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Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire

{{Short description|Member of the noble Cavendish family.}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = Her Grace

| name = The Duchess of Devonshire

| honorific-suffix = DStJ GCVO JP

| image = Duchess of Devonshire LCCN2014685742.jpg

| imagesize =

| caption = Photograph of the Duchess of Devonshire from the Library of Congress

| order = Mistress of the Robes to
Queen Mary

| term_start = 1910

| term_end = 1916

| monarch = Mary of Teck

| predecessor = None

| successor = The Duchess of Sutherland

| term_start2 = 1921

| term_end2 = 1953

| monarch2 = Mary of Teck

| predecessor2 = The Duchess of Sutherland

| successor2 = None

| birth_name = Evelyn Emily Mary Fitzmaurice

| birth_date = {{birth date|1870|8|27|df=y}}

| birth_place =

| death_date = {{death date and age|1960|4|2|1870|8|27|df=y}}

| death_place =

| nationality = British

| alma_mater =

| spouse = {{marriage|Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire|1892|1938|end=d.}}

| children = {{plainlist|

}}

| parents = {{plainlist|

}}

File:Sargent - Lady Evelyn Cavendish.jpg (1902)]]

Evelyn Emily Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|DStJ|GCVOf|JP}} (née Fitzmaurice; 27 August 1870 – 2 April 1960), was the wife of Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire. She was the elder daughter of politician and diplomat Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, and grew up amidst public life. Evelyn's marriage to Cavendish, nephew and heir presumptive of Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire, led to her becoming Duchess of Devonshire in 1908. With her position, she oversaw the reorganisation of the Devonshire estates and presided over four English houses and one Irish castle.

Evelyn held the position of Mistress of the Robes to Queen Mary from 1910 until 1916, when she accompanied her husband upon his appointment as Governor General of Canada. The Duchess held the position Viceregal Consort until the Duke's term ended in 1921. Upon returning to England, the Duchess again was appointed Mistress of the Robes to Queen Mary, holding the position until the latter's death in 1953. The Dowager Duchess, widowed since 1938, spent her final years living at Hardwick Hall, which was made over to HM Treasury in 1956, in part payment of death duties.

Family and early life

Lady Evelyn was born on 27 August 1870, elder daughter of politician and statesman Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne and his wife Lady Maud Hamilton, daughter of the 1st Duke of Abercorn.{{sfn|Davenport-Hines|2004}} The Petty-Fitzmaurice dynasty were an Anglo-Irish aristocratic family, while the Hamilton dynasty were, by origin, an Ulster-Scots aristocratic family. Lord Lansdowne, Lady Evelyn's father, served as Governor General of Canada from 1883 to 1888, as Viceroy of India from 1888 to 1894, and as Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords from 1903 to 1916.{{sfn|Adonis|2004}} Lady Evelyn was consequently raised to public life.{{sfn|Cavendish|2010|p=218}}

Marriage

Evelyn was married on 30 July 1892 to Victor Cavendish, the nephew and heir of the 8th Duke of Devonshire{{sfn|Davenport-Hines|2004}}{{sfn|Simon Shkolnik|1996|p=274}} and the youngest member of the House of Commons.{{sfn|Cavendish|1999|p=94}} They and their growing family resided at Holker Hall in Lancashire, and would be sad to leave it to Lord Richard Cavendish upon Victor's accession as Duke of Devonshire in 1908.{{sfn|Cavendish|1999|p=94}}{{sfn|Simon Shkolnik|1996|pp=274–75}} The family eventually came to include two sons, five daughters,{{sfn|Davenport-Hines|2004}} and twenty-one grandchildren.{{sfn|Cavendish|2011|p=320}}

