The Creevey Papers
Thomas Creevey to Elizabeth Ord, 24 November 1833
“Brooks’s, Nov. 24th.
“. . . Yesterday at the Hollands we had Lord Grey
and Lord J. Russell, Charles Fox and Lady
Mary, Henry and his little
bride,‡ Sidney Smith, John
Ponsonby (Duncannon’s
eldest son)§ and Ellice the elder.
Lady Holland introduced me to
Henry’s wife in a very pretty manner as one of
Henry’s oldest and kindest friends. The said
Lady Augusta I consider as decidedly under three feet
in height—the very nicest little doll or plaything I ever saw. She is a
most lively little thing apparently, very pretty, and I dare say up to
anything, as all Coventrys are, or at least have been. . .
. I can scarcely believe the story of Lady
Jersey and Palmerston,
tho’ it was very current that, when Lady
Cowper went abroad, Palmerston transferred
his allegiance to Lady Jersey.Ӧ
Emily Mary Cowper, countess Cowper [née Lamb] (1787-1869)
Whig hostess, the daughter of Sir Peniston Lamb, first Viscount Melbourne; she married
(1) in 1805 Sir Peter Leopold Louis Francis Nassau Cowper, fifth Earl Cowper, and (2) in
1839, her long-time lover, Henry John Temple, third Viscount Palmerston.
Edward Ellice (1783-1863)
British merchant with the Hudson's Bay Company and Whig MP for Coventry (1818-26,
1830-63); he was a friend of Sir Francis Burdett and John Cam Hobhouse.
Charles Richard Fox (1796-1873)
The eldest son of Lord Holland, born illegitimately and thus barred from the peerage; he
was aide-de-camp to William IV, and MP for Calne (1831-32) and Tavistock (1833-34). He was
an antiquary and member of the Society of Dilettanti.
Elizabeth Fox, Lady Holland [née Vassall] (1771 c.-1845)
In 1797 married Henry Richard Fox, Lord Holland, following her divorce from Sir Godfrey
Webster; as mistress of Holland House she became a pillar of Whig society.
Henry Richard Fox, third baron Holland (1773-1840)
Whig politician and literary patron; Holland House was for many years the meeting place
for reform-minded politicians and writers. He also published translations from the Spanish
and Italian;
Memoirs of the Whig Party was published in 1852.
Lady Mary Fox [née Fitz-Clarence] (1798-1864)
The illegitimate daughter of William IV; in 1824 she married Charles Richard Fox, the
illegitimate son of Lord Holland.
Charles Grey, second earl Grey (1764-1845)
Whig statesman and lover of the Duchess of Devonshire; the second son of the first earl
(d. 1807), he was prime minister (1831-34).
John William Ponsonby, fourth earl of Bessborough (1781-1847)
The son of Frederick Ponsonby, third earl of Bessborough (d. 1844) and elder brother of
Lady Caroline Lamb; he was a Whig MP (1805-34), home secretary (1834-35), and
lord-lieutenant of Ireland (1846-47).
John Russell, first earl Russell (1792-1878)
English statesman, son of John Russell sixth duke of Bedford (1766-1839); he was author
of
Essay on the English Constitution (1821) and
Memoirs of the Affairs of Europe (1824) and was Prime Minister (1865-66).
Sydney Smith (1771-1845)
Clergyman, wit, and one of the original projectors of the
Edinburgh
Review; afterwards lecturer in London and one of the Holland House
denizens.
Henry John Temple, third viscount Palmerston (1784-1865)
After education at Harrow and Edinburgh University he was MP for Newport (1807-11) and
Cambridge University (1811-31), foreign minister (1830-41), and prime minister (1855-58,
1859-65).
