fodder
and exposed to an unnecessary degree to the elements.
Blunt also had many mistresses, often simultaneously. However, in 1906, when his mistress Dorothy Carleton (later adopted as his niece) moved into their home, Lady Anne, unable to tolerate what she termed an "oriental" lifestyle, left him. The Blunts agreed to a formal separation and the Stud was divided. Lady Anne signed a Deed of Partition drawn up by Wilfrid. Under its terms, Lady Anne kept Crabbet Park and half the horses, while Blunt took Caxtons Farm, also known as Newbuildings, and the rest of the stock.
Following the separation, Lady Anne spent several months each year at her Sheykh Obeyd
estate near Cairo
, a 32 acre (129,000 m²) apricot orchard the Blunts had purchased in 1882 and set up as a breeding farm for the horses they owned in Egypt. Her daughter Judith lived full-time at the Crabbet estate with her own husband and children. Finally, leaving the stud under the management of Judith, Lady Anne left England permanently in October 1915 and spent the remaining years of her life at Sheykh Obeyd.
, Lady Anne inherited the Wentworth
title in 1917, shortly before her own death. Wilfrid, always short on money, made a number of attempts to get Lady Anne to sign control or ownership of her portion of Crabbet to him, going so far at one point as to alienate Judith and her mother to the point that Lady Anne disinherited Judith (though wisely chose not to favor Wilfred). Following Lady Anne's death in 1917, the Wentworth title passed to Judith, who by that time owned some horses and property in her own right, and Lady Anne bequeathed her remaining portion of Crabbet to Judith's daughters, appointing a trustee to oversee the estate.
Wilfrid and Judith disputed Lady Anne's estate and the ownership of many horses. The bitter battle went to court, where a verdict in favor of Judith's children was rendered in 1920, invalidating the deed of partition and reunifying most of the stud. Wilfrid died in 1922, having verbally reconciled with Judith but without rewriting his will to grant her any inheritance of his remaining property. Over time Judith had managed to buy out her daughters' shares of Crabbet and Newbuidings from the trustee, buy back many of the horses Wilfrid had sold to third parties, and the Crabbet stud continued under Judith's management.
Under Judith, her management and breeding decisions improved upon the "desert conditions" theories of Wilfrid. Her addition of non-desertbred Arabian stock, such as the Polish-bred Arabian stallion Skowronek
, created controversy, but the stud survived and prospered for almost fifty years until 1971, when the property itself was bisected by a motorway. Judith sold Crabbet horses all over the world, including to the United States
, Australia
, Spain
and Russia
. She also sold some horses bred from the Blunt lines back to Egypt
, where they have a legacy today. Modern studs known for Crabbet breeding, including Al-Marah in America and Fenwick in Australia
, owe their existence to large-scale importations of horses bred at Crabbet.
Today, due to the worldwide dispersal of Crabbet stock over its near-century of existence, most modern Arabian horse
s contain lines to Crabbet breeding, regardless of their nation of birth. Over 90% of all Arabians registered in the United States, for example, contain one or more lines to the Crabbet Park Stud. Some "Crabbet" breeders consider themselves preservationists, maintaining a small pool of high-percentage Crabbet horses, while others use these lines as an outcross on other strains. In either situation, Crabbet-bred Arabian horses have a reputation for athleticism and classic type, good temperament, performance ability and soundness.
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
King-Noel, 15th Baroness Wentworth (22 September 1837 – 15 December 1917), known for most of her life as Lady Anne Blunt, was co-founder, with her husband 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...
, 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...
. The two married on 8 June 1869. From the late 1870s, Wilfrid and Lady Anne travelled extensively in Arabia 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...
, 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 from Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
tribesmen and the Egyptian Ali Pasha Sherif
Ali Pasha Sherif
Ali Pasha Sherif was an Egyptian government official and a renowned breeder of Arabian horses during the late 19th century.-Family Background:...
. Among the great and influential horses they took to England were Azrek, Dajania, Queen of Sheba, Rodania and the famous Ali Pasha Sherif stallion Mesaoud
Mesaoud
Mesaoud, an Arabian stallion, foaled 1887, was one of the foundation sires of the Crabbet Arabian Stud in England. Bred in Egypt by Ali Pasha Sherif, he was imported to England by Wilfred and Lady Anne Blunt in 1891...
. To this day, the vast majority of purebred 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 trace their lineage to at least one Crabbet ancestor.
Life and work
Lady Anne was a daughter of William King, 1st Earl of Lovelace and Ada King, Countess of LovelaceAda 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...
, said by some to be the world's first computer programmer. Her maternal grandparents were the poet Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, later George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, FRS , commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was a British poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement...
and Annabella Byron, 11th Baroness Wentworth
Anne Isabella Byron, Baroness Byron
Anne Isabella Noel Byron, 11th Baroness Wentworth and Baroness Byron was the wife of the poet Lord Byron, and mother of Ada Lovelace, the patron and co-worker of mathematician Charles Babbage.-Name:Her names were unusually complex...
. In childhood, she was known as "Annabella," after the grandmother for whom she was named.
Lady Anne was fluent in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and 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...
, a skilled violinist and a gifted artist who studied drawing with John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
. She also had a lifelong love of horses, dating from childhood, and was an accomplished equestrienne
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
. Her interest in the 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...
