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Copyright
Helen Forder
2004
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née Mary Granville (1700 - 1788)
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Mrs. Delany
(portrait by Opie)
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Mary Granville, eldest
daughter of Bernard Granville, (Lieut.-Governor of Hull and M.P. for
Camelford and Fowey),and his wife Mary (née Westcombe) was born in a small
country house in the village of Coulston, Wiltshire in the year 1700.
At the age of 17 she was married, against her inclinations, it is said, to
a Cornish squire, Alexander Pendarves of Roscrow, over forty years her
senior; he has been described as 'ugly, disagreeable and gouty'.
When he died in 1724, Mary was left with an income of hundreds, rather than
the expected thousands, of pounds per annum, due, according to one source,
to the will being unsigned; the bulk of the estate went to Mr. Pendarves'
niece.
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Following the period of
mourning, Mary began to develop her artistic skills. Young, attractive and
intelligent, the young widow lived with her uncle and aunt, Lord and Lady
Stanley for a while, but following Lady Stanley's death in 1730 she went to
live in Richmond with her friend Anne Donnellan. The two spent about 18
months in Ireland (1731 - 35) visiting Miss Donnellan's sister, Mrs.
Clayton, wife of the Bishop of Killala.
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It was during this extended
visit to Ireland that Mrs. Pendarves met Dean Swift and his friend Patrick
Delany. She made a great impression on Swift and became part of the group
of intellectuals that surrounded him.
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Dr. Delany became a widower
in 1740 and three years later he went to London where he proposed to Mary
Pendarves; they married that same year, 1743.
After one year spent in England they moved to Dr. Delany's residence in
Dublin and it was in Ireland that they spent a large part of their happy
married life.
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Following Patrick's death in
1768 Mary lived with her friend the Duchess of Portland, herself a widow.
It was the Duchess who introduced Mrs. Delany to Queen Charlotte, and she
became a firm favourite at court, where her talents, intellect and 'social
refinement' were much admired.
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The Duchess of Portland died
in 1785, and the King and Queen, concerned for the welfare of their old
friend, offered Mrs. Delany an annuity and a small house at Windsor. The
King and Queen were deprived of Mrs. Delany's 'amiable company' when she
died in 1788.
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