Maria Coventry, Countess of Coventry
Maria Coventry, Countess of Coventry (born Maria Gunning , born August 15, 1732 in Hemingford Gray , Huntingdonshire ; † September 30, 1760 in Croome Dabitot , Worcestershire ) was a British aristocrat and a famous beauty in the 18th century.
Life
Maria Gunning was the eldest daughter of Irish officer Colonel John Gunning, squire of Castlecoote, County Roscommon , and his wife, the Hon. Bridget Bourke, daughter of the politician Theobald Bourke, 6th Viscount Mayo . Together with her younger sister Elizabeth (1733–1790) Maria grew up in modest circumstances. At an early age, the mother urged her daughters to take up a job in order to earn a living.
Maria and Elizabeth Gunning traveled to Dublin where they worked for some time at the City Theater. There they met the Irish actress Margaret Peg Woffington (1720-1760) and became friends with her. In the summer of 1750, the two sisters received an invitation to an event at Dublin Castle , the host was the Earl of Harrington (1690-1756) and then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland . The following year, Maria and her sister traveled to England . The two found a job as actresses in London's West End theater district and in Vauxhall Garden. Within a very short time, Maria Gunning became the darling of London society.
On March 5, 1752, Maria Gunning married the English aristocrat and politician George William Coventry , 6th Earl of Coventry (1722-1809) in St. George's Church in London . As his wife from then on she carried the courtesy title Countess of Coventry . The connection resulted in three children:
- Lady Anne Margaret Coventry († 1753), ⚭ (1) 1778–178 Hon. Edward Foley, ⚭ (2) 1788 Captain Samuel Wright;
- Lady Mary Alicia Coventry (1754–1784) ⚭ 1777 Sir Andrew Bayntun-Rolt, 2nd Baronet;
- George William Coventry, 7th Earl of Coventry (1758–1831), ⚭ (1) 1777 Lady Catherine Henley, ⚭ (2) 1783 Peggy Pitches.
Lady Coventry died at the age of 28 of complications from blood poisoning caused by make-up products containing lead ; she was a well-known victim of cosmetics in London society . Some beauty products of the time contained high levels of lead , mercury and arsenic .
literature
- Thomson Willing: Some Old Time Beauties. After Portraits by the English Masters, with Embellishment and Comment. 2005.
- Horace Bleackley: The Story of a Beautiful Duchess. Being an Account of the Life and Times of Elizabeth Gunning. Kessinger Pub & Co., 2005, ISBN 1-4326-1738-9 .
Web links
- Maria Gunning on thepeerage.com , accessed August 19, 2015.
- The Gunning family ( Memento from September 5, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
- Portraits of Mary Gunning, Countess of Coventry
- Suffering for beauty has ancient roots (English)
- Turquerie, Turkomanie, "alla turca" - The Turkish fashions of Europe
Remarks
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Coventry, Maria, Countess of Coventry |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gunning, Maria |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British aristocrat |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 15, 1732 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hemingford Gray , Huntingdonshire |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 30, 1760 |
| Place of death | Croome Dabitot , Worcestershire |