Mary Eleanor Bowes
Encyclopedia
Mary Eleanor Bowes, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne (24 February 1749 – 28 April 1800), known as "The Unhappy Countess", was the daughter and heiress of George Bowes
. Some of her children with John Lyon
hyphenated their parents' names, styling themselves Bowes-Lyon
.
Mary Eleanor Bowes was well-educated for her time, and in 1769 published a poetical drama entitled The Siege of Jerusalem (see 1769 in literature
, 1769 in poetry
). She was also enthusiastic about botany
, sending William Paterson
to the Cape
in 1777 to collect plants on her behalf.
She married John Lyon
, the 9th Earl of Strathmore on her eighteenth birthday, 24 February 1767. Since her father's will stipulated that her husband should assume his wife's family name, the Earl addressed Parliament
, and his name was changed to John Bowes.
On the basis of Mary's fortune, the couple lived extravagantly and had five children:
Her husband spent much of his time drinking and restoring Glamis Castle
so that "to amuse herself" she wrote her verse drama, The Siege of Jerusalem (1769). The Earl showed little interest in his wife except as a breeder of children, and she took comfort elsewhere and by the time of his death was pregnant by a lover, George Gray, a Scottish 'nabob' who had made and squandered a small fortune working for the East India Company. Born in Calcutta in 1737, where his father had worked as a surgeon for the company, Gray had returned to England under a cloud in 1766. Samuel Foote's play The Nabob is believed to have been informed by his friendship with Gray, who was also a friend of James Boswell. On 7 March 1776, Lord Strathmore died at sea on his way to Portugal
, from tuberculosis
.
Upon the death of her first husband, who had left debts totalling a staggering £145,000, in March 1776 Mary Eleanor Bowes regained control of her fortune centred on the mines and farms around her childhood home of Gibside in County Durham. Already pregnant by Gray, she successfully induced
an abortion
by drinking 'a black inky kind of medicine
' and upon becoming pregnant repeatedly again, underwent two further abortions. Her candid account of these abortion attempts is one of the very few first-person descriptions of abortions in history before legalisation. When she found herself pregnant by Gray a fourth time, she resigned herself to marrying him and they became formally engaged in August 1777. But that same summer Mary Eleanor was seduced by a charming and wily Anglo-Irish adventurer, Andrew Robinson Stoney
, who manipulated his way into her household and her bed. Calling himself 'Captain' Stoney—although he was in reality a mere lieutenant in the British Army—he insisted on fighting a duel
in Mary's honour with the editor of The Morning Post newspaper which had published scurrilous articles about her private life. In fact Stoney had himself written the articles both criticising and defending the countess and faked the duel with the editor, Revd Henry Bate, in an attempt to appeal to Mary's romantic nature. Pretending to be mortally wounded, he begged Mary to grant his dying wish: to marry her. Stoney was carried on a stretcher down the aisle of St James's Church, Piccadilly
, where he married Mary Eleanor on 17 January 1777. In compliance with her father's will, Stoney changed his name to Bowes. There were two children within this marriage. Mary Bowes, who was probably the daughter of George Gray, was delivered secretly in August 1777 but her birthday was registered as 14 November 1777. William Johnstone Bowes was born on 8 March 1782.
Stoney Bowes (who, it was commonly supposed, had already caused the death of a previous wife, Hannah Newton, in order to obtain her inheritance) immediately attempted to take control of Mary's fortune. When he discovered that she had secretly made a prenuptial agreement
safeguarding the profits of her estate for her own use, he forced her to sign a revocation handing control to him. Squandering the wealth, he subjected the countess to eight years of physical and mental abuse. Among other outrages he imprisoned her in her own house, and carried her and her daughter Anna Maria (by Strathmore) off to Paris
, whence they returned only after a writ
had been served on him. At the same time he raped the maids, invited prostitutes into the home and fathered numerous illegitimate children.
Finally, in 1785, with the help of loyal maids, the countess managed to escape his custody and filed for divorce through the ecclesiastical courts. Having lost the first round of this courtroom battle, Stoney Bowes abducted Mary with the help of a gang of accomplices, carried her off to the north country, threatened to rape
and to kill her, gagged and beat her, and carried her around the countryside on horseback in one of the coldest spells of the coldest winter of the century. The country was alerted, and Stoney Bowes was eventually arrested and the countess rescued.