As part of the celebrations for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897, Victor's uncle hosted the Devonshire House Ball, one of the event's most extravagant parties. Lady Evelyn attended in the dress of a Lady at the Court of the Empress Maria Theresa, while her husband dressed in sixteenth-century costume.{{Cite news |url=http://www.chatsworth.org/art-and-archives/art-library-and-archive-collections/highlights/photographs/lady-evelyn-cavendish-later-duchess-of-devonshire |title=Lady Evelyn Cavendish, later Duchess of Devonshire |work=Chatsworth.org |access-date=9 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221053745/http://www.chatsworth.org/art-and-archives/art-library-and-archive-collections/highlights/photographs/lady-evelyn-cavendish-later-duchess-of-devonshire |archive-date=21 February 2014 }}

Duchess of Devonshire

Victor succeeded his uncle as 9th Duke of Devonshire in 1908, whereupon Evelyn became the Duchess of Devonshire.{{sfn|Davenport-Hines|2004}} The Devonshires were one of the country's richest families, thought by some to have more wealth than the royal family.{{sfn|Olson|2007|p=41}} The Duchess was to oversee four large estates in England and one Irish castle.{{sfn|Cavendish|2010|p=218}} With her new position, she oversaw the reorganisation of the Devonshire estates.{{sfn|Davenport-Hines|2004}} The Duchess strictly adhered to etiquette and her position,{{sfn|Olson|2007|p=41}} being characterised by a brother-in-law as "accustomed to authority."{{sfn|Olson|2007|p=40}} She was known for her abrasive personality; her granddaughter-in-law wrote that she "was not altogether easy to get on with,"{{sfn|Cavendish|2010|p=143}} whilst another referred to her as "an unpleasant woman."{{sfn|Olson|2007|p=40}} Her husband's biographer described her as "cold, authoritarian, and frugal,"{{sfn|Davenport-Hines|2004}} and a servant recalled that "she wouldn't speak to you unless she wanted something, and I can't say she ever thanked you either."{{sfn|Olson|2007|p=40}}

In 1909, the Duchess founded the Derbyshire branch of the Red Cross and became its first president.{{sfn|Cavendish|2010|p=218}}{{Cite press release |url=http://www.redcross.org.uk/About-us/News/2009/September/100-years-and-Derbyshire-Red-Cross-is-still-going-strong |title=100 years and Derbyshire Red Cross is still going strong |publisher=Red Cross |date=22 September 2009 |access-date=13 February 2014 |archive-date=4 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704031746/http://www.redcross.org.uk/About-us/News/2009/September/100-years-and-Derbyshire-Red-Cross-is-still-going-strong |url-status=dead }} She was appointed Mistress of the Robes to the newly crowned Queen Mary in 1910.{{Cite news |title=Queen Mary's New Right-Hand Woman |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=1 June 1910 |id={{ProQuest|145018436}} }} {{Subscription required}} In 1916, the Duke accepted the appointment of Governor General of Canada,{{sfn|Cavendish|1999|p=94}} and his wife relinquished her position to accompany him,{{Cite news |title=Peeress Whose Departure Will Deprive Queen Mary of One of Her Close Friends |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=16 July 1916 |id={{ProQuest|145485686}} }} {{Subscription required}}{{Cite news |title=Duchess of Sutherland is New Mistress of Robes |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=28 October 1916 |id={{ProQuest|145479997}} }} {{Subscription required}} along with six of their children.{{sfn|Simon Shkolnik|1996|p=275}} While in Canada, their daughter Lady Dorothy met Harold Macmillan, the future prime minister. While the Duke was delighted with the match, the Duchess was unhappy that Macmillan, though wealthy, was the member of a mere tradesmen family. She favoured a match between her daughter and the heir to the Duke of Buccleuch instead.{{sfn|Olson|2007|p=67}} Nevertheless, Dorothy and Macmillan were married in April 1920.{{sfn|Olson|2007|pp=40–41}}

