Powys-Lybbe Forbears - Person Sheet
Powys-Lybbe Forbears - Person Sheet
NameLaura Lister 
[60, Ribblesdale article, vol X, p. 773, note (c)], [60, Lovat article, vol VIII, p.199], [3, Poss. her birth, Q1 of 1892, Marylebone dist, v. 1a, p. 543], [62, 107th edn of 2003, Lovat, vol II, p. 2415]
[60, Ribblesdale article, vol X, p. 773, note (c)], [60, Lovat article, vol VIII, p.199], [3, Poss. her birth, Q1 of 1892, Marylebone dist, v. 1a, p. 543], [62, 107th edn of 2003, Lovat, vol II, p. 2415]Birth12 Jan 1892, Poss Marylebone district, London
Death24 Mar 1965
General2nd dau. and co-heir.
FatherMajor Thomas Lister Lord Ribblesdale (1854-1925)
MotherCharlotte Monckton Tennant (-1911)
Spouses
Marriage15 Oct 1910, Brompton Oratory, London [60, Lovat article, vol VIII, pp. 198-9]
ChildrenSimon Christopher Joseph (1911-1995)
Magdalen Mary Charlotte (1913-1969)
Hugh Charles Patrick Joseph (1918-1984)
Veronica Nell (1920-)
Mary Diana Rose (1926-1940)
Notes for Laura Lister
A biography by Dorothy Taylor:
NOTE: She says that Laura’s wedding was at Farm Street (Mayfair) cut Complete Peerage reports it as Brompton Oratory (Knightsbridge). There may be other discrepancies.
Laura Lister (Lady Lovat)1892-1965
Fourth child of Lord Ribblesdale and his wife Charlotte, Laura spent her childhood at Gisburne Park, along with her brother Charles, five years her senior, and her sister Diana who was two years younger. Charles left to pursue his education at Eton, and later Balliol College, Oxford, so the two little girls ("the Dolls") grew up very close to each other and this continued throughout their lives. As their mother's health was always a source of great anxiety, they were joined in country activities by their father, elder sister Barbara and enjoyed visits from their grandmother, Emma, Lady Ribblesdale. During a visit in 1899 she wrote in her diary: "Laura has the making of a lovely grand character, expressed by a beautiful countenance which will grow with her, and she now has a lovely face". This we can see reflected in Sargent's portrait of her in 1896.
In the autumn of 1906, Diana and Laura were taken by their mother to Munich for their education and were joined at Christmas by Lord Ribblesdale and Charles, before all returning home together to Gisburn. Introduced into London society circles, Laura became engaged in 1910 to Simon, Lord Lovat, of Clan Fraser. A grand gentleman of ancient Scottisb lineage, and a Roman Catholic, Laura's engagement created much interest in Gisburn, as she was taken to Scotland to visit his home, Beaufort Castle, and it was assumed that she would join his church. During this visit, she wrote to her grandmother: "I must write and tell you about my future home. An enormous red sandstone house...impressive and grand...in a wonderful position with the lovely river Beauly below it and a glorious view of distant moors and woods beyond...Simon is worshipped and adored up here. The people are all very nice, many only speaking Gaelic which sounds strange and remote. Simon has given me some lovely old family jewels...two lovely ear-rings, a pendant and a necklace." Twenty years her senior, Lord Lovat had raised his own regiment of Lovat Scouts to fight the Boer War and he returned with a distinguished war record.
The wedding was fixed for 15th October 1910, but her grandmother was disappointed not to be well enough to attend. She writes "It is difficult to realize that she is no longer in our church...yet surely the difference is not sufficient to separate her from us. May she come into the gradual teaching and guidance of what is pure, true and of good report."
For a lady who felt deeply about religion, this shows great love and affection and a very unprejudiced view. The wedding took place at London's Farm St Church, and Laura (aged 18) was driven there, with Lord Ribblesdale, in an open carriage, as a motor was considered out of place for the occasion.
The reception was held at 10 Downing St, lent by her Aunt Margot Asquith and the Prime Minister. Then away she went to Beaufort Castle! Sadly, the following year her mother died in May and her grandmother in July, just a few days before the birth of her great-grandson, Simon Lovat.
Two of her five children were born at the outbreak of the First World War, which had such a devastating effect on her generation. Her sister Diana's husband, and her husbands brother, both died in the first few weeks of the war. Aged 43 in 1914, Lord Lovat was at first not permitted to join the fighting and Laura felt guilty that she seemed to be doing so little. But this ended when her husband, by dropping rank from Brigadier to Colonel, was (delighted) to go to the front, and she wrote "Simon leaves in a week...I feel despair. But in this cruel hell of a war no-one must cry before they are hurt." Without him, Laura, melancholy, rented houses in the South for herself, children and staff, to be more accessible than in the far North for reunions on his leaves. "One wonders how one can bear one's own husband going out, when everybody we know seems to have been killed." Her brother Charles died in the Dardanelles and is buried on the Aegean Island.
