Hazel Marion Radclyffe Dolling (née Staples; 13 June 1923–24 April 2006) was the

châtelain Châtelain was originally the French title for the keeper of a castle.Abraham Rees Ebers, "CASTELLAIN", in: The Cyclopædia, or Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature' (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown, 1819), vol. 6. H ...

e of

Lissan House Lissan House is a historic house and tourist attraction in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, that was the seat of the Staples baronets. Lissan lies nestled at the foot of the Sperrin Mountains amid ancient woodland near the historic market town o ...

, a stately home near

Cookstown Cookstown (, ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the fourth-largest town in the county and had a population of 12,546 in the 2021 census. It, along with Magherafelt and Dungannon, is one of the main towns in the Mid-Ulster ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. Lissan is set at the foot of the

Sperrin Mountains The Sperrins or Sperrin Mountains () are a mountain range in Northern Ireland. The range stretches from Strabane and Mullaghcarn in the west, to Slieve Gallion and the Glenshane Pass in the east, in the counties of Tyrone and Londonderry. ...

. Dolling was the last surviving member of the Staples family.

Life

Her father was Sir Robert Staples, 13th Baronet of Lissan and Faughanvale. Her grandfather was

Sir Robert Staples, 12th Baronet Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples, 12th Baronet (1853–1943) was an artist, also remembered for his Eccentricity (behavior), eccentricity. Life He was the third son of Sir Nathaniel Staples, 11th Baronet of Lissan House near Cookstown in County Tyro ...

, who was a well-known painter. She was educated at the School of St Mary and St Anne,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. She then worked as an air radio mechanic during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was a third officer in the

Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the World War I, First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in ...

. Afterwards she worked as an assistant

purser A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...

on the Southampton-New York route of the

Cunard Line The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...

ships, , and . Later, she owned a travel agency 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 ...

. After selling it, she moved to

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 ...

. In 1970 her father died, and she married his land agent Harry Holbeche Radclyffe Dolling, who was 30 years older than she was. He was also a cousin. They moved to Lissan House to live with Hazel's mother. Harry Dolling died in 1986 and Hazel Dolling lived the rest of her life alone at Lissan without electricity, excepting that which was generated by the water turbine (which had been purchased second hand in 1902) at her house. She had to use a gas canister to cook food. When she went driving down her 1-mile-long avenue she always kept a chainsaw in her car boot in case the avenue was blocked by any trees that had fallen. She once attempted to create a bank account, and was told to bring an electricity bill for identity purposes. She replied "but I have never had an electricity bill."

Restoration

In 2003,

was a candidate in the

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and d ...

television show, '' Restoration''. The prize was a £3,000,000 grant from the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

to restore the winning building for use by the public. Instead of a celebrity making the case for the funding, she decided to try to persuade viewers to choose her home as the grant-winner. The ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray backgrou ...

'' described Mrs Dolling as a "natural television performer". Lissan House reached the final, but was very narrowly defeated by the

Victoria Baths Victoria Baths is a Grade II* listed building, in the Chorlton-on-Medlock area of Manchester, England. The baths opened to the public in 1906 and cost £59,144 to build. Manchester City Council closed the baths in 1993 and the building was left e ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. Following the programme, Hazel oversaw the re-founding of the Friends of Lissan Trust (now the Lissan House Trust), in 2004. The Charitable Trust had originally been founded on 5 August 1997 with the aim of finding a sustainable future for the Lissan Estate which kept it at the heart of the local community.

Death and legacy

Hazel Dolling died in 2006, aged 82, after a long battle with

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 ...

. Before her death she donated her home, Lissan House, its contents and Estate to The Friends of Lissan House,. The trust has received a £45,000 grant from the

; it is believed that the restoration work will cost £5,000,000. In August 2006 it was revealed that there are plans for "tourist, community and heritage facilities". In 2010, the first phase of restoration took place, securing the fabric of the house and restoring its exterior.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolling, Hazel 1923 births 2006 deaths Deaths from cancer in Northern Ireland Presbyterians from Northern Ireland People from Cookstown Women's Royal Naval Service officers People educated at Abbots Bromley School for Girls Royal Navy officers of World War II Daughters of baronets