The Duke of Devonshire's tenure in Canada ended in 1921,{{sfn|Simon Shkolnik|1996|p=275}} and the Duchess resumed her role as Mistress of the Robes to Queen Mary, holding the appointment from 1921 to the latter's death in 1953.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/evelyn-cavendish-duchess-of-devonshire|title=Evelyn Cavendish Duchess of Devonshire {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|access-date=2019-12-28}} Queen Mary invested the Duchess as a Dame Grand Cross of The Royal Victorian Order in May 1937.{{Cite news |url=http://www.edinburgh-gazette.co.uk/issues/15387/pages/406/page.pdf |title=Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood |work=Edinburgh Gazette |date=14 May 1937 |access-date=10 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222071232/http://www.edinburgh-gazette.co.uk/issues/15387/pages/406/page.pdf |archive-date=22 February 2014 |url-status=dead }}{{sfn|McCreery |2008|p=109}}

Widowhood

In April 1925, the Duke suffered a stroke that paralysed him and led to his gradual mental deterioration.{{sfn|Davenport-Hines|2004}}{{sfn|Cavendish|2010|p=}} Previously a jovial man, the duke became miserable towards his family and others, and suddenly could not tolerate his wife.{{sfn|Cavendish|2010|p=136}}{{sfn|Simon Shkolnik|1996|pp=275–76}} Their granddaughter-in-law later recalled that "Granny Evie tried to carry on as if nothing had happened but the house and estate lacked a leader and it showed."{{sfn|Cavendish|2010|p=136}} The Duchess gained more authority over his estates, destroying its Decimus Burton-designed conservatory and saving expenses by introducing nettle soup to Chatsworth House,{{sfn|Davenport-Hines|2004}} but their affairs "gradually went downhill."{{sfn|Cavendish|2010|p=136}} He died in May 1938;{{sfn|Cavendish|2010|p=136}} after his death, the Duchess took up residence at Hardwick Hall, where she oversaw a significant amount of repair work of its tapestries and embroideries.{{sfn|Montgomery-Massingberd|1994|p=178}}

In 1950, the unexpected death of the 10th Duke of Devonshire and the subsequent death duties (rated at 80%) caused the sale of many of the Devonshire assets and estates, including Hardwick. The decision was made to hand the house over to HM Treasury in lieu of Estate Duty in 1956.Chatsworth: Home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire; Derbyshire Countryside Ltd; 2005: p. 56. The Duchess agreed to the plan despite her love for the estate. In 1959, the Treasury transferred the house to the National Trust.{{sfn|Cavendish|2010|p=141}} The Duchess remained in occupation until her death on 2 April 1960.Hardwick Hall; The National Trust; 2006; {{ISBN|978-1-84359-217-4}}: p. 72{{Cite news |title=Duchess of Devonshire Dead |work=The New York Times |date=4 April 1960 |id={{ProQuest|115023105}} }} {{Subscription required}} Having done much to conserve the textiles in the house, she was to be its last occupant.

Issue

File:Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, with children, Speaight, CL No. 669 1909.jpg

They had two sons and five daughters.{{sfn|Davenport-Hines|2004}}

Ancestry

{{ahnentafel

|collapsed=yes |align=center

|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;

|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;

|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;

|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;

|1= 1. Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire

|2= 2. Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne

|3= 3. Lady Maud Hamilton

|4= 4. Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 4th Marquess of Lansdowne

