Lady Beatrix Stanley, CI

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(; 6 January 1877 – 3 May 1944) was an English

aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...

horticulturalist Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

, and

botanical artist Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species. They are generally meant to be scientifically descriptive about subjects depicted and are often found printed alongside a botanical description in boo ...

who drew plants native to India. She had multiple flower strains named after her, most notably an

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (given name), a feminine given name, and a list of peopl ...

and

snowdrop ''Galanthus'' (from Ancient Greek , (, "milk") + (, "flower")), or snowdrop, is a small genus of approximately 20 species of bulbous perennial herbaceous plants in the family (biology), family Amaryllidaceae. The plants have two linear leav ...

. She was also a writer and was editor of a

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

publication, ''The New Flora and Fauna'' in the 1930s.

Life

Stanley was born on 6 January 1877 in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, Greater London, to peer Thomas Taylour, the 3rd Marquess of Headfort, and his wife Emila Costantia Taylour, daughter of Rev.

Lord John Thynne The Rev. Lord John Thynne (7 November 1798 – 9 February 1881) was an English aristocrat and Anglican cleric, who served for 45 years as Deputy Dean of Westminster. Career Lord John was born in 1798, the third son of Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marq ...

and granddaughter of

Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath (25 January 1765 – 27 March 1837), styled Viscount Weymouth from 1789 until 1796, was a British peer. Life Early life Thynne was the eldest son of Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath, and Elizabeth Thy ...

. Her brother

Geoffrey Taylour, 4th Marquess of Headfort Geoffrey Thomas Taylour, 4th Marquess of Headfort DL, JP, FZS (12 June 1878 – 29 January 1943), styled Lord Geoffrey Taylour until 1893 and Earl of Bective between 1893 and 1894, was a British politician and Army officer. Career Styled Lo ...

, succeeded their father as Marquess in 1894. On 26 November 1903, at the age of 26, she married soldier and politician

George Stanley Colonel George Francis Gillman Stanley (July 6, 1907September 13, 2002) was a Canadian author, soldier, historian at Mount Allison University, public servant, and designer of the Canadian Flag. Early life and education George F. G. Stanley was ...

, and they had a daughter, Barbara Helen Stanley (1906-1986), three years later. Stanley and an infant Barbara starred on the cover of '' Country Life'' magazine in July 1907. On 26 October 1929, Stanley's husband was appointed governor of

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

in the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. Stanley's body of watercolour work was created during her residency in India, in

Ootacamund Ooty (; officially Udagamandalam (), anglicized: Ootacamund , abbreviated as Udagai, ) is a town and municipality in the Nilgiris district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located northwest of Coimbatore, and is the headquarters of N ...

, Tamil Nadu, where she developed the gardens around their official residence. She studied the plants and gardening practises in the local climate with local fauna, as well as British plants which had been imported. The family returned to the UK in 1934. Stanley also wrote about

horticulture Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

, including the article “Gardening in India,” published in the 23 May 1931 edition of '' The Gardener’s Chronicle''. She also became editor of an RHS publication, ''The New Flora and Fauna'', 1938 through 1940. She sat on the RHS ''Narcissus'' and ''Tulip'' Committee. Stanley was appointed to the

Order of the Crown of India The Imperial Order of the Crown of India is an order in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system. The Order was established by Queen Victoria when she became Emperor of India, Empress of India in 1878. Th ...

. She was made

in the

New Years Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

of 1920, for services to horticulture. In 1938, Stanley's husband died. Stanley herself died six years later on 3 May 1944 at their family home of Sibbertoft Manor,

Market Harborough Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, close to the border with Northamptonshire. The population was 24,779 at the United Kingdom census, 2021, 2021 census. It is the ad ...

, after a long illness. She was aged 67.

Legacy

Stanley had multiple flower strains named after her, most notably an

and

, such as ''Galanthus'' ‘Lady Beatrix Stanley’, a double snowdrop, which was named after her in 1981. Stanley's daughter Barbara married Major Sir

Charles James Buchanan Major Sir Charles James Buchanan, 4th Baronet (16 April 1899 – 25 May 1984) was High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire in 1962. Family He was born on 16 April 1899, the son of Sir Eric Alexander Buchanan, 3rd Baronet and Constance Augusta Tennant. He ...

. Through their descendants the bulbs that Stanley was so passionate about continue to be grown at the historic

Hodsock Priory Hodsock Priory is an English country house in Hodsock, Nottinghamshire, north of Worksop, England, and south of Blyth. Despite its name, it is not and never has been a priory. Hodsock is renowned for its snowdrops in early spring. It is also a ...

. The property and Stanley's watercolours are owned by Stanley's great-grandson, Andrew Buchanan.

References

1877 births 1944 deaths British horticulturists British botanists British painters Daughters of British marquesses Women horticulturists and gardeners British women botanists Place of birth missing Commanders_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire {{Authority control