The legal battles continued. Stoney Bowes and his accomplices were found guilty of conspiracy to abduct Mary, and he was sentenced to three years in prison. Meanwhile he lost the divorce case and the battle to hang on to the Bowes fortune. The trials were sensational and the talk of London
. Although the countess initially won public sympathy, Bowes eventually turned many against her — partly because of the libels he succeeded in putting about (buying shares in a newspaper for the purpose and publishing the 'Confessions' he had earlier forced her to write) — and partly because the general apprehension was that she had behaved badly in attempting to prevent her husband's access to her fortune. There had also been an affair between her and the brother of one of the lawyers, which became public knowledge, and, Stoney Bowes alleged, an affair with her footman, George Walker. The divorce was finalised in a trial at the High Court of Delegates which revealed how Bowes had systematically deprived the countess of her liberty and abused her. Stoney Bowes died, still under prison jurisdiction although living outside the prison walls, on 16 June 1810.
In 1841, the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray
heard Bowes's life story from the Countess's grandson, John Bowes, and used it in his novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon
.
. She later moved to Stourfield House, an isolated mansion on the edge of the village of Pokesdown
near Christchurch, Hampshire, where she could live feeling that she was "...out of the world.."
Local people found the countess very strange, if not actually mad, but once they heard of her tribulations they understood that she had good reasons to be odd. Mary's sons by Lyon seldom visited their mother, and never stayed for long, but two daughters lived with her, Lady Jessop from her first marriage, and Miss Bowes from the second.
Mary brought to Stourfield a full establishment of servants, and a dearly loved companion Mary Morgan, the maid who had helped her escape her marital home, who died in 1796 and was buried at Christchurch beneath a brass plaque composed by Lady Strathmore to honour her friend. Following this death the countess did not socialise at all, she spent most of her time looking after pet animals, including a large number of dogs, for whom hot dinners were cooked daily. The countess offered £10 reward when one of the dogs "Flora" went missing in 1798. It was found dead by Farmer Dale, who declined the reward, on account of the great kindnesses previously shown by the countess to him and his wife.
She frequently had dinners cooked for men working in the fields, and had sent beer out to refresh them. One of the countess's few joys was to see her daughter Miss Bowes learning to ride. She used to ride a dozen miles before breakfast, and managed to remain seated when her mount attempted to roll in the river at Iford one hot day, which won her great admiration from the locals. At this time riding gave great independence, journey times were about a third that of going by coach.
Miss Bowes also followed her mother's example, and was constantly generous to the poor of the area. Towards the close of the century Lady Strathmore called in some trusted friends from Pokesdown village to witness her final will, and began making presents of dresses and other items to the community. She also left an annuity for Widow Lockyer of Pokesdown Farm, which her daughter Lady Jessop continued to pay until she moved to Ringwood, Mr Colby administered the annuity then, until Widow Lockyer's death.
Mary died in 1800. According to the locals the countess was buried as requested in a court dress, with all the accessories necessary for a Royal audience, plus a small silver trumpet. Other reports have it that she was buried in a bridal dress. Undertakers came down from London with a hearse and three mourning carriages, and Mary was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey.
Soon after this the contents of Stourfield house were sold. Mr. Bowes was released from prison on her death, and unsuccessfully attempted to invalidate Mary's will. When he lost the case he was sued by his own lawyers for their expenses. Unable ever to repay his debts he remained under prison jurisdiction although he lived outside the prison walls with his latest mistress, Mary 'Polly' Sutton, who he treated as abysmally as his two wives and their five children. Bowes died in 1810.
Details of Mary's life at Stourfield House were preserved in the transcribed memories of an elderly Pokesdown resident. As an immediate legacy Mary left the villagers with memories of a woman whom they loved and respected for her continuing generosity. A later legacy, which has lasted far longer than Mary's fame, is her name. The Earls of Strathmore, from whom the Queen Mother
(died 2002) descends, still use Bowes-Lyon as the family name.
Her tombstone is in the Poets' Corner
of Westminster Abbey
.
George Bowes
Sir George Bowes was an English Member of Parliament and coal proprietor.George Bowes was baptized on 4 September 1701, the youngest son of Sir William Bowes, MP, and Elizabeth Bowes...
