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Photograph of popular head Mrs Coleman & pupils of Hook School, 1958/9. Interviewed by Lord Bolingbroke for the job, she was at the school for 20 years. Search Hook School.

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Angelica Magdalena Wharton, nee Pelissary (c.1664-1736), 1st Viscountess St John, full length in coronation robes

Angelica Magdalena Wharton, nee Pelissary (c.1664-1736), 1st Viscountess St John, full length in coronation robes
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This magnificent portrait of Angelica in full Coronation robes is by John Vanderbank and dated c1720. A companion portrait of her husband, Henry 1st Viscount St.John, painted by the same artist hangs alongside it.

Like her late mother-in-law Johanna, Angelica was also on cordial terms with royalty, providing King George II with a yearly supply of peaches grown in the Battersea gardens and stewed in rum.

In 1736 Angelica’s family was yet again hit by scandal when her only surviving daughter Henrietta Knight had an inappropriate relationship with poet John Dalton. Henrietta was banished by her cuckold husband Robert Knight, separating her from her two young children.

Angelica rushed to her daughter’s side, advising her to plead for forgiveness, but Knight was not a forgiving man. With her constitution worn down by so many pregnancies, it was thought this final blow hastened Angelica’s end. She died at her Battersea home on August 5, 1736 and was buried in St. Mary’s, Battersea five days later.

Medium - oil on canvas

Measurements - H 231 x W 143 cm

Transferred from the de Morgan Foundation 2005

Makes a pair with portrait of Henry 1st Viscount St.John; both in grey frames

Year:
c. 1720
Artist:
John Vanderbank (1694-1739) (circle of)
Type:
Portrait
Location:
State Bedroom, Lydiard House
Owner:
Swindon Borough Council
Reference:
Lyd 1993/059
Copyright:
Lydiard House
Credit:
Friends of Lydiard Park
Last updated on:
Monday 8th August 2022

Items of Interest

Henry St John (1652-1742), 1st Viscount St John, full length in coronation robes
Henry St John (1652-1742), 1st Viscount St John, full length in coronation robes

Portrait of Henry 1st Viscount St.John in full cor...

Angelica Magdalena Wharton, nee Pelissary (c.1664-1736), 1st Viscountess St John
Angelica Magdalena Wharton, nee Pelissary (c.1664-1736), 1st Viscountess St John

Angelica’s first marriage was of a short duration...

Portrait of a female member of the St John family (thought to be Angelica Magdalena Wharton, nee Pelissary, 2nd wife of 1st Viscount St John, c 1666-1736)
Portrait of a female member of the St John family (thought to be Angelica Magdalena Wharton, nee Pelissary, 2nd wife of 1st Viscount St John, c 1666-1736)

This portrait in the Lydiard House collection rema...

Henrietta St John (1699-1756), Lady Luxborough, attributed to Maria Verelst, c1720
Henrietta St John (1699-1756), Lady Luxborough, attributed to Maria Verelst, c1720

Henrietta was born on July 15, 1699, the only surv...