Ada Hannah Lewis-Hill born (26 April 1844–13 October 1906) was an English amateur musician and philanthropist. She was a well-known financier of the arts and lover of music, and played the violin and cello; however she was not considered particularly gifted. Ada Davies was born on 29 June 1844 into a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and was the third of ten children. One of her younger sisters was

Hope Temple Hope Temple, born as Alice Maude Davis (27 December 1859 – 10 May 1938) was an Irish songwriter and composer. She was also known as Mrs André Messager. Life Alice Davis was born in Dublin, Ireland, and was known professionally as Hope Temp ...

. She was brought up in Dublin, where she married the financier and philanthropist Samuel Lewis in 1867, and lived with him in

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...

until his death in 1901. Ada Lewis was left with a fortune of £2.6 million following her husband's death, of which over £1 million was left to various charities. On 13 July 1904, Ada Lewis married William James Montagu Lewis-Hill, "a noted Jewish moneylender to the aristocracy". In 1905, she founded the Ada Lewis Nurses' Institute. As of 1906, she became one of the two wealthiest women in the United Kingdom. Lewis-Hill died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

on 13 October 1906 and was buried in Hoop Lane Jewish Cemetery in

Golders Green Golders Green is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet in north London, northwest of Charing Cross. It began as a medieval small suburban linear settlement near a farm and public grazing area green, and dates to the early 19th century. It ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, together with Samuel. Upon her death, she endowed the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

with fifteen scholarships at a cost of nearly £20,000 and generous yearly subscriptions. She left her

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th ...

violin to the president of the Royal Academy for the use of the Ada Lewis scholars. The Ada Lewis Women's Lodging House was also opened in her honour in 1913, to provide housing for single, lower-middle class working women.

References

External links

National Archives

Art UK
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis-Hill, Ada British philanthropists 1844 births 1906 deaths 19th-century British women Jewish musicians People from Liverpool English philanthropists 19th-century English businesspeople 20th-century English businesspeople 19th-century British philanthropists 20th-century British philanthropists Jewish English musicians 19th-century English Jews 20th-century English Jews