Lady Hopetoun

A pencilled inscription verso in a period hand identifies the sitter.

This is probably the wife and child of John Alexander Hope, 6th Earl of Hopetoun. He married Ethelred Ann Reynardson, daughter of C.T.S. Birch Reynardson, on 3 January 1860. She died on 15 October 1884.

According to her obituary in the Times (16 October 1884): ‘The Countess of Hopetoun died at Hopetoun-house, South Queensferry, yesterday afternoon. She caught a chill about ten days ago, but it was only on Sunday that serious consequences were first apprehended. Lady Hopetoun was the eldest daughter of Mr Charles Thomas Samuel Birch Reynardson, of Holywell-hall. Her husband, the late earl, died in 1872; the present earl was born in 1860. Much regret is felt in the Hopetoun estate and district at the death of the Countess, who was held in high esteem by her tenants, and who endeared herself to all classes by her kindly disposition and the interest she took in schemes of a benevolent nature. The Prince and Princess of Wales, it will be remembered, paid a visit to Hopetoun-house in August last.’