Winifred, Countess of Dundonald

Winifred (Bamford-Hesketh) Cochrane
Winifred, Countess Of Dundonald.
Born	(1859-04-16)16 April 1859 Gwrych Castle, Wales[1]
Died	16 January 1924(1924-01-16) (aged 64) London, England
Burial	St Cynbryd Churchyard, Llanddulas, Conwy, Wales
Spouse	Douglas Mackinnon Baillie Hamilton Cochrane (1852–1935)
Issue	(b.1880 – d.1976) Thomas Hesketh Douglas Blair Cochrane, 13th Earl of Dundonald (b.1886 – d.1958) (b.1893 – d.1942) Lady Jean Alice Elaine Cochrane (b.1887 – d.1955) (b.1889 – d.1973)
House	Dundonald (by marriage)
Father	Robert Bamford Hesketh
Mother	Ellen Jones-Bateman
Signature

Winifred Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald (Welsh; Winifred, Iarlles Dundonald); Born 16 April 1859, Lady of grace (Order of St John),^[2] known within Wales by her bardic name: Rhiannon, she was the Welsh^[3][4] wife of Douglas Mackinnon Baillie Hamilton Cochrane (1852–1935).

Ancestry[]

Winifred was the second daughter and sole heir of Robert Bamford Hesketh and Ellen Jones-Bateman. She was born into the royal house of Marchudd ap Cynan, the founder of the VIII Noble Tribe of North Wales. Cynan's descendants, the Lloyds of Plas yn y Gwrych were based in the Parish of Abergele, where Winifred, through her ancestors shared co-sanguinity with Llywelyn the Great.^[5]

Personal life[]

Growing up, Winifred Bamford Hesketh lived at her family's residences in London, Torquay and Gwrych Castle. Winifred's stature stood at ~6 feet tall (~182 cm).

In 1878, at the age of 19, she married Lieutenant General Douglas Mackinnon Baillie Hamilton Cochrane, 12th Earl of Dundonald.

The arranged marriage^[6] is thought to have been an unhappy one. The Earl spent most of his time in Scotland and fighting wars while the Countess remained mostly in Wales.^[7]

When Winifred turned 21, the money in her trust fund became available and a house was purchased in London. She had five children between 1880 and 1893.^[8]

She had many friends within royal circles, who visited her at her Gwrych Castle estate. There is an account of Princess Marie Louise of Schleswig-Holstein staying at Gwrych in September 1901, where they then went on a day trip to Caernarfon.^[9]

It is believed that the Earl was landless and even through the marriage, the castle belonged solely to Winifred, according to 'The Omaha Sunday Bee'; "In fact, until his marriage, the earl of Dundonald was a very poor man, glad to receive his salary as an officer in the British army."^[10]

Winifred died of heart failure on Wednesday, 16 January 1924, while staying at her London residency. Her funeral was held at Llanddulas the following Saturday; it was documented as being a simple and modest service, attended by those closest to her. Her coffin was delivered by train from London to Llanddulas where it was then carried by a pony carriage. Feeling distraught, her daughter, , on the way to the service at Llanddulas fainted on the platform at Chester Station whilst waiting for her connection to Abergele. Louisa's brother (most likely Thomas Cochrane) took her by taxi to her hotel, where she fainted again. Thomas then left Louisa in the care of the manageress so that he could attend the funeral; by the afternoon, Louisa was well enough to make her journey back to her home in London. Winifred's chief mourners were (her son) and her estranged husband, Douglas Cochrane.^[11]

Work and Duties[]

Apart from being a poet and writer in her spare time, she contributed literary works to Vogue which was owned at the time by Arthur Baldwin Turnure.^[12]

In the mid 1890s, she donated land to build Colwyn Bay Community Hospital which was completed in 1899, in December 1910, she returned to open a new operating theatre, soon after it was renamed to 'Colwyn Bay and West Denbighshire Hospital' which was the former name of Colwyn Bay Community Hospital^[13]

in December 1910, she returned to open a new operating theatre.^[14]

In 1900, she opened the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Rhyl, a hospital which was built for 'sick and needy' children^[15]

The countess had a church hall built for the village of Llanddulas in 1909.

