Churchill's Grandmama
Page 1
To dearest John, Simon, Benedict, Nicholas
my support and inspiration
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
* * *
My grateful thanks to the following:
His Grace The Duke of Marlborough, for generous access to the Archives and Library at Blenheim, for permission to reproduce a great deal of material from these sources, and for writing the Foreword;
Lady Soames, Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill, Lady Mairi Bury, Celia Sandys, Anthea Morton-Saner, Hugo Vickers, Professor Anthony Fletcher, and those who prefer not to be named, for their invaluable help, encouragement and advice;
Frances Harris (Head of Modern Historical Manuscripts at the British Library), Richard Olney (Historical Manuscripts Commission), Allen Packwood (Director of the Churchill Archives Centre) and Caroline Herbert, Carole Kenwright (Property Manager at Chartwell), Francesca Odell and Gudrun Muller (National Portrait Gallery), Dawn van Ee (Library of Congress), Richard Edgcumbe (Victoria and Albert Museum), Lucy MacMillan, Henry Porter and Els Rowlands (Porter-Design), Rowan Gilhespie and Louise Holbrow, Roger Shepherd, Maldwin Drummond, Shaheeda Sabir (Churchill Permissions), Rev. Roger Humphreys, Richard and Marie Cragg, John Forster (Archivist to the Duke of Marlborough), whose specialist knowledge has been given so generously;
the staffs of Oxfordshire Records Office, Durham Records Office, Oxfordshire Centre for Local Studies and Woodstock Public Library (especially Gill Morris and Anne Elsmore), and Dr Melanie White of the Sorbonne, my researcher in Dublin, and the many individual members of the public who wrote to me of their own accord or responded to the TV documentaries about Blenheim;
my many colleagues at Blenheim Palace, in particular John Hoy, Dominic Hare, Heather Carter, Victoria Bellamy, Sandra French, Antonia Keaney, Caroline McCormack, Tim Mayhew, Hannah Payne, Odette Christie de Rivas, Cathy Tuckey, Karen Wiseman;
the Palace Guides, in particular Marae Griffin, Sue Thorne, Veronica Thorneloe, Ros Campbell, Lesley Deane, Jenny Grubb, Liz Chapman, Christine Gadsby, Julia Lennon, Wendy Neale, Sumie Smith, and the welcoming Guides at Floors Castle;
Sue Hawker, headmistress now retired, Tracey Smith her successor, Maureen Clifford, Wendy Heppell, Caroline Hudspeth and all the staff at Bladon C.E. Primary School, Oxfordshire;
my family and friends, my sister Wendy Heslop, my brother Jack Heslop, Mary and Nicholas Grey, Eileen and Bob Mason, Carol and Allen Mason, Robert and Ann Parkin, Jeri Bapasola, Gill Brounger, Monica and Gerard Coleman, Tineke and Peter Gill, Alan Jamieson, Sarah and Michael Lyon, Irene and Tom Maddison, Harold and Pamela Redwood, Mary and Chris White, Ann and George Wilson, my sons Simon, Ben and Nicholas for their unfailing encouragement and support, often of a very practical kind, and my husband John, who devoted so much time and patience to researching illustrations.
Finally, to Shelley Grimwood of The History Press, whose experienced advice and insight over many months has been invaluable to me, and to all her colleagues, I offer my most grateful thanks.
Margaret Elizabeth Forster
2009
CONTENTS
* * *
Title
Dedication
Acknowledgements
List of Illustrations
Illustration Acknowledgements
Foreword
Family Tree
Chronology
Introduction
1. A Glamorous Beginning
2. From Crisis to Crisis
3. An Emotional Farewell
4. A Privileged Childhood
5. An Eventful Adolescence
6. A Marriage has been Arranged
7. Frances and Blenheim
8. Duchess of Marlborough
9. The Triumphant Revival
10. A Beloved Son
11. Randolph at Oxford
12. Randolph and Jennie
13. A Parental Dilemma
14. Resolution
15. Family Life
16. Disappointed Hopes
17. The Prince’s Revenge
18. Ireland, 1887-1880
19. The Famine Fund
20. The Sad Aftermath
21. Randolph Ascendant
22. A Caring Grandmother
23. … and Others
24. An Error of Judgement
25. Mixed Emotions
26. The Last Days
27. Looking Ahead
Bibliography
Plates
Copyright
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
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1. Frances, 7th Duchess of Marlborough, aged about twelve
2. Wynyard Hall and Park, a watercolour by J.W. Carmichael
3. Frances Anne, 3rd Marchioness of Londonderry, 1819, by Sir Thomas Lawrence
4. John Winston, 7th Duke of Marlborough, 1843, marble, Lawrence MacDonald
5. Frances, 7th Duchess of Marlborough, 1843, marble, Lawrence MacDonald
6. Londonderry House, Park Lane, London
7. Frances, 7th Duchess of Marlborough, by Buckner, 1840s
8. Silver centrepiece, Blenheim Palace, by Robert Garrard
9. 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, 10th Hussars, a bronze
10. Frances, 7th Duchess of Marlborough, photographed in the 1860s
11. John Winston, 7th Duke of Marlborough, photographed in the 1860s
12. Frances, John Winston and members of the family, c.1860
14. Pages from the Visitors’ Book at Blenheim Palace
15. Royal Yacht Squadron yacht Wyvern, 1876
16. Winston Churchill, 1880, aged seven
17. Frances, 7th Duchess of Marlborough, 1880, aged 56
18. The Famine Relief Committee, 1879
19. The Irish Famine Memorial, Toronto, by Rowan Gillespie, 2007
20. The Fourth Party, 1880, a cartoon by Spy in Vanity Fair
21. Subscribers to the Famine Relief Fund
22. Illuminated address of thanks, 1877
23. Citation from the City of Dublin, 1880
24. Frances, 7th Duchess of Marlborough, 1880
25. Memorial of Lord Randolph, Blenheim Chapel, by Waldo Story
26. Memorial inscription
27. Winston Churchill, 1895
28. Blenheim Palace
29. Winston Churchill, 1900
ILLUSTRATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many of the photographs in this book have been taken by Richard Cragg, my friend and colleague at Blenheim Palace to whom I express my deepest gratitude. Without his skill, talent and unfailing enthusiasm a great many of the illustrations simply would not have been possible. I am grateful, too, to my son, Simon Forster, for his discovery and photography of the Famine Memorial sculptures in Toronto.
