Harriott Douglas, Baroness Bloomfield

HARRIOTT DOUGLAS Baroness Bloomfield of Oakhampton and Redwood

Harriott, Lady Bloomfield (1776 - 1868) was the eldest daughter of Thomas Douglas and Harriott Lucke. [1]

She married Benjamin Bloomfield on 7 September 1797 and her married name became Bloomfield. [2]

The couple had four children together;

• Charlotte Louisa Bloomfield, born 7 July 1798, Christened 30 April 1805, Parish registers for St. Nicholas' Church, Brighton
• John Arthur Douglas, 2nd Baron Bloomfield, of Ciamhaltha, Tipperary
• Harriott Mary Ann, married on 5 June 1833 Colonel Thomas Henry Kingscote
• Georgina Mary-Amelia who married Henry Trench

In most biographies about Lord Bloomfield, Charlotte is not mentioned.

I found a record for Charlotte Louisa Bloomfield born in 1798. This date is after the Bloomfields married, and older than the other children. She was christened on the same day as her brother John, at Brighton (St Nicholas Church) in 1805. John wasn't born until 1802. I wonder where Bloomfield was serving from 1798 - 1802?

I also found two portraits of a young child named Hon. Charlotte Bloomfield in an auction catalogue containing a lot of Bloomfield art and possessions. See below for more information about the sale of the Bloomfield family home in 2016, containing many unclaimed artifacts.

Here's the final puzzle about Charlotte. In Lord Bloomfield's full obituary, found in the Gentleman's magazine, Charlotte IS mentioned. However it says "She was only 13 years old when she died in 1828." That puts her birthday in 1815! I have seen the handwritten birth record for Charlotte Louisa (b.1798), but was puzzled why the eldest daughter was at home and unmarried at 28 years. My only guess, knowing the habits of our English ancestors, is there was a child born not long after the couple married in 1797, who died after 1805. Another daughter was born much later, who was also called Charlotte and also tragically passed away at a young age. At this point, I don't know which child is portrayed in the paintings in the auction catalogue. [8]

Bloomfield was knighted on 1815, so Harriott was known as Lady Bloomfield from that date..

Some sources report that Harriott was the 'eldest daughter of the late John Douglas, Esq., Ranger of Hampton Court Park' , and ' that lady, who is Ranger of Hampton Court Park' . [1]

Harriott's husband is listed as: ranger, Hampton Court Park 1820-22 in "The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790-1820". [3] By 10 August 1822, Bloomfield had fallen out of favour with the King, (George IV of the UK) and soon after left England for a diplomatic posting in Jamaica, which he then exchanged for the post of Minister to Sweden. He served in the court of King Charles John XIV of Sweden at Stockholm, from 1823 to 1832.

More about the office of Ranger of Bushy Park

Bloomfield was ennobled in the peerage of Ireland as Lord Bloomfield on 11 May 1825. [6] Harriott was styled as Baroness Bloomfield of Oakhampton and Redwood on 14 May 1825. [2]

In 1828, Lord Bloomfield traveled to London from Sweden to be at his mother's death bed. Anne Charlotte Bloomfield died on the 1st Feb 1828. Tragically the Bloomfield's beloved daughter Charlotte died on the 13 March of that year, aged 13 years. Lord Bloomfield was present, as was recorded in 1884 by his daughter-in-law, Georgiana. It is interesting that Charlotte died "at the Stud House, Hampton Court," Although Bloomfield no longer held the honourable position of Ranger, the family still lived there in 1828.

Detail of Lord Bloomfield's later life is available online in his memoir: Memoir of Benjamin, Lord Bloomfield, G.C.B., G.C.H, Vol I and II, edited by Georgiana Liddell, Lady Bloomfield. Georgiana, is Baron Bloomfield's daughter-in-law, wife of John Arthur Douglas Bloomfield. The memoir contains a very short overview of Bloomfield's early life, his parent's marriage, which was not approved, and a few family stories told as vignettes. Most of the memoirs are posthumous compilations of writing in diaries and letters by Bloomfield after he was appointed as Minister to Sweden.

✞ Harriott died at the age of 92 years in London.