But Simon Lovat survived and life was resumed at Beaufort Castle. Laura, a dazzling beauty, tall and graceful, was a great benefactress of the Scottish Highlands, introduced a district nursing scheme, and was a leading light of Roman Catholicism. Renowned for her taste in homes and gardens, passionate by nature, she talked and laughed a lot, and pursued her intellectual interests. But Lord Lovat died at a race-meeting in 1933 and their youngest child, Rose died in her early teens in 1940. Laura sank into depression and became a semi-invalid, living in an air of ruined grandeur, but respected and admired by those who served her. She died in 1965.
Dorothy Taylor.
_________________________________________
NOTE: She says that Laura’s wedding was at Farm Street (Mayfair) cut Complete Peerage reports it as Brompton Oratory (Knightsbridge). There may be other discrepancies.
Laura Lister (Lady Lovat)1892-1965
Fourth child of Lord Ribblesdale and his wife Charlotte, Laura spent her childhood at Gisburne Park, along with her brother Charles, five years her senior, and her sister Diana who was two years younger. Charles left to pursue his education at Eton, and later Balliol College, Oxford, so the two little girls ("the Dolls") grew up very close to each other and this continued throughout their lives. As their mother's health was always a source of great anxiety, they were joined in country activities by their father, elder sister Barbara and enjoyed visits from their grandmother, Emma, Lady Ribblesdale. During a visit in 1899 she wrote in her diary: "Laura has the making of a lovely grand character, expressed by a beautiful countenance which will grow with her, and she now has a lovely face". This we can see reflected in Sargent's portrait of her in 1896.
In the autumn of 1906, Diana and Laura were taken by their mother to Munich for their education and were joined at Christmas by Lord Ribblesdale and Charles, before all returning home together to Gisburn. Introduced into London society circles, Laura became engaged in 1910 to Simon, Lord Lovat, of Clan Fraser. A grand gentleman of ancient Scottisb lineage, and a Roman Catholic, Laura's engagement created much interest in Gisburn, as she was taken to Scotland to visit his home, Beaufort Castle, and it was assumed that she would join his church. During this visit, she wrote to her grandmother: "I must write and tell you about my future home. An enormous red sandstone house...impressive and grand...in a wonderful position with the lovely river Beauly below it and a glorious view of distant moors and woods beyond...Simon is worshipped and adored up here. The people are all very nice, many only speaking Gaelic which sounds strange and remote. Simon has given me some lovely old family jewels...two lovely ear-rings, a pendant and a necklace." Twenty years her senior, Lord Lovat had raised his own regiment of Lovat Scouts to fight the Boer War and he returned with a distinguished war record.
The wedding was fixed for 15th October 1910, but her grandmother was disappointed not to be well enough to attend. She writes "It is difficult to realize that she is no longer in our church...yet surely the difference is not sufficient to separate her from us. May she come into the gradual teaching and guidance of what is pure, true and of good report."
For a lady who felt deeply about religion, this shows great love and affection and a very unprejudiced view. The wedding took place at London's Farm St Church, and Laura (aged 18) was driven there, with Lord Ribblesdale, in an open carriage, as a motor was considered out of place for the occasion.
The reception was held at 10 Downing St, lent by her Aunt Margot Asquith and the Prime Minister. Then away she went to Beaufort Castle! Sadly, the following year her mother died in May and her grandmother in July, just a few days before the birth of her great-grandson, Simon Lovat.
Two of her five children were born at the outbreak of the First World War, which had such a devastating effect on her generation. Her sister Diana's husband, and her husbands brother, both died in the first few weeks of the war. Aged 43 in 1914, Lord Lovat was at first not permitted to join the fighting and Laura felt guilty that she seemed to be doing so little. But this ended when her husband, by dropping rank from Brigadier to Colonel, was (delighted) to go to the front, and she wrote "Simon leaves in a week...I feel despair. But in this cruel hell of a war no-one must cry before they are hurt." Without him, Laura, melancholy, rented houses in the South for herself, children and staff, to be more accessible than in the far North for reunions on his leaves. "One wonders how one can bear one's own husband going out, when everybody we know seems to have been killed." Her brother Charles died in the Dardanelles and is buried on the Aegean Island.
But Simon Lovat survived and life was resumed at Beaufort Castle. Laura, a dazzling beauty, tall and graceful, was a great benefactress of the Scottish Highlands, introduced a district nursing scheme, and was a leading light of Roman Catholicism. Renowned for her taste in homes and gardens, passionate by nature, she talked and laughed a lot, and pursued her intellectual interests. But Lord Lovat died at a race-meeting in 1933 and their youngest child, Rose died in her early teens in 1940. Laura sank into depression and became a semi-invalid, living in an air of ruined grandeur, but respected and admired by those who served her. She died in 1965.
Dorothy Taylor.
_________________________________________