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Couple snubbed by Victorian society are celebrated in old home Couple snubbed by Victorian society are celebrated in old home
(6 months later)
It was no surprise that Victorian society did not fling open welcoming doors to the beautiful new wife of George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford and Warrington – Catherine Cox had previously earned a good living as a daring bareback horse rider in Astley’s circus.It was no surprise that Victorian society did not fling open welcoming doors to the beautiful new wife of George Harry Grey, 7th Earl of Stamford and Warrington – Catherine Cox had previously earned a good living as a daring bareback horse rider in Astley’s circus.
The couple weathered bruising snubs, including Queen Victoria’s refusal to sit in the adjoining box at the opera, but the public humiliation of their visit to Knutsford races in 1855, when Catherine was greeted by a barricade of turned backs and raised parasols – and, according to some accounts, the hissed word “strumpet” – was the last straw.The couple weathered bruising snubs, including Queen Victoria’s refusal to sit in the adjoining box at the opera, but the public humiliation of their visit to Knutsford races in 1855, when Catherine was greeted by a barricade of turned backs and raised parasols – and, according to some accounts, the hissed word “strumpet” – was the last straw.
Their story is now being told at the house they abandoned. They returned home to Dunham Massey, their Cheshire mansion that had been specially redecorated for the bride, and started packing. A cavalcade of carts carried away magnificent paintings, books, treasures including a priceless collection of Huguenot silver, some of the servants and most of the furniture. The couple left Cheshire forever, and the house was abandoned apart from a skeleton staff for most of the next half century.Their story is now being told at the house they abandoned. They returned home to Dunham Massey, their Cheshire mansion that had been specially redecorated for the bride, and started packing. A cavalcade of carts carried away magnificent paintings, books, treasures including a priceless collection of Huguenot silver, some of the servants and most of the furniture. The couple left Cheshire forever, and the house was abandoned apart from a skeleton staff for most of the next half century.
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“Their actions had consequences, and we’re still picking up the pieces today,” said Katie Taylor, the house and collections manager of the stately home now owned by the National Trust, who has been researching their extraordinary history for the exhibition opening this week.“Their actions had consequences, and we’re still picking up the pieces today,” said Katie Taylor, the house and collections manager of the stately home now owned by the National Trust, who has been researching their extraordinary history for the exhibition opening this week.
The bitterness she uncovered remains startling. When the couple arrived, soon after their marriage, the bell ringers at the nearby village of Bowdon defied the priest and church wardens and began to ring a special welcoming peal, for which they would have expected a handsome tip. The wardens broke down the door to silence the bells.The bitterness she uncovered remains startling. When the couple arrived, soon after their marriage, the bell ringers at the nearby village of Bowdon defied the priest and church wardens and began to ring a special welcoming peal, for which they would have expected a handsome tip. The wardens broke down the door to silence the bells.
Harry, already renowned as a keen horseman and outstanding cricketer, was only 18 when he inherited the title, four vast estates, a house in London, and an annual income of £90,000 in 1845. He inherited from his grandfather, a man famously charitable to strangers and vile to his family. His parents were already dead, and his one beloved sister would die in her 20s. His family clearly already had doubts about him, and his uncle tried to get him to sign a pledge that he would never marry unsuitably, but as soon as he reached 21 he married Bessie, daughter of a Cambridge University bedmaker and bootmaker.Harry, already renowned as a keen horseman and outstanding cricketer, was only 18 when he inherited the title, four vast estates, a house in London, and an annual income of £90,000 in 1845. He inherited from his grandfather, a man famously charitable to strangers and vile to his family. His parents were already dead, and his one beloved sister would die in her 20s. His family clearly already had doubts about him, and his uncle tried to get him to sign a pledge that he would never marry unsuitably, but as soon as he reached 21 he married Bessie, daughter of a Cambridge University bedmaker and bootmaker.
Despite the family’s attempts to pay her off with £500, the marriage was a happy one until she died of tuberculosis in Brighton just six years later.Despite the family’s attempts to pay her off with £500, the marriage was a happy one until she died of tuberculosis in Brighton just six years later.
