Penelope, Countess of Stamford

On 17 December 1865, Elizabeth Louisa Penelope Theobald was born in Chale, Isle of Wight. Her parents were Reverend Canon Charles Theobald and Caroline Maria Richards and she was the fifth (third daughter) of ten children. 

At the age of thirty, in April 1895, she married forty-five-year old William Grey who was the 9th Earl of Stamford. Their marriage certificate shows that William’s residence at the time of marriage was 2 Whitehall Court, and Penelope was living at Lasham Rectory, Alton. The two married at the Parish Church of St George, Hanover Square, London.

In 1896, Penelope gave birth to her son, Roger (later to become the 10th and final Earl of Stamford), and in 1899 she gave birth to Lady Jane Grey (later to become Lady Turnbull).

In 1905, Catherine, Lady Stamford (wife of the 7th Earl) passed away, leaving William to inherit Dunham Massey Hall.

Unfortunately and unexpectedly, William died in 1910, leaving Penelope to look after their two young children and manage an estate that, at the time, was undergoing extensive restoration work. Despite this emotional blow, the Countess found the strength and determination to manage the increased responsibility that suddenly fell upon her.

From August 1914, Penelope was the Vice President of the Altrincham Division of the British Red Cross. She was also at some point made President of Altrincham and District Hospital. In February 1917, Penelope offered Dunham Massey Hall as a hospital (to be known as Stamford Hospital), which, according to the Countess’ Voluntary Aid Detachment (V.A.D.) Card, was in use from April of that year until 1919.

Penelope successfully oversaw the conversion of the estate to a hospital, becoming its ‘commandant’ when it opened. Her daughter, Lady Jane Grey also contributed to the war effort through volunteering as a nurse. One of Lady Jane Grey’s V.A.D. cards shows that she volunteered at Stamford Hospital from April 1917 to August 1918 and at some point volunteered at Haigh Lawn Hospital.

The Countess was devoted to providing support to the hospital services and, as can be seen in one of her letters (a copy of which is pictured above), she implored others to support Altrincham Hospital. The letter reads:

The population in this large district has increased very much during recent years; and the demands on the services of our Hospital have grown proportionally. The Hospital meets a great need for a very wide area.

Patients come in considerable numbers from so far away as Knutsford [,] Lymm and Wilmslow.

In this little message I beg you to give your faithful support; especially many who have not quite realised that their help in this way is so urgently needed.

There must be many people who feel deep gratitude for the better health and recovery of those they love. They will surely wish to show their gratitude.

Penelope Stamford.

(Reports of the Altrincham Provident Dispensary and Hospital, 1930-1937)

A copy of this letter appears in a book of Annual Reports (1930-1937) of the ‘Altrincham Provident Dispensary and Hospital’, which the Trafford Local Studies Centre holds in its archives. This book includes a list of Officers of the Altrincham Provident Dispensary and Hospital, medical and surgical appointments, statistics, medical reports, general rules, list of subscriptions and donations, and photographs of the hospital and scenes from the wards.

On Wednesday 15 July, 1914, Penelope performed the re-opening of the Altrincham Provident Dispensary and Hospital, after it had undergone re-modelling so as to provide large well-ventilated wards with sanitary towers, private wards, house surgeon’s quarters and an electric lift. There was also an entirely new block containing the dispensary, accident rooms, out-patients’ department, steam laundry, mortuary and disinfecting plant.

On 31 August 1921, Penelope opened the Sale and Brooklands War Memorial Hospital. The inscription on the memorial plate reading: “THIS HOSPITAL WAS FOUNDED IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THIS DISTRICT WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN THE GREAT WAR”. The hospital was closed around 1992 and its current location is Charlton Drive, Sale, Trafford.

While she directed a lot of attention to the hospital services, Penelope remained family-oriented, despite the responsibilities she undertook as lady of the manor after her husband passed away. She kept a caring and close eye on her children as she wanted only the best for them. This included making strict judgements of her children’s prospective partners. For example, she did not approve of Lady Jane’s prospective husband but did eventually accept the union. Penelope also supported Roger throughout his life, so much so that he lived at Dunham with her until her death.

After the First World War and the subsequent closure of Stamford Hospital, Penelope continued to contribute to the local community by founding a branch of the Women’s Institute in Dunham village for which she was elected the first president.

Penelope died on 1 September 1959, aged 94.

Sources

Amazing Women by Rail, ‘Penelope Countess of Stamford’, <https://www.amazingwomenbyrail.org.uk/people/penelope-countess-of-stamford/>,[accessed 6 September 2021]

Ancestry Library Edition, <ancestrylibraryedition.co.uk > [free access for Trafford Library members when logging in to your library account via the library catalogue page]

British Red Cross, Countess of Stamford’s V.A.D. card, <https://vad.redcross.org.uk/en/Card?fname=penelope&sname=countess&id=197050&first=true&last=true>, [accessed 6 September 2021]

British Red Cross, Lady Jane Grey’s V.A.D. card, <https://vad.redcross.org.uk/Search?fname=jane&sname=grey>, [accessed 8 September 2021]

Imperial War Museum, ‘Sale and Brooklands War Memorial Hospital’, <https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/3188>, [accessed 6 September 2021]

Reports of the Altrincham Provident Dispensary and Hospital, 1930-1937. [*held in the Trafford Local Studies Archives]

The Altrincham Hospital and Provident Dispensary, A Sketch of the History of the Institution (1914). [*held in the Trafford Local Studies Archives]

The National Trust, National Trust Collections, ‘Elizabeth Louisa Penelope Theobald, Countess of Stamford (d.1959) and her two children, Roger Grey, later 10th Earl of Stamford (1896-1976) and Lady Jane Grey, later Lady Turnbull (1899-1991)’, <http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/932329>, [accessed 6 September 2021]

The National Trust, ‘Penelope, Lady Stamford…’, <https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/dunham-massey/features/penelope-lady-stamford>, [accessed 6 September 2021]