Some Local History, Myth & Legend

Brackley is in the South Western end of Northamptonshire. The local area is rich in known history over the last 2000 years.

This month we will tell you something about the Spencer Family with a small excerpt from "The Homeland Handbooks - Northampton with it's Surroundings - published in 1907 by The Homeland Association Ltd., London".

The Spencer Family Home is at Althorp, about six miles from Northampton. The house is a development of a Tudor dwelling, constructed by Sir John Spencer, the great sheep owner, early in the 16th century. The great staircase, and probably the long gallery, were added by the first Countess of Sutherland (Waller's "Saccharissa"), during her widowhood. The staircase occupies the site of the court-yard of the Tudor house.

The present Spencer family is descended from the younger branch of the great house of Marlborough, as is shown by the following notes. The third Baron Spencer, who married Dorothy Sidney  (Waller's "Saccharissa"), the daughter of the second Earl of Leicester, was created Earl of Sutherland by Charles I (June 18th 1643), and fell, aged 23, in the first battle of Newbury, on September 20th the same year. (It was during "Saccharissa's" widowhood that Charles I came to Althorp from Holdenby, to play bowls.) The second Earl of Sutherland was the well known politician and diplomatist. His son Charles, the third Earl, married as his second wife, Anne, daughter of the Duke of Marlborough, and his Duchess, the famous Sarah Jennings. Their eldest surviving son was suceeded by his brother Charles, in 1729, who thus became fifth Earl of Sutherland, and, in 1733, owing to deaths in the Marlborough family, became second Duke of Marlborough. The Althorp property then passed to his younger brother John, the favourite grandson of the Duchess Sarah; but without any title. He died in 1746. His eldest son was created Viscount and Baron Spencer of Althorp in 1761, and in 17665, Earl Spencer and Viscount Althorp. George John, the second Earl, was the collector of the famous library. His son, the third Earl, was the celebrated Lord Althorp of the Great Reform Bill; and the present peer, the fifth of the line, succeeded his father, the fourth Earl, in 1857.

The library which contained some of the rarest literary treasures, was sold in 1892 to Mrs John Rylands, to help to form a library, in memory of her husband, for the city of Manchester.

The great feature of Althorp now is its magnificent and practically priceless collection of pictures. Sir Joshua Reynolds, and Thomas Gainsborough, for instance, are represented by some of their best works - two of them rival portraits of the famous Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, daughter of the first Earl Spencer. The first Countess was Miss Poyntz. The Earl (then Mr Spencer), married her privately at Althorp, the day after he came of age, December 1755. "After tea, the parties necessary for the wedding stole by degrees from the company into Lady Cowper's dressing room, where the ceremony was performed; and they returned different ways to the company again, and joined dancing with them." There are portraits of the two by gainsborough, Vandyck is represented by twenty one pictures; Sir Godfrey Kneller by fifteen portraits. There are three pictures by Hans Holbein; and thirty two portraits by Sir Peter Lely. Other artists represented include Artemisia, Gentileschi, Murillo, Raphael, Romney, Rubens, David Teniers (the younger), Sofonisba Angussola, Fra Bartolommeo, the Carracis, Claude de Lorraine, Francois Janet, Domenichino, Carlo Dolci, Mary Beale and Robert walker.

To update you on the Spencer family and Althorp the family home and resting place of Princess Diana go to the Althorp web site. 

When visiting Althorp, make sure you call in at the antiques shops in Northamptonshire, especially in Brackley. 

To see previous instalment of local history, on the Washington Family, follow this link.