Grace Sackville, Countess of Middlesex explained

Grace Sackville
Countess of Middlesex
Birth Date:1723
Birth Place:London
Birth Name:Hon. Grace Boyle
Death Date:10 May 1763
Noble Family:Boyle
Spouse:Charles Sackville, 2nd Duke of Dorset
Father:Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon
Mother:Grace Senhouse
Occupation:Mistress of the Robes to Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha

Grace Sackville, Countess of Middlesex (1723  - 10 May 1763),[1] formerly the Hon. Grace Boyle, was the wife of Charles Sackville, Earl of Middlesex and later 2nd Duke of Dorset.

Grace was born in London, the daughter and sole heir of Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon, and his wife Grace.[2] She inherited the family seat of Ashley Park following her father's death in 1740.[3]

She married the Earl of Middlesex in 1744, but he did not inherit his father's title of Duke of Dorset until after her death. The couple had no children. From 1747 to 1763, the countess held the position of Mistress of the Robes to Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, the Princess of Wales.[4] Her husband was a friend of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and the countess was rumoured to have been the prince's mistress.[2]

When her mother died in 1755, the countess arranged a memorial, designed by Louis François Roubiliac, to her parents, which was erected at St Mary's parish church in Walton-on-Thames.[5] [6] The countess was something of an artist and may have been a pupil of the painter Arthur Pond.[2]

On her death, the countess left Ashley Park not to her husband but to a cousin, Colonel John Stephenson.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Book: The Gentleman's and London Magazine: Or Monthly Chronologer, 1741-1794. 1741. J. Exshaw.. 306–.
  2. Web site: Middlesex, Countess of, Nee Grace Boyle. Neil Jeffares. Dictionary of Pastellists before 1800. 18 December 2017.
  3. Book: James Thorne. Handbook to the Environs of London: Alphabetically Arranged, Containing an Account of Every Town and Village, and of All Places of Interest, Within a Circle of Twenty Miles Round London. 1876. J. Murray. 661–.
  4. Web site: Institute of Historical Research . 18 December 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070807231827/http://www.history.ac.uk/office/ . 7 August 2007 . dead .
  5. Web site: Parishes: Walton on Thames, A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 3 . 1911. 467–475. 18 December 2017.
  6. Book: Katharine Ada McDowell Esdaile. The life and works of Louis François Roubiliac. 1928. Oxford University Press.