The author and publisher are grateful for permission to reproduce images:
Alamy, 33; Richard Cragg, 10; Rowan Gillespie, 22 (and inset); the Reverend Canon R. Humphreys, 32; His Grace The Duke of Marlborough, 1, 5, 6, 8 (photographed by Porter-Design), 9, 12-14, 16-17, 20-1, 23, 24-7, 29-30; Private Collection, 2, 4, 7; R. Shepherd, 18; TopFoto, 16, 31.
FOREWORD BY HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH
I am very pleased to introduce this book about my great great-grandmother, Frances, 7th Duchess of Marlborough and grandmother of Sir Winston Churchill. Almost an exact contemporary of Queen Victoria, she has never had the recognition she deserves. The picture of her in the public eye is of a Victorian martinet, unbending and rather cold. This book throws a clear and rewarding light on a lady who, it is now revealed, had the warmest of hearts and a most generous nature. By examining her commitment as a caring grandmother, notably of Winston Churchill, by demonstrating her commitment to the local community, especially in the field of education, and by sharing the sadness in her life, when she buried he
r five sons as well as her husband, this book brings alive the personality of a truly admirable woman.
However, it was the breaking out of famine yet again in Ireland during her husband’s term as Viceroy which moved her on to the world stage and drew from her talents and qualities hitherto unrecognised. In her speedy and effective creation and administration of her Famine Relief Fund on an international scale, she revealed not only her warmth and compassion but also qualities of leadership, judgement and organisation of the highest order. The letters of thanks and farewell she received throughout the Irish press, from all shades of political opinion, are particularly illuminating and make moving reading.
I welcome this publication with its vivid and stimulating insights into a hitherto overlooked member of my family.
FAMILY TREE
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CHRONOLOGY
* * *
DATE
NATIONAL AND FAMILY EVENTS
1815
Battle of Waterloo; Defeat of Napoleon; Peace in Europe; Congress of Vienna.
Lord Charles Stewart, Adjutant-General to the Duke of Wellington in the Napoleonic wars, is appointed British Ambassador to Austria with special reference to the Congress of Vienna.
1819
Frances Anne Vane-Tempest (born 1800) meets and marries Lord Charles Stewart. They arrive in Vienna, having first restored the estates and collieries at Wynyard Hall, the Vane-Tempest home near Durham.
1820
Death of George III; accession of George IV.
Charles sent to Italy to facilitate King George’s divorce from his wife Caroline.
1821
Birth of Harry Vane-Tempest-Stewart, eldest son and heir to Charles and Frances Anne. Family returns to England.
1822
Birth of Frances Anne Emily, eldest daughter to Charles and Frances Anne, in London. Birth at Blenheim Palace of John Winston Spencer-Churchill, eldest son and heir to the 6th Duke of Marlborough.
Purchase by Charles Stewart of Seaham estate from Sir Ralph Milbanke. Purchase of houses in Mayfair.
Death of Lord Castlereagh, Charles’ stepbrother, British Foreign Secretary. Charles resigns from embassy at Vienna but is ordered to Congress of Verona. He becomes 3rd Marquess of Londonderry in place of Castlereagh.
Family travel across the Alps to Verona. Frances Anne meets Tsar Alexander I for the second time. Family returns to England.
1823
Birth of Alexandrina, second daughter, with Tsar as godfather.
1825
Stockton and Darlington railway opens.
Birth of Adolphus, second son, with two royal Dukes as godparents, York and Cambridge.