. Some of her children with John Lyon
John Bowes, 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
John Bowes , born John Lyon, was the 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and one of the ancestors of the Queen Mother. His father was Thomas Lyon, 8th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and his mother was the former Jean Nicholsen.In 1767 he married Mary Eleanor Bowes, and upon the request of the...
hyphenated their parents' names, styling themselves Bowes-Lyon
Bowes-Lyon
Bowes-Lyon is a Scottish family; see the following articles for more information, including information on individual members:*Baron Bowes*Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne*Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne*Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon*Gibside...
.
Mary Eleanor Bowes was well-educated for her time, and in 1769 published a poetical drama entitled The Siege of Jerusalem (see 1769 in literature
1769 in literature
See also: 1768 in literature, other events of 1769, 1770 in literature, list of years in literature.-Events:* February–April - John Wilkes is expelled from the Parliament of Great Britain three times....
, 1769 in poetry
1769 in poetry
Nationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-United Kingdom:* Mary Bowes, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, The Siege of Jerusalem* Thomas Chatterton:...
). She was also enthusiastic about botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
, sending William Paterson
William Paterson (explorer)
Colonel William Paterson, FRS was a Scottish soldier, explorer, Lieutenant governor and botanist best known for leading early settlement in Tasmania. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation Paterson when citing a botanical name.-Early years:A native of Montrose, Scotland, Paterson was...
to the Cape
Cape
Cape can be used to describe any sleeveless outer garment, such as a poncho, but usually it is a long garment that covers only the back half of the wearer, fastening around the neck. They were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon, and have had periodic...
in 1777 to collect plants on her behalf.
Early life
Mary's father died when she was eleven years old, and left her a vast fortune (estimated at between £600,000 and £1,040,000) which he had built up through control of a cartel of coal-mine owners. At a stroke Mary became the wealthiest heiress in Britain - some said Europe - and she encouraged the attentions of Campbell Scott, younger brother of Henry Scott (the Duke of Buccleuch) as well as John Stuart, the self-styled Lord Mountstuart, eldest son of Lord Bute, before becoming engaged at the age of sixteen to John Lyon.She married John Lyon
John Bowes, 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
John Bowes , born John Lyon, was the 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and one of the ancestors of the Queen Mother. His father was Thomas Lyon, 8th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and his mother was the former Jean Nicholsen.In 1767 he married Mary Eleanor Bowes, and upon the request of the...
, the 9th Earl of Strathmore on her eighteenth birthday, 24 February 1767. Since her father's will stipulated that her husband should assume his wife's family name, the Earl addressed Parliament
Parliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
, and his name was changed to John Bowes.
On the basis of Mary's fortune, the couple lived extravagantly and had five children:
- Maria Jane Bowes (who later styled herself Bowes-Lyon) (21 April 1768 - 22 April 1806), married 1789 Colonel Barrington Price, of the British ArmyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
- John Bowes, 10th Earl of Strathmore and KinghorneJohn Bowes, 10th Earl of Strathmore and KinghorneJohn Bowes, 10th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne was the eldest son of John Bowes, 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and Mary Bowes, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne...
(13 April 1769 - 3 July 1820), married Mary Milner, his long-term mistress and mother of his son, on 2 July 1820, the day before he died - Anna Maria Bowes (3 June 1770 - 29 March 1832), eloped and married Henry Jessop in 1788
- George Bowes (17 November 1771 - 3 December 1806), married Mary Thornhill
- Thomas Bowes-Lyon, 11th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (3 May 1773 - 27 August 1846) married Mary Elizabeth Louisa Rodney Carpenter; his wife was the granddaughter of a plumber, whose daughter married one of his wealthy clients.
