Social Victorians/People/Westmorland

Also Known As

• Family name: Fane
• Countess of Westmorland
  • Lady Adelaide Ida Curzon-Howe Fane (16 October 1859 – 28 May 1892 [her son's marriage])
  • Sybil Mary St Clair-Erskine Fane (28 May 1892 – 21 July 1910)
• The Right Honourable Earl of Westmorland
  • Francis William Henry Fane, 12th Earl of Westmorland (16 October 1859 – 3 August 1891)
  • Anthony Mildmay Julian Fane, 13th Earl of Westmorland (3 August 1891 – 9 June 1922)
• Lord Burghersh
  • Francis William Henry Fane (1851–1859)
  • Anthony Mildmay Julian Fane (1860–1891)
• Sometimes Westmorland is misspelled as Westmoreland.

Organizations

• Francis William Henry Fane, 12th Earl of Westmorland was aide-de-camp to the Duke of Cambridge (1856–1860)
• Sybil Fane was a member of "The Souls."

Timeline

1857 July 16, Francis Fane married Adelaide Curzon-Howe.

1888 October 2, Lady Margaret Mary Fane and John Edmund Philip Spicer married.

1892 May 28, Anthony Mildmay Julian Fane, 13th Earl of Westmorland married Sybil Mary St Clair-Erskine at St. Michael's, Chester Square, Belgravia, London.

1897 July 2, Friday, Sybil Fane and Anthony Fane attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House.

Costume at the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 Fancy-dress Ball

Lady Margaret Mary Fane and John Edmund Philip Spicer also attended are are handled on their page.

Sybil Fane, Countess Westmorland

Sybil, Countess of Westmorland in costume as Hebe. ©National Portrait Gallery, London.

Jean Coulon's 1886 Hebe

At the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball, Sybil Fane, Countess Westmorland (at 219) sat at Table 12 and was among the goddesses:

• "Poetic was the 'Hebe' of the Countess of Westmorland. The under dress was of pale pink crepe de Chine under crinkled silver gauze, and again veiled in palest blue lisse, the drapery caught back with diamond ornaments. A large eagle perched on the shoulder had one wing spread out behind Lady Westmorland's head, and she held a classical cup in her hand."
• "Very poetic was the 'Hebe' of the Countess of Westmorland. The under-dress was of pale pink crepe de chine under crinkled silver gauze, and again veiled in palest blue lisse, the drapery caught back with diamond ornaments. A large eagle perched on the shoulder had one wing spread out behind Lady Westmoreland's [sic] head, and she held a classical cup in her hand."
• "The Countess of Westmorland, as Hebe, wore an under dress of pale pink crêpe de chine, under crinkled silver gauze, and again veiled in palest blue lisse, the drapery caught back with diamond ornaments. A large eagle perched on the shoulder had one wing spread out, and a classical cup was held in the hand."
• "Lady Westmorland wore perhaps the most poetic dress of the evening as Hebe, which showed faint hues of pink, blue, and silver, and was gracefully draped to the figure and finished by an enormous eagle on the shoulder, with wing spread out behind the fair, young face."
• Consuelo Vanderbilt Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough describes the Countess of Westmorland in her memoir: "I can see her now in a Greek peplum impersonating Hebe at a Devonshire House fancy dress ball. The grey feathers of a stuffed but life-like eagle perched on her shoulder set off the glorious sheen of her red-gold hair."
• "The Countess of Westmorland, as "Hebe," was the admired of all, in a flowing robe showing soft hues of blue, pink, and silver, and completed by a big stuffed eagle on one shoulder."

She was remembered by Consuelo Vanderbilt Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough as the beauty of that ball.

Henry Van der Weyde's portrait of "Sybil Mary (née St Clair-Erskine), Countess of Westmorland as Hebe" in costume is photogravure #82 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery. The printing on the portrait says, "The Countess of Westmorland as Hebe," with a Long S in Countess.

Hebe is the Greek goddess of youth, often represented with a cup and wings or an eagle. The dress that Sybil, Countess of Westmorland is wearing in her portrait must have been expected to look Greek. The marble statue (right) is by Jean Coulon (1853–1923); a version of it is in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nice.

Anthony Fane, Earl Westmorland

Anthony Fane, Earl Westmorland is at 257.

Demographics

• Nationality: British

Family

• Francis William Henry Fane, 12th Earl of Westmorland (19 November 1825 – 3 August 1891)
• Lady Adelaide Ida Curzon-Howe Fane (1835 – 22 March 1903)

1. George Neville John Fane, Lord Burghersh (3 September 1858 – 31 July 1860)
2. Lt.-Col. Anthony Mildmay Julian Fane, 13th Earl of Westmorland (16 August 1859 – 9 June 1922)
3. Lady Grace Adelaide Fane ( – 13 June 1933)
4. Lady Margaret Mary Fane ( – 22 November 1949)

• Lady Margaret Mary Fane ( – 22 November 1949)
• Captain John Edmund Philip Spicer ( – 31 March 1928)

• Anthony Mildmay Julian Fane, 13th Earl of Westmorland (16 August 1859 – 9 June 1922)
• Lady Sybil Mary St. Clair-Erskine Fane, Countess of Westmorland (20 August 1871 – 21 July 1910)

1. Vere Anthony Francis St Clair Fane, 14th Earl of Westmorland (15 March 1893 – 12 May 1948)
2. Lady Enid Victoria Rachel Fane (24 April 1894 – 9 September 1969)
3. Mountjoy John Charles Wedderburn Fane (8 October 1900 – 9 October 1963)
4. Lady Violet Gloria Sybil Fane (11 April 1902 – )

Relations

• Lord Raglan, uncle

Biographical Materials

1. Lady August Fane, Chit-Chat, London, 1926.