              Copyright
Helen Forder
2004
|
née
Mary Granville (1700 - 1788) |
Mrs.
Delany
(portrait by Opie) |
Mary Granville, eldest
daughter of Bernard Granville, (Lieut.-Governor
of Hull and M.P. for Camelford and Fowey),and his
wife Mary (née Westcombe) was born in a small
country house in the village of Coulston,
Wiltshire in the year 1700.
At the age of 17 she was married, against her
inclinations, it is said, to a Cornish squire,
Alexander Pendarves of Roscrow, over forty years
her senior; he has been described as 'ugly,
disagreeable and gouty'.
When he died in 1724, Mary was left with an
income of hundreds, rather than the expected
thousands, of pounds per annum, due, according to
one source, to the will being unsigned; the bulk
of the estate went to Mr. Pendarves' niece. |
| Following
the period of mourning, Mary began to develop her
artistic skills. Young, attractive and
intelligent, the young widow lived with her uncle
and aunt, Lord and Lady Stanley for a while, but
following Lady Stanley's death in 1730 she went
to live in Richmond with her friend Anne
Donnellan. The two spent about 18 months in
Ireland (1731 - 35) visiting Miss Donnellan's
sister, Mrs. Clayton, wife of the Bishop of
Killala. |
| It was during this extended visit
to Ireland that Mrs. Pendarves met Dean Swift and
his friend Patrick Delany. She made a great
impression on Swift and became part of the group
of intellectuals which surrounded him. |
Dr. Delany
became a widower in 1740 and three years later he
went to London where he proposed to Mary
Pendarves; they married that same year, 1743.
After one year spent in England they moved to Dr.
Delany's residence in Dublin and it was in
Ireland that they spent a large part of their
happy married life. |
| Following
Patrick's death in 1768 Mary lived with her
friend the Duchess of Portland, herself a widow.
It was the Duchess who introduced Mrs. Delany to
Queen Charlotte, and she became a firm favourite
at court, where her talents, intellect and
'social refinement' were much admired. |
| The Duchess
of Portland died in 1785, and the King and Queen,
concerned for the welfare of their old friend,
offered Mrs. Delany an annuity and a small house
at Windsor. The King and Queen were deprived of
Mrs. Delany's 'amiable company' when she died in
1788. |
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