|5= 5. Emily Jane de Flahaut, 8th Lady Nairne

|6= 6. James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn

|7= 7. Lady Louisa Russell

|8= 8. Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne

|9= 9. Lady Louisa Fox-Strangways

|10= 10. Charles Joseph, comte de Flahaut

|11= 11. Margaret Mercer Elphinstone, 7th Lady Nairne, 2nd Baroness Keith

|12= 12. James Hamilton, Viscount Hamilton

|13= 13. Harriet Hamilton Gordon, Countess of Aberdeen

|14= 14. John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford

|15= 15. Lady Georgiana Gordon

}}

References

{{reflist|30em}}

;Works cited

{{refbegin|30em}}

  • {{ODNBweb|last=Adonis |first=Andrew|title=Fitzmaurice, Henry Charles Keith Petty-, fifth marquess of Lansdowne (1845–1927) |id=35500|date=2004 }}
  • {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RVggAAAAYAAJ&q=evelyn+duke+of+devonshire+9th+fitzmaurice&pg=PA621 |title=General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage, the Privy Council, Knightage and Companionage |editor1-first=Bernard |editor1-last=Burke |edition=76th |year=1914 |publisher=Harrison and Sons }}
  • {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=owXY54FvV0MC&q=evelyn+duchess+of+devonshire&pg=PA6 |title=The Garden At Chatsworth |first=Deborah |last=Cavendish |author-link=Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire |year=1999 |publisher=Frances Lincoln Limited |isbn=0711214301 }}
  • {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P7yZUMBcbxAC&q=%22duchess+of+devonshire%22+9th&pg=PA334 |title=Wait for Me!: Memoirs |first=Deborah |last=Cavendish |author-link=Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire |year=2010 |publisher=Farrar, Straus, and Giroux |isbn=978-0374207687 }}
  • {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yrT3MU-kRDUC&q=%22duchess+of+devonshire%22+9th&pg=PA247 |title=All in One Basket |first=Deborah |last=Cavendish |author-link=Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire |year=2011 |publisher=Farrar, Straus, and Giroux |isbn=978-0374103460}}
  • {{ODNBweb|last=Davenport-Hines |first=Richard |title=Cavendish, Victor Christian William, ninth duke of Devonshire (1868–1938) |id=32332|date=2004 }}
  • {{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/onhermajestysser0000mccr |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/onhermajestysser0000mccr/page/109 109] |quote=Dame Grand Cross, Royal Victorian Order duchess of devonshire. |title=On Her Majesty's Service: Royal Honours and Recognition in Canada |first=Christopher |last=McCreery |year=2008 |publisher=Dundurn |isbn=978-1550027426 }}
  • {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-acjBygCDNYC&q=evelyn+duchess+of+devonshire+9th+-john&pg=PA178 |title=Great Houses of England & Wales |first=Hugh|last=Montgomery-Massingberd |year=1994 |publisher=Laurence King Publishing |isbn=0847818241 }}
  • {{cite book|editor1-first=Charles |editor1-last=Mosley |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |edition=107th |location=Wilmington, Delaware |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |year=2003 |volume =2 |pages= 1130–31, 2240 }}
  • {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bl86p8IbAt0C&q=evelyn+duchess+of+cavendish&pg=PA40 |title=Troublesome Young Men: The Rebels Who Brought Churchill to Power and Helped Save England |first=Lynne |last=Olson |year=2007 |publisher=FSG Books |isbn=978-0374179540 }}
  • {{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L-X-XYB_ZkIC&q=evelyn+duke+of+devonshire+9th+fitzmaurice&pg=PA274 |title=Historical Dictionary of the British Empire, Volume 1 |editor1-first=James |editor1-last=Stuart Olson |editor2-first=Robert |editor2-last=Shadle |first=Esther |last=Simon Shkolnik |chapter=Cavendish, Victor William (9th Duke of Devonshire) |year=1996 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=031329366X }}

{{refend}}

External links

{{Portal|Biography}}

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  • {{Find a Grave|21012}}

{{s-start}}

{{s-court}}

{{succession box|title=Mistress of the Robes to
Queen Mary|before=— | after=The Duchess of Sutherland | years=1910–1916}}

{{succession box|title=Mistress of the Robes to
Queen Mary|before=The Duchess of Sutherland | after=— | years=1921–1953}}

{{s-hon}}

{{succession box|title=Viceregal consort of Canada|before=The Duchess of Connaught | after=The Viscountess Byng of Vimy| years=1916–1921}}

{{s-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devonshire, Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of}}

Category:1870 births

Category:1960 deaths

Category:English duchesses by marriage

Category:Dames of Justice of the Order of St John

Devonshire

Category:Daughters of British marquesses

Evelyn

Category:Mistresses of the Robes

Category:Dames Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order

Category:English justices of the peace

Category:People from Derbyshire Dales (district)

Category:People from Bolsover District

Evelyn