, combined with Wilfrid's interest in 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...
ern politics, led to their mutual interest in saving the Arabian breed and thus their many journeys.
The books Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates and A Pilgrimage to Nejd are attributed to her and were based on her journals, but were extensively edited by her husband. Her own voice comes through more clearly in her published journals.
Lady Anne's 1869 marriage to Blunt was not a happy one. Her many pregnancies produced a single surviving child, Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth
Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth
Judith Anne Dorothea Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth also known as Lady Wentworth was a British peeress, Arabian horse breeder and tennis player...
. Lady Anne never ceased to grieve her miscarriages and the babies who died soon after birth. Though a fond father to Judith when she was a child, Blunt made no secret that he would have preferred a son. However, her daughter noted that Lady Anne was a gentle, loving person with a very kind heart and forgiving nature, which allowed her to tolerate situations that others would find untenable.
Lady Anne and Wilfrid differed over management of their horses, with Wilfrid, though the less talented horseman, often prevailing on management decisions. At times, this meant leaving valuable bloodstock 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...
under the care of inept managers who neglected the horses to the point that some died of exposure and thirst. In England, his theory that Arabian horses should live under "desert conditions," even in a cold, damp climate, often meant the animals lived with insufficient fodder
Fodder
Fodder or animal feed is any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. Most animal feed is from plants but some is of animal origin...
and exposed to an unnecessary degree to the elements.
Blunt also had many mistresses, often simultaneously. However, in 1906, when his mistress Dorothy Carleton (later adopted as his niece) moved into their home, Lady Anne, unable to tolerate what she termed an "oriental" lifestyle, left him. The Blunts agreed to a formal separation and the Stud was divided. Lady Anne signed a Deed of Partition drawn up by Wilfrid. Under its terms, Lady Anne kept Crabbet Park and half the horses, while Blunt took Caxtons Farm, also known as Newbuildings, and the rest of the stock.
Following the separation, Lady Anne spent several months each year at her 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...
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...
, a 32 acre (129,000 m²) apricot orchard the Blunts had purchased in 1882 and set up as a breeding farm for the horses they owned in Egypt. Her daughter Judith lived full-time at the Crabbet estate with her own husband and children. Finally, leaving the stud under the management of Judith, Lady Anne left England permanently in October 1915 and spent the remaining years of her life at Sheykh Obeyd.
Legacy
Upon the death of the childless Ada King-Milbanke, 14th Baroness WentworthAda King-Milbanke, 14th Baroness Wentworth
Ada Mary King-Milbanke, 14th Baroness Wentworth was a British peeress.King-Milbanke was the only child of Ralph King-Milbanke, 2nd Earl of Lovelace and his wife, Fanny. After her parents' separation shortly after her birth, she was raised by her aunt, Lady Anne Blunt. On the death of her father in...
, Lady Anne inherited the Wentworth
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...
title in 1917, shortly before her own death. Wilfrid, always short on money, made a number of attempts to get Lady Anne to sign control or ownership of her portion of Crabbet to him, going so far at one point as to alienate Judith and her mother to the point that Lady Anne disinherited Judith (though wisely chose not to favor Wilfred). Following Lady Anne's death in 1917, the Wentworth title passed to Judith, who by that time owned some horses and property in her own right, and Lady Anne bequeathed her remaining portion of Crabbet to Judith's daughters, appointing a trustee to oversee the estate.
Wilfrid and Judith disputed Lady Anne's estate and the ownership of many horses. The bitter battle went to court, where a verdict in favor of Judith's children was rendered in 1920, invalidating the deed of partition and reunifying most of the stud. Wilfrid died in 1922, having verbally reconciled with Judith but without rewriting his will to grant her any inheritance of his remaining property. Over time Judith had managed to buy out her daughters' shares of Crabbet and Newbuidings from the trustee, buy back many of the horses Wilfrid had sold to third parties, and the Crabbet stud continued under Judith's management.
Under Judith, her management and breeding decisions improved upon the "desert conditions" theories of Wilfrid. Her addition of non-desertbred Arabian stock, such as the Polish-bred Arabian stallion Skowronek
Skowronek
Skowronek was an Arabian stallion foaled in 1909. He was bred by Count Józef Potocki who owned the Antoniny Stud in Poland. He was imported to England as a young horse. Upon purchase by Lady Wentworth, Skowronek became a foundation stallion at Lady Wentworth's famed Crabbet Arabian Stud...
, created controversy, but the stud survived and prospered for almost fifty years until 1971, when the property itself was bisected by a motorway. Judith sold Crabbet horses all over the world, including to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. She also sold some horses bred from the Blunt lines back to 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...
, where they have a legacy today. Modern studs known for Crabbet breeding, including Al-Marah in America and Fenwick in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, owe their existence to large-scale importations of horses bred at Crabbet.
Today, due to the worldwide dispersal of Crabbet stock over its near-century of existence, most modern 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 contain lines to Crabbet breeding, regardless of their nation of birth. Over 90% of all Arabians registered in the United States, for example, contain one or more lines to the Crabbet Park Stud. Some "Crabbet" breeders consider themselves preservationists, maintaining a small pool of high-percentage Crabbet horses, while others use these lines as an outcross on other strains. In either situation, Crabbet-bred Arabian horses have a reputation for athleticism and classic type, good temperament, performance ability and soundness.
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...
- 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