She was the granddaughter of Thomas Coutts, the founder of the famous London bank, and one of the wealthiest women in Victorian England. She was also one of the busiest women of her time, being actively engaged in an enormous range of philanthropic projects, giving millions of pounds to charities.
Her name is Angela Burdett-Coutts.
Even though Angela was born into tremendous wealth, she always appreciated how lucky she was and spent her whole life helping those less fortunate than herself. Angela gave money towards preserving Dame Schools, she opened Ragged Schools to educate the very poorest children of Victorian society, and she opened up night classes for the unskilled. Education is just one area in life where Angela’s unstinting work inspires and encourages us today, over two hundred years later.
Angela was born on 21st April, 1814, in London. She was the youngest daughter of politician Sir Francis Burdett and Sophia Coutts. Growing up in such a prominent social and political family, she met several important people, including the Prime Ministers Disraeli and Gladstone. When her grandfather’s second wife died, Angela inherited a considerable fortune which included a 50% share of the bank and she became one of the wealthiest women in England.
Settling down to a life of wealth, Angela chose to live with her former governess, Hannah Meredith, who helped her to ‘fight off’ the suitors who suddenly wanted to marry Angela (or, more likely, her money!).
“The Queen of the Poor”, as Angela became known as, used both her time and her wealth wisely. She was devoted to good causes and earned the respect of many of the other social campaigners of the time, including social commentator and author Charles Dickens.
When she inherited several properties at the same time, she decided to host notable and prominent people (which also must have helped her causes). Both Queen Victoria and Mary, the future Queen, visited Angela at Holly Lodge. Through this association, Queen Victoria awarded Angela the title of Baroness (1871) in recognition of her devoted philanthropy. An exact amount of money given to charitable works is not known, but it had been estimated that Angela donated around £350 million (in today’s money) during her lifetime.
“After my mother, she is the most remarkable woman in the kingdom”, Edward VII said of Angela Burdett-Coutts.
Showing how much she actually cared for those not as well off as herself, Angela created a housing development in order to provide suitable residences for her staff. “Holly Village” consisted of several cottages with its own village green, and Angela’s ‘residents’ (or staff) were delighted.
Towards the end of her life, Angela married William Lehman Ashmead Bartlett. She was 67 years old and he was a 29 year old secretary and member of Parliament. The age difference shocked the conventions of the time but the marriage was a very happy one.
During her lifetime, Angela’s ‘good works’ included putting her money into such projects as scholarships and charity sponsorships.
Angela focused her attention on East London, specifically Bethnal Green, which was a deprived area. Through her work and with her money, new homes were built and the whole area was redeveloped, which included a fresh water supply.
In 1869, our “Queen of the Poor” founded Columbia Market, her project in Columbia Square being the first step in ‘creating’ the provision of social housing for the most vulnerable. She paid a large sum of money to have a drinking fountain installed in Hackney, Victoria Park, in order to provide clean drinking water for some of the poorest in society.
The list of ‘good works’ goes on and on, and it really is to Angela’s credit that she worked tirelessly to help her poorer ‘brothers and sisters’. One such project, which shocked her society friends, was the refuge that she and Charles Dickens co-founded for fallen women or prostitutes, giving these women an opportunity to change their lives for the better. The refuge provided education and ‘skills’ to help these women get off the streets. Angela’s friends just did not understand her strong sense of social responsibility.
Even though she had no children of her own, Angela boldly addressed the problem of child labour, providing classes to educate these working class children. The classes taught these children valuable skills to apply to a trade or craft, which helped them to earn a living safely. In 1884, Angela co-founded the London Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which we now know as the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children or the NSPCC.
Being one of the wealthiest ladies in Victorian England, Angela also showed great interest in hospitals by funding hospital buildings and medical research. One of the hospitals she helped to build is the Royal Marsden Hospital which is still very much in use today. Money was also given to provide medical provisions for the nurses on the frontline, one of these nurses was Florence Nightingale.
Angela also had a great love for animals, becoming the President of the Ladies’ Committee of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1870. Her involvement helped to provide the foundations of the RSPCA which is still going strong today.
Angela’s ‘good works’ tackled many of the biggest social problems of the Victorian Era. This did not go unnoticed, as we read before, Queen Victoria awarded her with the title Baroness in recognition of her humanitarian works.
Angela Burdett-Coutts died of acute bronchitis at her home in Stratton Street, Piccadilly, on 30th December, 1906. Her coffin was buried on 5th January, 1907 in Westminster Abbey. Almost 30,000 people filed past her coffin before she was laid to rest.
Angela Burdett-Coutts was one of those few women, whose feeling for the lower classes put her ahead of her time. She appreciated and used her position and wealth to improve society, and many of her humanitarian projects we still see today. For most of her 92 years, the “Queen of the Poor” completely used her time to aid those who really needed the help.
This woman in history is a real Inspiration for us ladies today.
About the Creator
Ruth Elizabeth Stiff
I love all things Earthy and Self-Help
History is one of my favourite subjects and I love to write short fiction
Research is so interesting for me too
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The Seven Wonders of the World: Amazing Human Creations
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