In 1914 she supplied warm clothing to the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and Denbighshire Hussars, following an appeal.^[16]

The Countess opened a hospital in 1916 at 87 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London, to treat the wounded of the Great War, the 'Countess of Dundonald Hospital'. It closed at the end of the war in 1918.^[17]

She was a patron of 'The united Gentlewomen's Handicrafts society'^[18]

Political views[]

Winifred was Abergele's ruling councillor. She became an officer for the Primrose League in 1904, an organisation which was founded in Abergele in 1886 and followed Conservative principles. By 1913, she was no longer a member.^[19]

Gwrych Castle[]

The countess inherited Gwrych Castle, the seat of the Bamford-Hesketh family, on the death of her father in 1894.

In 1919, she sold some of the old buildings on the estate, along with the Llanddulas limestone quarry and some mines.

In her will, she bequeathed Gwrych to Prince George, later King George V, who was unable to accept the gift and sold the castle. It was later re-purchased by her husband, the Earl of Dundonald, for £70,000 (calculated at £4,288,000 in 2019 after inflation).^[20]

Welsh heritage[]

Winifred was made a patron of the Gwynedd Ladies' Art Society. It was started by Miss Clearance Whaite, and presided over by Lady Augusta Mostyn in 1894, the society would later be absorbed into what would be called Mostyn gallery.^[21]

She was a stout supporter of the Welsh industries where she was the president of the Denbighshire division;^[22] in 1900 the Welsh Industrial Association held an exhibition at 83 Eaton Square, Winifred's address in London. The exhibition was visited by the Princess of Wales.^[23] In the same year, Winifred opened an exhibition at the Anglesey branch of the Welsh industries, which was held at Menai Bridge.^[24]

The countess was a Welsh-speaker and a patron of Welsh art, music and literature.^[25]

In the early 1900s she founded a North Wales Harp competition. She was heavily involved within the Eisteddfod, especially within the arts and crafts section where she was given the task of opening the art exhibition in 1910. She was initiated as an ovate at the Colwyn Bay National Eisteddfod in 1910.^[26] She supported the organisation financially and because of her ability to speak Welsh, the organisation was a place that she attended annually.

Winifred was interested in archaeology and involved with the Abergele Historical and Cambrian Societies, most noticeably Cambrian Archaeological Association where she was a member.^[27] She allowed excavations on ancient monuments she owned and financed the publication of their findings.^[28]

Charitable works[]

Knowing how vulnerable local poor people would be during the winter months, like her father before her, Winifred would often donate firewood from the fell at her properties to keep them warm.^[29]

On her death Winifred bequeathed £5000 and a piece of land for building almshouses houses in Groes Lwyd, Abergele.^[30] She also bequeathed the whole Gwyrch estate to the Welsh Church.

Advocacy of children's rights[]

Winifred was a member of the NSPCC, which often held parties at the Queen's Hall to raise money for preventing cruelty to children.^[31]

She was also one of the leading members of the 'children's happy evenings association', an organisation which raised money to fund the purchase of sports equipments, Queen Mary was its patron.^{[32] [33]}

Advocacy of women's rights[]

On Friday, 27 February 1914, Winifred, through the Conservative and Unionist Women's Franchise Association (which was a women's suffrage organisation), chaired a meeting at Bechstein Hall.^[34]

She contributed to the 'WI'. When the Women's Institutes came to Britain for the first time, the first organisation was held at Anglesey, where she was one of the first members.

Advocacy of animal rights[]

As well as being a humanitarian, Winifred also fought for the rights of animals. She was a patron of the society for the abolition of vivisection, whose goal was the "total suppression of vivisection, or putting animals to death by torture"^[35]

References[]