Hester stanhope biography of william hamilton
Hester Stanhope
| British aristocrat, socialite, traveler Date of Birth: Country: Great Britain |
Content:
- Biography of Lady Hester Stanhope
- Early Life
- Life in London and Role as William Pitt's Hostess
- Travels to the Middle East
- Adventures in the Middle East
- Legacy and Archaeological Excavations
Biography of Lady Hester Stanhope
Lady Hester Stanhope was a British aristocrat, socialite, traveler, and adventurer.
She was the granddaughter and niece of British prime ministers.
Biography of william shakespeare Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope, granddaughter of William Pitt and daughter of the third Earl of Stanhope, was the first person who ever intentionally excavated an ancient artifact in the Holy Land. In this sense, she might be considered the first Biblical archaeologist. But when Lady Hester unearthed a huge marble statue at Tell Ashkelon, she ordered that it be smashed to bits. And thereby hangs a tale. Later critics have always denied it any significance for the subsequent development of archaeological research.Her archaeological expedition in Ashkelon, undertaken in , is considered the first modern example of excavations in the Holy Land. Lady Hester Stanhope utilized medieval Italian documents during her research, which is seen as one of the earliest instances of field archaeologists turning to textual sources for their work.
Early Life
Esther Lucy Stanhope was born on March 12, She was the eldest child of Charles Stanhope, the 3rd Earl Stanhope, and his first wife, Lady Hester Pitt.
Esther was born at Chevening House, her father's estate in Kent, and lived there until the beginning of when she was sent to live with her grandmother, Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham, in Burton Pynsent. Her mother passed away in July , shortly after the birth of her third daughter.
Life in London and Role as William Pitt's Hostess
In August , Esther became the hostess at the home of her uncle, William Pitt the Younger, who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Pitt, who was never married, needed a hostess due to his active social life. Lady Hester sat at the head of the table, assisted her uncle in greeting his guests, and engaged in engaging conversations. Her beauty and conversational skills soon made her famous.
After Pitt retired in January , Lady Hester became his personal secretary. The United Kingdom rewarded her efforts with an annual pension of £1, after Pitt's death in January
Travels to the Middle East
After spending some time in London, Lady Hester moved to Wales and then, in February , left England permanently following the death of her only brother.
It is said that a romantic disappointment strengthened her resolve to embark on a long sea voyage. Among the people surrounding Lady Hester were her doctor and later biographer Charles Meryon, her maid Anne Fry, and Michael Bruce, who became her lover. Rumors suggest that when Lady Hester arrived in Athens, the poet Lord Byron jumped into the sea to greet her.
From Athens, they traveled to Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and planned to go to Cairo, which was recovering from the chaos caused by Napoleon's invasion of Egypt.
Hester stanhope biography of william Lady Hester Lucy Stanhope 12 March — 23 June was a British adventurer, writer, antiquarian, and one of the most famous travellers of her age. Her excavation of Ascalon in is considered the first to use modern archaeological principles, and her use of a medieval Italian document is described as "one of the earliest uses of textual sources by field archaeologists". She was born at her father's seat of Chevening and lived there until early in , when she was sent to live with her grandmother, Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham , at Burton Pynsent. In August , she moved into the home of her uncle, William Pitt the Younger , to manage his household and act as his hostess. In his position as British prime minister , Pitt, who was unmarried, needed help with political social life.However, their ship sank near Rhodes. Lady Hester and her companions survived but lost all their belongings.
Adventures in the Middle East
Lady Hester refused to wear a veil and instead chose to dress in men's clothing, including a robe and a turban. When the British frigate brought them to Cairo, Lady Hester bought a robe made of purple velvet, embroidered trousers, saddles, and a sword, and went to meet the Pasha in this attire.
She continued her journey through the Middle East, visiting Gibraltar, Malta, the Ionian Islands, Peloponnese, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and even Damascus, where she still refused to wear a veil.
Legacy and Archaeological Excavations
In Jerusalem, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was cleared of visitors and reopened in her honor.
Hester stanhope biography of william shakespeare Lady Hester Stanhope was a British aristocrat, socialite, traveler, and adventurer. She was the granddaughter and niece of British prime ministers. Her archaeological expedition in Ashkelon, undertaken in , is considered the first modern example of excavations in the Holy Land. Lady Hester Stanhope utilized medieval Italian documents during her research, which is seen as one of the earliest instances of field archaeologists turning to textual sources for their work. Esther Lucy Stanhope was born on March 12,A fortune teller predicted that Lady Hester would become the bride of a new messiah. She decided to visit Palmyra, even though the journey passed through a desert inhabited by potentially hostile Bedouins. Lady Hester dressed as a Bedouin and brought a caravan of 22 camels carrying her luggage. She was welcomed by Emir Mahannah el Fadel, and from then on, she became known as the "Queen Hester."
According to Charles Meryon, Lady Hester obtained a medieval Italian manuscript, a copy of records from a Syrian monastery.
According to this document, a huge treasure was hidden beneath the ruins of a mosque in the port city of Ashkelon, which had been in ruins for years. In , using this map, Lady Hester went to Ashkelon and convinced the authorities to allow her to conduct excavations, making it the first archaeological dig in Palestine.
Although the three million gold coins treasure was not found, workers uncovered a headless marble statue measuring 7 feet in height.
Hester stanhope biography of william blake
Aristocratic English traveler who pioneered Western access to remote areas of the Middle East and later settled in the region, performing humanitarian services and acquiring a reputation for wisdom and sanctity. Name variations: Lady Hester Stanhope. Left England for good ; became first European woman to enter Syrian city of Palmyra ; settled in Lebanon in s, becoming object of a romantic cult. In the spring of an extraordinary event occurred amidst the ancient ruins of Palmyra, deep in the Syrian desert. Accompanied by a Bedouin escort, an Englishwoman, Lady Hester Stanhope, resplendent in male Bedouin costume, arrived to receive the plaudits of the local population.Lady Hester ordered the statue to be broken into a thousand pieces and thrown into the sea.
Lady Hester settled near the Lebanese city of Sidon on the Mediterranean coast and lived a secluded life in abandoned monasteries. Her companions, Miss Williams and Dr. Meryon, stayed with her for some time, but Miss Williams passed away in , and Dr.
Meryon returned to England in Lady Hester's home was located eight miles from Sidon, on top of a hill, where she spent the rest of her life. She passed away on June 23,