Sarah Sophia Child Villiers, Countess of Jersey (4 March 1785 – 26 January 1867), was an English noblewoman, the daughter of John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland

John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland

John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland KG, PC , styled Lord Burghersh between 1771 and 1774, was a British Tory politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, who served in most of the cabinets of the period, primarily as Lord Privy Seal.-Background:Westmorland was the son of John Fane, 9th...

 and Sarah Anne Child. Her mother was the only child of Robert Child, the principal shareholder in the banking firm Child & Co. Under the terms of his will, the Countess of Jersey was the primary legatee, and she not only inherited Osterley Park

Osterley Park

Osterley Park is a mansion set in a large park of the same name. It is in the London Borough of Hounslow, part of the western suburbs of London. When the house was built it was surrounded by rural countryside. It was one of a group of large houses close to London which served as country retreats...

 but became senior partner of the bank. Her husband, George Villiers, added the surname Child by royal licence.

Lady Jersey married George Child Villiers, 5th Earl of Jersey on 23 May 1804, in the drawing room of her house in Berkeley Square. Her husband's mother, Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey

Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey

Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey was one of the more notorious of the many mistresses of King George IV when he was Prince of Wales, "a scintillating society woman, a heady mix of charm, beauty, and sarcasm".-Early life:She was born Frances Twysden, second and posthumous daughter of the Rev...

 (also Lady Jersey), was one of the more notorious mistresses of King George IV

George IV of the United Kingdom

George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...

 when he was Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...

. Her sister Maria married John Ponsonby, Viscount Duncannon

John Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough

John William Ponsonby, 4th Earl of Bessborough PC , known as Viscount Duncannon from 1793 to 1844, was a British Whig politician...

, later the 4th Earl of Bessborough, a brother of Lady Caroline Lamb

Lady Caroline Lamb

The Lady Caroline Lamb was a British aristocrat and novelist, best known for her affair with Lord Byron in 1812. Her husband was the 2nd Viscount Melbourne, the Prime Minister...

.

Lady Jersey was one of the patronesses of Almack's

Almack's

Almack's Assembly Rooms was a social club in London from 1765 to 1871 and one of the first to admit both men and women. It was one of a limited number of upper class mixed-sex public social venues in the British capital in an era when the most important venues for the hectic social season were the...

 and a leader of the ton

Ton (le bon ton)

The ton is a term commonly used to refer to Britain’s high society during the Georgian era, especially the Regency and reign of George IV. It comes from the French word meaning "taste" or "everything that is fashionable" and is pronounced the same way as tone...

during the Regency era. She was immortalized as Zenobia

Zenobia

Zenobia was a 3rd-century Queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Roman Syria. She led a famous revolt against the Roman Empire. The second wife of King Septimius Odaenathus, Zenobia became queen of the Palmyrene Empire following Odaenathus' death in 267...

 in Disraeli's

Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield

Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS, was a British Prime Minister, parliamentarian, Conservative statesman and literary figure. Starting from comparatively humble origins, he served in government for three decades, twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom...

 novel Endymion

Endymion (Disraeli)

Endymion is a novel published in 1880 by Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, the former Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. It was the last novel Disraeli published before his death...

. Lady Jersey was known, ironically, by the nickname Silence.

She died at No. 38, Berkeley Square

Berkeley Square

Berkeley Square is a town square in the West End of London, England, in the City of Westminster. It was originally laid out in the mid 18th century by architect William Kent...

, Middlesex

Middlesex

Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

 now 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...

.

Issue

Lady Jersey had seven children by George Child Villiers:

• George Child Villiers, 6th Earl of Jersey (1808–59)
• The Honourable Augustus John Villiers (1810–47), married Georgiana Elphinstone, daughter of George Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith.
• The Honourable Frederick William Child Villiers (1815–71), married Elizabeth Maria van Reede, daughter of the 7th or 8th Earl of Athlone
  Earl of Athlone
  The title of Earl of Athlone has been created three times. It was created first in the Peerage of Ireland in 1692 by King William III for the Dutch General Baron Godard van Reede, Lord of Ginkel, to honour him for his successful battles in Ireland. The title also had the subsidiary title of Baron...
  
  .
• The Honourable Francis John Robert Child Villiers (1819–62).
• Lady Sarah Frederica Caroline Child Villiers (1822–1853), married Nicholas Paul Carl (Miklós Pál), 9th Prince Esterházy
  Esterházy
  The House of Esterházy was a Hungarian noble family in Hungary beginning in the Middle Ages. From the 17th century they were among the great landowner magnates of the Kingdom of Hungary, during the time it was part of the Habsburg Empire and later Austria-Hungary.-History:The Esterházys arose...
  
  (1817–94).
• Lady Clementina Augusta Wellington Child Villiers (1824–58).
• Lady Adela Corisande Maria Child Villiers (1828–60), married Lt.-Col. Charles Parke Ibbetson.

She outlived not only her husband, but six of her seven children.

External links

• Lady Sarah Jersey [sic] at The Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos
• The Lady Patronesses of Almack's at Georgian, Regency & Victorian Research by Kristine Hughes.
• thePeerage.com
• Descendants of John Churchill at Worldroots by Brigitte Gastel Lloyd.