Angela Burdett-Coutts
Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts 1814 - 1906.
Angela Burdett-Coutts was such a prolific philanthropist that King George VII stated that on her death:
"..after my mother, the most remarkable woman in the kingdom". Angela was born in 1814, the daughter of Sophia, who herself was the daughter of banker Thomas Coutts. Angela's father was Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet. On the death of Thomas Coutts, Angela inherited his wealth, an astonishing £1.8 million, in today's money that is the equivalent of £210 million, she was considered the richest heiress in England, on her death she left "only" £97, 000, which demonstrates how much of her wealth was spent mainly on philanthropy. From this point after his death, she joined both her parents surnames and became known as Miss Burdett-Coutts.
Early life.
Angela was the youngest of six children of Sophia and Francis Burdett, a wealthy family from Warwickshire, Francis was a Tory MP. Some sources credit Susannah Starkie, Francis' first wife, as Angela's mother, who died in 1815 when Angela was one years old.
Philanthropy
Burdett-Coutts was outspoken and passionate in her beliefs and threw herself into causes that she believed in. Her projects were far-reaching and tackled some of the most burning social injustices of her time. She used her wealth, social standing and privilege to raise awareness of social inequalities and unfairness. She endowed multiple organisations with a donation, not just in Britain but around the world. Among her many charitable organisations that benefited from her generosity were donations to help indigenous Africans with education and relief, helped aboriginal peoples in Australia and Borneo, helped promote fishing in Eire and provided seed potatoes for impoverished Irish people, organised the placement of destitute boys in training camps for the Royal Navy, the list goes on and on.
There survives a large monument in St Pancras Old Church, which Burdett-Coutts paid for to be erected in 1879 to commemorate all the people buried in the church yard after the expansion of King's Cross train station in the area meant that many gravestones and bodies were removed and destroyed.
Urania Cottage.
Urania Cottage was a collaboration between Angela Burdett-Coutts who had great empathy for the women, and Charles Dickens. They wanted to provide a better future for "fallen women", as the terminology of the time referred to sex workers. The cottage was set up as a woman's shelter in 1847. Dickens found women who were suitable for the house by visiting various prisons and interviewing the women who were inmates and due for imminent release. Dickens also gave leaflets to street walkers telling them of Urania Cottage and encouraging them to apply for admission. Urania Cottage was a large detached house that stood in Shepherds Bush, London, that could house 13 women two superintendents lived, at the time it was in the countryside but easily accessible by omnibus into central London. It also had a large garden and the women were encouraged to grow vegetables etc. Burdett-Coutts paid for the house and the day to day running of the home. Charles Dickens was involved in running the house. The purpose of the house was to teach women new skills such as household work, general education and self discipline. There was schooling for two hours every morning where they were taught to read and write. They took it in turns to read aloud while they did their needlework, making and mending their own clothes. Over time women were admitted to the house who had not been sex workers but thieves and homeless or destitute women, from the age of 16, their average age was 20. The house also had an Anglican cleric, appointed by Burdett-Coutts, who sat on the committee for the home.
The RSPCA and The NSPCC.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Animals was founded in 1824. Angela Burdett-Coutts became president of the Ladies Committee of the animal charity in 1870. Because of her dedication to the welfare of animals when she heard of the story of Greyfriars Bobby, a terrier who guarded his master's grave for fourteen years, Angela paid for and commissioned a statue of the terrier to be erected in Edinburgh. For her work in the RSPCA, she let a campaign to change peoples attitudes to animals, to see them as sentient beings rather than merely work animals.
Recognition
Her work did not go unnoticed and in 1871 Queen Victoria awarded her the title of Baroness, a title awarded in recognition of her philanthropy. It is not known exactly how much she donated over the years, but it has been estimated at around £350 million in today’s money.
Marriage
Death.
Angela Burdett-Coutts died aged 92 in 1906, she was buried in Westminster Abbey and the funeral was attended by royalty and people from the East End of London, where she was known as "Queen of the Poor".