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Within a year, Harry married Catherine, one of the stars of Astley’s – by then a grand indoor spectacle in a building modelled on an opera house – who was said to have gypsy ancestors. She performed with two sisters, excitedly described in one account as “the raven-ringletted beauties”, in an act climaxing with their leaping in tandem through hoops of fire.Within a year, Harry married Catherine, one of the stars of Astley’s – by then a grand indoor spectacle in a building modelled on an opera house – who was said to have gypsy ancestors. She performed with two sisters, excitedly described in one account as “the raven-ringletted beauties”, in an act climaxing with their leaping in tandem through hoops of fire.
Taylor has tried in vain to find a circus poster of Catherine, but portraits and early photographs show she was indeed a beauty. Their wedding certificate shows, not surprisingly, that none of Harry’s family attended. The witnesses were Catherine’s sister, and the man who introduced them, George Smythe, another rackety figure who had almost certainly been her lover, and undertook to have her educated and taught elocution. Taylor thinks they probably had a daughter, the claimed niece who lived with Catherine, and the pair remained friends for life.Taylor has tried in vain to find a circus poster of Catherine, but portraits and early photographs show she was indeed a beauty. Their wedding certificate shows, not surprisingly, that none of Harry’s family attended. The witnesses were Catherine’s sister, and the man who introduced them, George Smythe, another rackety figure who had almost certainly been her lover, and undertook to have her educated and taught elocution. Taylor thinks they probably had a daughter, the claimed niece who lived with Catherine, and the pair remained friends for life.
Cheshire’s loss was Staffordshire’s gain. Catherine never set foot in Dunham Massey again, though Harry occasionally made fleeting return visits in game shooting season. They moved to an even grander house at Enville to which Harry added a gigantic glass house rivalling the Crystal Palace. He died in 1883 but Catherine outlived him by 22 years, very popular for her lively mind, kind heart and lavish charity. She also cleared the massive debts her husband racked up having inherited the family love of horses and gambling.Cheshire’s loss was Staffordshire’s gain. Catherine never set foot in Dunham Massey again, though Harry occasionally made fleeting return visits in game shooting season. They moved to an even grander house at Enville to which Harry added a gigantic glass house rivalling the Crystal Palace. He died in 1883 but Catherine outlived him by 22 years, very popular for her lively mind, kind heart and lavish charity. She also cleared the massive debts her husband racked up having inherited the family love of horses and gambling.
Taylor has managed to borrow back some of the paintings which left the house – the claimed works by Leonardo da Vinci and Titian remain elusive – but last year the trust also raised the money to buy back one small silver sugar caster. They are continuing the efforts of Roger Grey, the 10th and last earl, who left the house to the trust with 3,000 acres and 120 farms and cottages, after spending a small fortune trying to reassemble the collection. The bitterness endured. One beautiful silver handbell he was desperate to recover was owned by the Countess of Carnarvon, who kept it on the table by her side when he came to dinner, and eventually sold it without letting him know.Taylor has managed to borrow back some of the paintings which left the house – the claimed works by Leonardo da Vinci and Titian remain elusive – but last year the trust also raised the money to buy back one small silver sugar caster. They are continuing the efforts of Roger Grey, the 10th and last earl, who left the house to the trust with 3,000 acres and 120 farms and cottages, after spending a small fortune trying to reassemble the collection. The bitterness endured. One beautiful silver handbell he was desperate to recover was owned by the Countess of Carnarvon, who kept it on the table by her side when he came to dinner, and eventually sold it without letting him know.
“Catherine was a really remarkable character, and her story deserves to be told,” Taylor said, “but we have also tried to tell the story of the servants and the estate workers, who must have been left bewildered and very fearful for their future as the procession of carriages drove away from the house. We feel the effects to this day.”“Catherine was a really remarkable character, and her story deserves to be told,” Taylor said, “but we have also tried to tell the story of the servants and the estate workers, who must have been left bewildered and very fearful for their future as the procession of carriages drove away from the house. We feel the effects to this day.”