An Historical Love Story.

I have to confess that I loved the last two series of Downton Abbey and am most eagerly awaiting the next series in the autumn. The very sound of the theme tune makes me want to jump up and down with glee because I just love what it brings. Cup of Earl Grey tea, biscuit and an hour’s indulgence of historical wonderment!

One of my lifelong passions has to be British history and there is nothing I love more than anything in life but to immerse myself in times gone by and to get up close to our Ancestors. This probably stems from where we grew up with Shugborough Hall, Iron Bridge, the Potteries and the Black Country on our doorstep. There was a big old Hall once upon a time at Teddesley where we lived and all that remained there as children were the servant’s quarters. We used to walk the dog around the grounds and despite the fact that nothing remained of the Hall itself; I could almost feel the splendour of its day with every footstep I took. It was inhabited by the Littleton and Hatherton families since it was built in the mid 1700’s and it saw such enormous change in the world… quite similar to what we saw in Downton Abbey!

I had the most treasured gift from my Dad when I was forty of a fabulous book entitled “The Diaries of The First Lord Hatherton”. It is a book of extracts from the diaries of the First Lord Hatherton between 1817 and 1862 and I was so enthralled by its contents that I couldn’t put it down.

The First Lord Hatherton moved to Teddesley Hall in 1812. He was a British Politician in the times of the Canningite Tories and then later the Whigs. His diaries give us such a delightful insight into life back then in the political world and how life was in the heart of the Industrial Revolution. Lord Hatherton seemed to me to be such forward thinking a man with his innovative work in improving the land through proper drainage, his pedigree live stock and his commitment to raising the standard of living within the local community. His diaries do however expose his vulnerability due to the rapidly changing world around him during the Railway Mania days ~ which isn’t so unlike how we all feel at times nowadays with new advancements in technology. He did come to terms with the changes, but it is his vulnerability that invites me to greatly appreciate this man who has become very real and likable to me over the years.


But the greatest admiration I have for Lord Hatherton is the deep love he quite openly shared and demonstrated in his diaries for his dear wife Hyacinthe. It is she who I am quite mesmorised by because of what he wrote and so wish I could find out more about her. Hyacinthe was the Daughter of the First Marquis Wellesley whose Brother was the Iron Duke; and her Mother was an actress, Hyacinthe-Gabrielle. Her Mother had three sons and two Daughters before her Father married her and she was scorned by High Society when they moved from Paris to London in 1794 because illegitimacy at that time was a real sin.


Hyacinthe married Lord Hatherton in 1812 and this proved to be the most wonderful love affair for the duration of their marriage and one that many women would envy. Lord Hatherton frequently wrote in his diaries of the love and admiration he felt for his Wife and at times it felt as though he was in awe of this beautiful lady. He wrote on December 21st 1831 “I have this day been married 19 years and have enjoyed one continued course of the most unqualified happiness with one whose temper, cheerfulness, gentleness, benevolence, beauty and manners have seldom, if ever been surpassed in one person”. There were so many adorable diary entries where he wrote of his marriage to Hyacinthe being the most fortunate day of his life but on their 32nd Wedding Anniversary, their last, he wrote that it was “a day that must ever more be sacred in my recollections”. The heart felt sadness in his diary entries from that day until Hyacinthe died was tangible and touched me deeply. He knew he was losing his true love and he spent much time with her reading the Bible or talking to her whilst she lay dying with cancer. The poor trailed to Teddesley and she agreed to see them despite being desperately ill. Hyacinthe died in January 1849 aged 60 with her beloved Husband holding her hand. Wonderful obituaries were written and the local community and school children lined the road to the Church on the day of her funeral and openly mourned the loss of such a great woman.

During Hyacinthe’s life, she was clearly not a woman to rest on her laurels even though she could quite easily have done so. She was a rather beautiful and magnificent character who showed much concern for the local people. She visited the poor and listened to their problems. She over saw the local school and was obviously well loved by the workers on the Teddesley Estate and the poor people of Penkridge. Despite her wealth she seemed to be a down to earth kind lady who performed many generous acts of charity.

It was her Husband who held the public attention but like with so many great men, there is an even greater woman behind them. I am glad to know that Hyacinthe’s life was valued and remembered by so many and I give thanks for all that she did for people but also for the Sisterhood