(1814-1906)
Holly Village, Swain’s Lane London N6 6QJ, England
Known as, ‘The Queen of the Poor’, at the age of 23, Angela inherited a vast amount of wealth from her step-grandmother, a fortune that had been passed on from her grandfather Thomas Coutts – co-founder of Coutts bank. Added to the inheritance was several properties including a mansion in Highgate (Holly Lodge) which, over her lifetime, was frequented by royalty, the rich and the famous.
Despite the parties, there’s no doubt that Angela put her fortune to good use. She built churches and schools, funded hospitals and medical research and poured time and money into regeneration areas of East London to bring better homes and fresh water supplies. During the Irish Potato Famine she provided large donations to ease the devastation in Ireland setting up relief centres providing food supplies. In 1870 she became the President of the Ladies’ Committee of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals which developed into today’s anti animal cruelty charity the RSPCA. The famous ‘Greyfriar’s Bobby’ statue in Edinburgh was commissioned by Angela. In 1884 she co-founded the London Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, a forerunner to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC).
Naturally her status sparked a lot of attention and subsequent marriage proposals, but Angela preferred to spend her life living with her former governess Hannah Meredith until Hannah passed away in 1878.
ever one to shy away from controversy, in 1881, at the age of sixty-seven, she married her secretary William Lehman Ashmead Bartlett who was twenty-nine years old. As William was American this forfeited a large amount of her inheritance but both continued good work for good causes in their lifetime.
Close to Angela’s residence at Holly Lodge is the housing development she created. I reach the place from an open side gate and wonder around the green on the lookout for the statues. Known as Holly Village it is here that both Angela and Hannah are featured. As I scour the site a fox follows me around as if on guard. It isn’t until I leave that I spot the statues. In truth it is tricky to tell which one is which – the artist clearly has a style they are sticking to. The almost identical pair stand high above an archway to the estate – below there’s a sign that says, ‘private’. Oops.
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