Lady Sybil Myra Caroline Grant (néePrimrose; 18 September 1879 – 25 February 1955) was a British writer and artist.[1] She was the eldest child of Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery and his wife, Hannah.
Sybil Primrose as a young woman, from a 1900 publication.
Apart from her artistic work, in later life she became notable as an eccentric.
Her father, Lord Rosebery, in addition to a life in Liberal politics and serving briefly as prime minister, collected Napoleonic memorabilia and wrote biographies, including one of Napoleon[2] and another of William Pitt the Younger.[3] Her mother, the Countess Hannah, was at one time reputed to be the richest woman in England. In her childhood Sybil was taught by governesses and divided her time between the family's Lansdowne House in London and their many country houses, which included Dalmeny House and Mentmore Towers. From the time she was a baby, Lady Sybil was often left by her parents in the care of servants, supervised by her father's sister Lady Leconfield at the Leconfields' Petworth House. This was particularly evident shortly after Sybil's birth in June 1880, when Lord Rosebery wished to visit Germany for three months to take a cure at a German spa for what is now thought to have been a nervous breakdown.[4] He had no great feeling for proximity to small babies.[5] His wife dutifully accompanied him, but Rosebery reported that she savoured every detail of daily letters from London concerning Sybil.[6]
Despite the lack of parental attention, Lady Sybil remained close to her father.
Marriage
On 28 March 1903, at Christ Church Epsom Common[7] (where the Rosebery family worshipped when resident at their Epsom home of "The Durdans"), Lady Sybil married Charles John Cecil Grant (1877–1950), a regular soldier who later became a general and a Knight of the Bath. Following the wedding her father wrote: "She was wonderfully cool and held my hand all the way to the church".[8]
She had one son, Charles Robert Archibald Grant, who married Pamela Wellesley (born 1912), a granddaughter of Arthur, 4th Duke of Wellington.
Literary works
Le Printemps: one of Watteau's more Correggiesque pieces, formerly in the collection of Lady Sybil. It is the only photograph documenting the painting, which has since been destroyed.
In 1912, Lady Sybil Grant published several short stories in the London Magazine, including The Kisses That Never Were Given, A Three-Cornered Secret, and Travesty.[9] In 1913 Mills and Boon published her Founded on Fiction, a book of comic poems. The same year The Chequer-Board appeared, followed by Samphire and The Land of Let's Pretend. In 1914, by now considered a literary figure, she was invited to contribute to Princess Mary's Gift Book, a collection of illustrated stories assembled to raise money for the Great War effort.
Lady Sybil was a patriotic admirer of the achievements of Marshal Foch, writing in a eulogy of him in 1929 that "the first impression you received was of an infinite horizon–he seemed to look beyond the common limits of human sight. When in the course of conversation he looked in your direction you felt the same helpless sense of inferiority as when, upon a night in deep summer, you look up at the stars."[10]
Inheritance
On the death of her father in 1929, she inherited one of his lesser estates, The Durdans at Epsom, which became her home. Among other things she inherited her father's extensive library at Durdans, much of which was sold at Sotheby's in 1933.
The arts and Bohemia
Some of Lady Sybil's designs were in ceramics,[11] where she drew for inspiration on her love of animals, particularly the Suffolk Punch horses which she bred. She had a great love of animals and succeeded in breeding a rare strain of dog, the Shetland Toy, which she may have saved from extinction.[12] In 1909 she became the first to breed the rare Pyrenean Mountain Dog in England, although examples had been imported earlier, including one owned by Queen Victoria in the 1850s.[13]
In 1937, Grant befriended the Roma who regularly visited Epsom Downs during the Derby week, dressing herself in "unusual and romantic clothes."[14] She allowed them the use of her land, setting it aside every year for them, so that they had a legal place to camp, which had the result of halting some of the hostility between the local people and the Roma.