1826
Housewarming of Wynyard Hall, rebuilt in classical style.
1827
Duke of Wellington visits Wynyard.
1830
Death of George IV. Accession of William IV. Whigs in power under Earl Grey.
Birth of Adelaide, daughter, with Queen Adelaide as sponsor.
1831
Liverpool and Manchester railway opens. Seaham Harbour constructed and opened. Cholera epidemic in Sunderland.
1832
Great Reform Bill enlarges political franchise and restructures representation in Parliament. Charles stoned in Whitehall by angry London mob.
1833
Beginning of Oxford Movement in Church of England.
1834
Slavery abolished throughout British Empire.
1836
Wellington, Prime Minister, offers Charles the Ambassador’s post in St Petersburg; he courteously declines. Private family visit to Russia in Tsar Nicholas’ (brother of Tsar Alexander) yacht.
1837
Death of William IV. Accession of Queen Victoria.
1840
Penny post introduced.
1841
Conservatives in government; Robert Peel Prime Minister.
Wynyard Hall burns down; rebuilt by John Dobson and Ignatius Bonomi.
1842
Harry Vane-Tempest-Stewart’s coming-of-age celebrated at Wynyard. Beginnings of first Irish potato famine.
1843
Frances marries John Winston Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford and heir to the 6th Duke of Marlborough, attended by royal and aristocratic guests. The couple take up residence in Hensington House.
1844-80
Development of British coal industry and the railways. London docks built.
Birth of George Charles, first son of Frances and John Winston, and heir to the dukedom and Earl of Sunderland.
1846
Whigs in government.
Birth of Frederick John, second son of Frances and John Winston; dies 1850.
1847
Birth of Cornelia Henrietta Maria, first daughter of Frances and John Winston.
1848
Revolutions in Europe.
1849
Birth of Randolph Henry, third son of Frances and John Winston.
1850
Frances Anne builds Garron Tower, near Belfast, to help relieve Irish unemployment.
1851
Great Exhibition, organised by Albert, Prince Consort.
Birth of Rosamund Jane Frances, second daughter of Frances and John Winston.
1852
Earl of Derby Prime Minister. Death of Duke of Wellington. Charles is honoured to receive Wellington’s Order of the Garter. He cuts the turf to begin the Seaham to Sunderland railway.
1853
Birth of Fanny Octavia Louisa, third daughter of Frances and John Winston.
1854
Death of Charles Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry. Frederick, Charles’ son by his first marriage, becomes 4th Marquess of Londonderry. Harry, Frances’ brother, becomes Earl Vane. Frances Anne, her lands and collieries restored to her, establishes herself at Seaham Hall.
Birth of Anne Emily, fourth daughter to John Winston and Frances.
1854-6
Crimean War.
1855
Viscount Palmerston becomes Prime Minister.
1856
Frances Anne entertains 4,000 miners to dinner at Chilton Moor.
Birth of Charles Ashley, fourth son to John Winston and Frances; dies 1858.
1857
Death of 6th Duke. John Winston and Frances become Duke and Duchess of Marlborough.
1857-83
Restoration and development of Blenheim and its neighbourhood.
1858
Indian Mutiny.
Augustus Robert born, fifth son of John Winston and Frances; dies 1859.
1859
Publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species.
Opening of Bladon School.
1860
Duchess’s school established in Woodstock to train girls for posts in domestic service.
Birth of Georgiana Elizabeth, fifth daughter of John Winston and Frances.
1861
Death of Albert, Prince Consort.
1863
Randolph attends Eton.
1865
Death of Palmerston.
Death of Frances Anne.
Birth of Sarah Isabella Augusta, sixth daughter of Frances and John Winston.
1866-8
Derby minority Conservative government.
John Winston now Lord Steward of the Royal Household.
1867
John Winston becomes Lord President of the Council, with responsibility for education. Randolph attends Merton College, Oxford.
1868
Disraeli becomes Prime Minister (Conservative) but resigns in same year. Gladstone’s first Liberal government.
John Winston becomes a Knight of the Garter.
Movement of Blenheim household staff to lodges and independent homes outside the Palace.
1869
Suez Canal opened.
1873
Randolph Spencer-Churchill meets American Jennie Jerome and proposes marriage.
1874
John Win
ston refuses post of Viceroy of Ireland because of expense. Randolph becomes Member of Parliament for Woodstock. Randolph and Jennie marry at the British Embassy in Paris.
Winston Churchill born at Blenheim Palace.
Great Western Railway disaster at Hampton Gay, near Blenheim.
1875
Disraeli buys shares for Britain in Suez Canal, to gain a controlling interest. John Winston sells Marlborough Gems and also sells land to Lord Rothschild to build Waddesdon Manor.
1876
Queen Victoria is proclaimed Empress of India.
Lord George Blandford and Lord Randolph attract the anger of Edward, Prince of Wales.
1877
Despite the efforts of Queen Victoria, the Prince of Wales refuses to be reconciled and makes the Spencer-Churchills social outcasts in London.