Countess of Lincoln
(1843-1913)
22 July 1861
Volume 4, page 261, sitting number 5116.
Born Henrietta Adela Hope on 11 April 1843, she was the only child of Henry Thomas Hope of Deepdene, Surrey. A descendant of the Hope banking family, her father was the owner of the Hope Diamond.
On 11 February 1861 at the British Embassy in Paris she married Henry Pelham Pelham-Clinton, Earl of Lincoln, son of the 5th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyme. An inveterate gambler, the groom had amassed enormous debts and been forced to flee the country, hence the marriage in France.
Several newspapers reported that: 'At the marriage of the young Earl of Lincoln with Miss Hope, of Deepdene, the jewellery worn by the bride cost upwards of 12,000l., and consisted of a handsome head ornament of diamonds and a diamond necklace, &c. Mr Hope, it is said, gives the Countess of Lincoln 6000l. a year pin-money, and the use of an Irish estate. The Duke of Newcastle, it is whispered, was averse to his son's marriage' (Stamford Mercury, 22 February 1861).
The wealth of the bride's father featured in several reports of the marriage: 'The fair bride is said to be handsome, and her ultimate patrimony £60,000 a year. Another report says that the bride's father will settle £10,000 per annum on his daughter, and a like sum on his son-in-law' (Maidstone Journal and Kentish Advertiser, 12 February 1861).
On 18 January 1861 Lord Clarendon had prematurely written to the Duchess of Manchester: 'The only bit of news I hear is that Lincoln's marriage with that rich Miss Hope has been celebrated at Nice. [...] this will repair the fallen fortunes of the family' (My Dear Duchess, ed. A.L.Kennedy, London: John Murray, 1956, page 132.)
The young Earl did not have long to wait to reap his dividends. Henry Thomas Hope died on 4 December 1862 at his residence in Piccadilly, leaving an estate valued at £300,000.*
At the death of his father in 1864, the Earl of Lincoln became the 6th Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyme.
The Dowager Duchess of Newcastle died aged 70 on 8 May 1913.
An obituary was published in The Times the following day: 'Henrietta Adela Duchess of Newcastle died yesterday at her residence at Woodford, Essex. She had a stroke on Tuesday and never recovered consciousness. The Duke of Newcastle and other members of her family were present at her death. Her Grace was the only daughter of Mr Henry Thomas Hope, of the Deepdene, Dorking, to whom Disraeli dedicated "Coningsby". She married, in 1861, the Earl of Lincoln, who succeeded in 1864 as sixth Duke of Newcastle and died in 1879. They had two sons - the present Duke of Newcastle and Lord Francis Hope, of the Deepdene, who is heir-presumptive to the title; and three daughters - Lady Beatrice Adeline, wife of Mr Cecil Lister-Kaye, brother and heir-presumptive of Sir John Lister-Kaye; Lady Emily Augusta Mary, who married in 1882 Prince Philip Doria Pamphilj, Duc d'Avigliano, son of Prince Philip Doria Pamphilj Landj by his marriage with Lady Mary Talbot; and Lady Florence Josephine Clinton. The Duchess married, secondly, in 1880, Mr Thomas Theobald Hohler, son of the Rev. F. W. Hohler, rector of Winstone and Colesborne, Gloucestershire, retaining her title by courtesy; he died in 1892. The Duchess had been received into the Roman Catholic Church in 1879, and in 1893, at the suggestion of Cardinal Vaughan, she joined the new crusade of the Catholic Social Union. She became head of the Girls' Club of the Tower Hill Settlement, where she did remarkable work. The Social Union workers have since become known as the Ladies of Charity of St Vincent de Paul.' The requiem Mass before her funeral was attended by Cardinal Vaughan.
* The Hope Diamond, however, passed to Henry Thomas Hope's widow, Anne Adele. When she died in 1884 she left it (and the Hope estates) to her grandson, Henrietta's younger son, Henry Francis Pelham-Clinton, on condition that he take the Hope surname when he came of age. He became Lord Francis Pelham-Clinton-Hope (but was known as Lord Francis Hope) and received his legacy in 1887. His older brother died childless and in 1928 Lord Francis became the 8th Duke of Newcastle.