With the Reverend Edward Dorling she was a leading supporter of the "Lest We Forget" charitable fund,[15] and on the charity's behalf she organised a fete in the grounds of The Durdans each year; here her pottery was often sold and in great demand.[11]
Later life and death
In later life Lady Sybil Grant became an eccentric, spending much of her time in a caravan[16] or up a tree, communicating with her butler through a megaphone. Widowed in 1950, she died in 1955 and was survived by her son.
On her death she donated 2,700 of the remaining books, pamphlets and manuscripts from her father's collections to the National Library of Scotland. The bequest included many memoirs and pamphlets on British and European history of the 18th and 19th centuries, including biographies of Pitt and Napoleon; an uncensored first edition of Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal (Paris, 1857); maps, particularly of the area around Epsom; dictionaries of slang and cant; religious works, particularly relating to Cardinal Newman; and works on horseracing and field sports, including a complete run of The Sporting Magazine from 1792 to 1870.[17]
Works by Lady Sybil Grant at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
January 15, 2023
lady, sybil, grant, lady, sybil, myra, caroline, grant, née, primrose, september, 1879, february, 1955, british, writer, artist, eldest, child, archibald, primrose, earl, rosebery, wife, hannah, sybil, primrose, young, woman, from, 1900, publication, apart, fr. Lady Sybil Myra Caroline Grant nee Primrose 18 September 1879 25 February 1955 was a British writer and artist 1 She was the eldest child of Archibald Primrose 5th Earl of Rosebery and his wife Hannah Sybil Primrose as a young woman from a 1900 publication Apart from her artistic work in later life she became notable as an eccentric Contents 1 Early years 2 Marriage 3 Literary works 4 Inheritance 5 The arts and Bohemia 6 Later life and death 7 Notes 8 References 9 External linksEarly years Edit Portrait of Lady Sybil Primrose by Frederick Lord Leighton Lady Sybil was the eldest child of Archibald Primrose 5th Earl of Rosebery who served as prime minister to Queen Victoria from 1894 to 1895 by his marriage to Hannah de Rothschild only child of Mayer Amschel de Rothschild 1818 1874 and a granddaughter of Nathan Mayer Rothschild 1777 1836 Through Hannah as her father s sole heiress the Mentmore Towers estate passed into the Rosebery family Her father Lord Rosebery in addition to a life in Liberal politics and serving briefly as prime minister collected Napoleonic memorabilia and wrote biographies including one of Napoleon 2 and another of William Pitt the Younger 3 Her mother the Countess Hannah was at one time reputed to be the richest woman in England In her childhood Sybil was taught by governesses and divided her time between the family s Lansdowne House in London and their many country houses which included Dalmeny House and Mentmore Towers From the time she was a baby Lady Sybil was often left by her parents in the care of servants supervised by her father s sister Lady Leconfield at the Leconfields Petworth House This was particularly evident shortly after Sybil s birth in June 1880 when Lord Rosebery wished to visit Germany for three months to take a cure at a German spa for what is now thought to have been a nervous breakdown 4 He had no great feeling for proximity to small babies 5 His wife dutifully accompanied him but Rosebery reported that she savoured every detail of daily letters from London concerning Sybil 6 Despite the lack of parental attention Lady Sybil remained close to her father Marriage EditOn 28 March 1903 at Christ Church Epsom Common 7 where the Rosebery family worshipped when resident at their Epsom home of The Durdans Lady Sybil married Charles John Cecil Grant 1877 1950 a regular soldier who later became a general and a Knight of the Bath Following the wedding her father wrote She was wonderfully cool and held my hand all the way to the church 8 She had one son Charles Robert Archibald Grant who married Pamela Wellesley born 1912 a granddaughter of Arthur 4th Duke of Wellington Literary works Edit Le Printemps one of Watteau s more Correggiesque pieces formerly in the collection of Lady Sybil It is the only photograph documenting the painting which has since been destroyed In 1912 Lady Sybil Grant published several short stories in the London Magazine including The Kisses That Never Were Given A Three Cornered Secret