Her husband spent much of his time drinking and restoring Glamis Castle
Glamis Castle
Glamis Castle is situated beside the village of Glamis in Angus, Scotland. It is the home of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and is open to the public....
so that "to amuse herself" she wrote her verse drama, The Siege of Jerusalem (1769). The Earl showed little interest in his wife except as a breeder of children, and she took comfort elsewhere and by the time of his death was pregnant by a lover, George Gray, a Scottish 'nabob' who had made and squandered a small fortune working for the East India Company. Born in Calcutta in 1737, where his father had worked as a surgeon for the company, Gray had returned to England under a cloud in 1766. Samuel Foote's play The Nabob is believed to have been informed by his friendship with Gray, who was also a friend of James Boswell. On 7 March 1776, Lord Strathmore died at sea on his way to Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
Second marriage
Self-induced abortion
A self-induced abortion is an abortion performed by the pregnant woman herself outside the recognized medical system. Although the term can include abortions induced through legal, over-the-counter medication, it also refers to efforts to terminate a pregnancy through alternative, often more...
an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
by drinking 'a black inky kind of medicine
Abortifacient
An abortifacient is a substance that induces abortion. Abortifacients for animals that have mated undesirably are known as mismating shots....
' and upon becoming pregnant repeatedly again, underwent two further abortions. Her candid account of these abortion attempts is one of the very few first-person descriptions of abortions in history before legalisation. When she found herself pregnant by Gray a fourth time, she resigned herself to marrying him and they became formally engaged in August 1777. But that same summer Mary Eleanor was seduced by a charming and wily Anglo-Irish adventurer, Andrew Robinson Stoney
Andrew Robinson Stoney
Andrew Robinson Stoney, later renamed Andrew Robinson Stoney Bowes was an Anglo-Irish adventurer who married Mary Eleanor Bowes, the Countess of Strathmore. She became known as "The Unhappy Countess" due to their tempestuous relationship, which ended in scandal...
, who manipulated his way into her household and her bed. Calling himself 'Captain' Stoney—although he was in reality a mere lieutenant in the British Army—he insisted on fighting a duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
in Mary's honour with the editor of The Morning Post newspaper which had published scurrilous articles about her private life. In fact Stoney had himself written the articles both criticising and defending the countess and faked the duel with the editor, Revd Henry Bate, in an attempt to appeal to Mary's romantic nature. Pretending to be mortally wounded, he begged Mary to grant his dying wish: to marry her. Stoney was carried on a stretcher down the aisle of St James's Church, Piccadilly
St James's Church, Piccadilly
St James’s Church, Piccadilly is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, UK. It was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren....
, where he married Mary Eleanor on 17 January 1777. In compliance with her father's will, Stoney changed his name to Bowes. There were two children within this marriage. Mary Bowes, who was probably the daughter of George Gray, was delivered secretly in August 1777 but her birthday was registered as 14 November 1777. William Johnstone Bowes was born on 8 March 1782.
Stoney Bowes (who, it was commonly supposed, had already caused the death of a previous wife, Hannah Newton, in order to obtain her inheritance) immediately attempted to take control of Mary's fortune. When he discovered that she had secretly made a prenuptial agreement
Prenuptial agreement
A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement, commonly abbreviated to prenup or prenupt, is a contract entered into prior to marriage, civil union or any other agreement prior to the main agreement by the people intending to marry or contract with each other...
safeguarding the profits of her estate for her own use, he forced her to sign a revocation handing control to him. Squandering the wealth, he subjected the countess to eight years of physical and mental abuse. Among other outrages he imprisoned her in her own house, and carried her and her daughter Anna Maria (by Strathmore) off to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, whence they returned only after a writ
Writ
In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court...
had been served on him. At the same time he raped the maids, invited prostitutes into the home and fathered numerous illegitimate children.
Finally, in 1785, with the help of loyal maids, the countess managed to escape his custody and filed for divorce through the ecclesiastical courts. Having lost the first round of this courtroom battle, Stoney Bowes abducted Mary with the help of a gang of accomplices, carried her off to the north country, threatened to rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and to kill her, gagged and beat her, and carried her around the countryside on horseback in one of the coldest spells of the coldest winter of the century. The country was alerted, and Stoney Bowes was eventually arrested and the countess rescued.
The legal battles continued. Stoney Bowes and his accomplices were found guilty of conspiracy to abduct Mary, and he was sentenced to three years in prison. Meanwhile he lost the divorce case and the battle to hang on to the Bowes fortune. The trials were sensational and the talk of 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...
