Mary Benson

Mary Benson

Mary Benson at 20.
Born Mary Sidgwick
1841
Skipton, Yorkshire
Died June 15, 1918
East Sussex
Nationality British
Spouse Edward White Benson
Children A. C. Benson, Robert Hugh Benson, E. F. Benson, Margaret Benson

Mary Benson (née Sidgwick; 1841 - 1918) was an English hostess of the Victorian era. She was the wife of Revd. Edward Benson, who during their marriage became Archbishop of Canterbury, i.e. chief bishop of the Church of England and of the world-wide Anglican communion. Their children included several prolific authors and contributors to cultural life. During her marriage, she was involved with Lucy Tait, daughter of the previous Archbishop of Canterbury. She was described by Gladstone, the British Prime Minister, as the 'cleverest woman in Europe'.

Life

Mary Sidgwick was born in Britain in 1841, at Skipton, Yorkshire, the only daughter of Rev. William Sidgwick of Skipton, Yorkshire, who was a headmaster, and his wife, Mary (née Crofts).[1][2][3] She was the youngest of six children, and was nicknamed Minnie.[4] Among her older brothers was the philosopher, Henry Sidgwick.

She and Edward White Benson were married on 23 June 1859 at Rugby, Warwickshire, by Frederick Temple.

Between 1860 and 1871 they had six children. Their fifth child was the novelist, E. F. Benson, best remembered for the Mapp and Lucia novels. Another son was A. C. Benson, the author of the lyrics to Elgar's "Land of Hope and Glory" and master of Magdalene College, Cambridge. Their sixth and youngest child, Robert Hugh Benson, became a priest in the Church of England before converting to Roman Catholicism and writing many popular novels. Their daughter, Margaret Benson was an artist, author and amateur Egyptologist. None of the children married; and some of them appeared to suffer from mental illnesses, possibly bipolar disorder.

After her husband's death in 1896 Mary set up household with Lucy Tait, daughter of the previous archbishop of Canterbury, Archibald Campbell Tait, who had first moved in with the Bensons in 1889.[5]

She died on 15 June 1918 in East Sussex.

Ancestry

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ Note: Mary Crofts nephew was Ernest Crofts.
  2. ↑ Mary Crofts mother was the sister of William Carr, B.D. of Bolton Abbey, https://books.google.com/books?id=3w4XAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA27&dq=father+of+William+Carr,+b.+d.+of+Bolton+Abbey&hl=en&sa=X&ei=pAfvVLeTBYagyQS6n4LQDw&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=father%20of%20William%20Carr%2C%20b.%20d.%20of%20Bolton%20Abbey&f=false
  3. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=2yYxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA455&dq=relict+of+Rev.+William+Crofts+vicar+of+grimstone&hl=en&sa=X&ei=N2DuVPuLNoPDggThwoLQBw&ved=0CDMQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=relict%20of%20Rev.%20William%20Crofts%20vicar%20of%20grimstone&f=false Monthly Magazine and British Register, Volume 18 (Google eBook); by John Aikin, Benson Earle Hill; R. Phillips, 1804; page 455. Her parents the Rev. William Crofts, B.D., vicar of North Grimston, and Miss Carr of Bolton Abbey married at York in 1804.
  4. ↑ http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jun/09/good-god-mary-benson-review
  5. ↑ Vicinus, Martha (2004). Intimate Friends: women who loved women (1778–1928). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-85563-5.
  6. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=NkxFAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA122&lpg=PA122&dq=Charlotte+Mould+birmingham+england&source=bl&ots=JM9I94uL5e&sig=TsdUGW2DhMPE3VQkvqRj_g2Z8QU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kkXuVLHgHIGagwSfiIGgAg&ved=0CEkQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=Charlotte%20Mould%20birmingham%20england&f=false Visitation of England and Wales, Volume 5 (Google eBook); by Joseph Jackson Howard, Frederick Arthur Crisp; Priv. print., 1897 - Great Britain. Page 122.
  7. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=ndM6AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA60&dq=daughter+her+uncle+William+Carr,+b.+d.+of+Bolton+Abbey&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qmvuVKK_MdezyATK5oKgDg&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=daughter%20her%20uncle%20William%20Carr%2C%20b.%20d.%20of%20Bolton%20Abbey&f=false Life-work of Edward White Benson, D.D.: Sometime Archbishop of Canterbury (Google eBook); by James Anderson Carr, Edward White Benson; Elliot Stock, 1898 - Bishops - 273 pages; page 60.

External links