and Travesty 9 In 1913 Mills and Boon published her Founded on Fiction a book of comic poems The same year The Chequer Board appeared followed by Samphire and The Land of Let s Pretend In 1914 by now considered a literary figure she was invited to contribute to Princess Mary s Gift Book a collection of illustrated stories assembled to raise money for the Great War effort Lady Sybil was a patriotic admirer of the achievements of Marshal Foch writing in a eulogy of him in 1929 that the first impression you received was of an infinite horizon he seemed to look beyond the common limits of human sight When in the course of conversation he looked in your direction you felt the same helpless sense of inferiority as when upon a night in deep summer you look up at the stars 10 Inheritance EditOn the death of her father in 1929 she inherited one of his lesser estates The Durdans at Epsom which became her home Among other things she inherited her father s extensive library at Durdans much of which was sold at Sotheby s in 1933 The arts and Bohemia EditSome of Lady Sybil s designs were in ceramics 11 where she drew for inspiration on her love of animals particularly the Suffolk Punch horses which she bred She had a great love of animals and succeeded in breeding a rare strain of dog the Shetland Toy which she may have saved from extinction 12 In 1909 she became the first to breed the rare Pyrenean Mountain Dog in England although examples had been imported earlier including one owned by Queen Victoria in the 1850s 13 In 1937 Grant befriended the Roma who regularly visited Epsom Downs during the Derby week dressing herself in unusual and romantic clothes 14 She allowed them the use of her land setting it aside every year for them so that they had a legal place to camp which had the result of halting some of the hostility between the local people and the Roma With the Reverend Edward Dorling she was a leading supporter of the Lest We Forget charitable fund 15 and on the charity s behalf she organised a fete in the grounds of The Durdans each year here her pottery was often sold and in great demand 11 Later life and death EditIn later life Lady Sybil Grant became an eccentric spending much of her time in a caravan 16 or up a tree communicating with her butler through a megaphone Widowed in 1950 she died in 1955 and was survived by her son On her death she donated 2 700 of the remaining books pamphlets and manuscripts from her father s collections to the National Library of Scotland The bequest included many memoirs and pamphlets on British and European history of the 18th and 19th centuries including biographies of Pitt and Napoleon an uncensored first edition of Baudelaire s Les Fleurs du Mal Paris 1857 maps particularly of the area around Epsom dictionaries of slang and cant religious works particularly relating to Cardinal Newman and works on horseracing and field sports including a complete run of The Sporting Magazine from 1792 to 1870 17 Notes Edit The National Register of Archives Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose 5th Earl of Napoleon The Last Phase London Humphreys 1900 Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose 5th Earl of Life of Pitt London Macmillan amp Co 1891 McKinstry p90 McKinstry p 195 McKinstry p 78 Copy of Register entry on local history website https eehe org uk p 25607 McKinstry p 461 The Fiction Magazines Index Aston p 172 a b Ashtead Pottery for the Home Shelties History of the Great Pyrenees Archived 10 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine Gypsies at the Epsom Derby Ashtead Pottery for the Home McKinstry Catalogue D of the National Library of Scotland References EditAston George 1932 The Biography of the Late Marshal Foch New York The Macmillan Company McKinstry Leo 2005 Rosebery a statesman in turmoil London John Murray publishers ISBN 978 0 7195 6586 1 Young Kenneth 1974 Harry Lord Rosebery London Hodder and Stoughton ISBN 978 0 340 16273 6 External links EditEdwardian Modernists Photograph of Sybil Grant with other great contemporary literary figures Gypsies at the Epsom Derby Ashtead Pottery for the Home The Fiction Magazines Index The National Register of Archives Edwardian Modernists Lady Sybil biography Works by or about Lady Sybil Grant at Internet Archive Works by Lady Sybil Grant at LibriVox public domain audiobooks Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lady Sybil Grant amp oldid 1124869788, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