. Although the countess initially won public sympathy, Bowes eventually turned many against her — partly because of the libels he succeeded in putting about (buying shares in a newspaper for the purpose and publishing the 'Confessions' he had earlier forced her to write) — and partly because the general apprehension was that she had behaved badly in attempting to prevent her husband's access to her fortune. There had also been an affair between her and the brother of one of the lawyers, which became public knowledge, and, Stoney Bowes alleged, an affair with her footman, George Walker. The divorce was finalised in a trial at the High Court of Delegates which revealed how Bowes had systematically deprived the countess of her liberty and abused her. Stoney Bowes died, still under prison jurisdiction although living outside the prison walls, on 16 June 1810.
In 1841, the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
heard Bowes's life story from the Countess's grandson, John Bowes, and used it in his novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon
The Luck of Barry Lyndon
The Luck of Barry Lyndon is a picaresque novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, first published in serial form in 1844, about a member of the Irish gentry trying to become a member of the English aristocracy...
.
Retirement
After 1792, the countess lived quietly in Purbrook Park in HampshireHampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. She later moved to Stourfield House, an isolated mansion on the edge of the village of Pokesdown
Pokesdown
Pokesdown is a small area of Bournemouth, a unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Dorset. It lies just east of the suburb of Boscombe and west of Southbourne.-History:Evidence of human occupation in the area dates back to the Bronze Age...
near Christchurch, Hampshire, where she could live feeling that she was "...out of the world.."
Local people found the countess very strange, if not actually mad, but once they heard of her tribulations they understood that she had good reasons to be odd. Mary's sons by Lyon seldom visited their mother, and never stayed for long, but two daughters lived with her, Lady Jessop from her first marriage, and Miss Bowes from the second.
Mary brought to Stourfield a full establishment of servants, and a dearly loved companion Mary Morgan, the maid who had helped her escape her marital home, who died in 1796 and was buried at Christchurch beneath a brass plaque composed by Lady Strathmore to honour her friend. Following this death the countess did not socialise at all, she spent most of her time looking after pet animals, including a large number of dogs, for whom hot dinners were cooked daily. The countess offered £10 reward when one of the dogs "Flora" went missing in 1798. It was found dead by Farmer Dale, who declined the reward, on account of the great kindnesses previously shown by the countess to him and his wife.
She frequently had dinners cooked for men working in the fields, and had sent beer out to refresh them. One of the countess's few joys was to see her daughter Miss Bowes learning to ride. She used to ride a dozen miles before breakfast, and managed to remain seated when her mount attempted to roll in the river at Iford one hot day, which won her great admiration from the locals. At this time riding gave great independence, journey times were about a third that of going by coach.
Miss Bowes also followed her mother's example, and was constantly generous to the poor of the area. Towards the close of the century Lady Strathmore called in some trusted friends from Pokesdown village to witness her final will, and began making presents of dresses and other items to the community. She also left an annuity for Widow Lockyer of Pokesdown Farm, which her daughter Lady Jessop continued to pay until she moved to Ringwood, Mr Colby administered the annuity then, until Widow Lockyer's death.
Mary died in 1800. According to the locals the countess was buried as requested in a court dress, with all the accessories necessary for a Royal audience, plus a small silver trumpet. Other reports have it that she was buried in a bridal dress. Undertakers came down from London with a hearse and three mourning carriages, and Mary was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey.
Soon after this the contents of Stourfield house were sold. Mr. Bowes was released from prison on her death, and unsuccessfully attempted to invalidate Mary's will. When he lost the case he was sued by his own lawyers for their expenses. Unable ever to repay his debts he remained under prison jurisdiction although he lived outside the prison walls with his latest mistress, Mary 'Polly' Sutton, who he treated as abysmally as his two wives and their five children. Bowes died in 1810.
Details of Mary's life at Stourfield House were preserved in the transcribed memories of an elderly Pokesdown resident. As an immediate legacy Mary left the villagers with memories of a woman whom they loved and respected for her continuing generosity. A later legacy, which has lasted far longer than Mary's fame, is her name. The Earls of Strathmore, from whom the Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
(died 2002) descends, still use Bowes-Lyon as the family name.
Her tombstone is in the Poets' Corner
Poets' Corner
Poets' Corner is the name traditionally given to a section of the South Transept of Westminster Abbey because of the number of poets, playwrights, and writers buried and commemorated there. The most recent additions were a memorial floor stone unveiled in 2009 for the founders of the Royal Ballet...
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,...
.