Harriott's father; Thomas Douglas

Harriott's father has been recorded as John Douglas throughout Bloomfield's biography information. It appears in his Parliamentary biography, which means it has been widely published incorrectly. However John Douglas never had a daughter called Harriott and proof of Harriott's relationship to Thomas is demonstrated by:

• Harriott's christening record [5]
• Thomas's will (a copy can be viewed on the Douglas Archives website) [1] and
• James Burke's Official Genealogical and Heraldic History (below). [4]
• Bloomfield is also noted in historical records as John Douglas' MP, brother-in-law. John Douglas is Harriott's brother. [3]

The earliest record I've found of this error is in Georgiana's memoir: Memoir of Benjamin, Lord Bloomfield, G.C.B., G.C.H, Vol I and II. Georgianna published the book in 1884. Lord Bloomfield himself had died 18 years beforehand, and Harriott died 14 years before the publishing date. John Arthur Douglas Bloomfield had also died in 1879, so the only direct members of the Bloomfield family were the two sisters, Georgina and Harriott, who are mentioned in the attributions. Somehow, Harriott's father was named as John Douglas.

Thomas Douglas was a wealthy landowner with estates in the counties of Cambridge, Cheshire, Flint, Lanark, Lincoln and Middlesex and cotton mills in Lancashire. Thomas and his brother, William, were business partners in the textile industry. William was renown as a cruel factory owner, also called Black Douglas because of his harsh treatment of pauper children. Thomas went on to reside at Grantham in Lincolnshire and served as High Sheriff of that County in 1776. [1]

Sources

1. The Douglas Archives; A collection of historical and genealogical records. [website - accessed 30 March 2019]
2. Lundy's Peerage - This website records Harriott's father as John Douglas. This is an error. Harriott's father was Thomas Douglas.
3. BLOOMFIELD, Benjamin (1768-1846) Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790-1820, ed. R. Thorne, 1986
4. A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, Enjoying Territorial Possessions Or High Official Rank: But Uninvested with Heritable Honours, Volume 4 By John Burke, published by Henry Colburn, 1838 - Great Britain
5. Christening record: Harriott Douglas: "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NGHW-W8Z : 11 February 2018, Harriott Douglas, 16 Dec 1776); citing GRANTHAM, LINCOLN, ENGLAND, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 432,509, 432,510.
6. Wikipedia - Benjamin Bloomfield, 1st Baron Bloomfield
7. Obituary - Lord Bloomfield The Gentleman's Magazine A. Dodd and A. Smith, 1846
8. Reminiscences of Court and Diplomatic Life (Vol I), 1883: record of Georgiana's career as a courtier and the wife of a diplomat.
9. Reminiscences of Court and Diplomatic Life (Vol II), 1883: record of Georgiana's career as a courtier and the wife of a diplomat.
10. Memoir of Benjamin, Lord Bloomfield, G.C.B., G.C.H, Vol I, edited by Georgiana, Lady Bloomfield, memoirs of her father-in-law (1884).
11. Memoir of Benjamin, Lord Bloomfield, G.C.B., G.C.H, Vol II,, edited by Georgiana, Lady Bloomfield, memoirs of her father-in-law (1884).

Loughton House in Moneygall, Co Offaly

This auction catalogue from 2016 holds lots of fabulous items from the Bloomfield, Kingscote and Trench families, including several paintings and drawings of Lord Bloomfield. I couldn't find much of Harriott - there's miniature of Harriott's eye, two paintings of Charlotte, and a possible painting of Lady Bloomfield which COULD be Harriott or the later Lady Bloomfield (Georgiana). There is even Lord Bloomfield's death mask!

Loughton House: The Entire Contents and Other Important Clients, published on Sep 11, 2016 for Sheppard's Irish Auction House

Loughton House, a 13-bedroom, 1,393sq m (15,000sq ft) Georgian pile on 82 acres outside the village of Moneygall, Co Offaly. ........ Loughton House was built in 1777 and its former owners included the 1st Baron Bloomfield, who helped to defeat the Irish rebels at Vinegar Hill; his son, the second Lord Bloomfield who served as a British ambassador to Russia in the 19th century; and Theodora Trench, who left behind cartes de visite listing her “town” residence as Onslow Square, South Kensington.

Michael Parsons, (Sept 24, 2016), Dr James Reilly on why he is selling his 'big house' in the country The Irish Times, [accessed 4 April 2019]

Michael Parsons, (Aug 26, 2016), The James Reilly auction: everything you need to know about the biggest sale of the year The Irish Times, [accessed 4 April 2019]

Loughton House was inherited by the Kingscote family.

Ciamaltha House

NUI Galway: Landed Estates Database, 1.2.7b2, 18 May 2011

Credit

This biography of Harriott, Baroness Bloomfield, was collated by me; Jenna Gray. She is my 4x great aunt, the sister of 3x great grandmother. I've enjoyed discovering so much about this fascinating family. Please feel free to contact me if you are interested in them, or are a descendant. It seems likely if there are descendants, they are from the Trench Family and/or the Kingscote family - descendants of the two sisters. There's also the Högquist family. John Arthur Douglas appears to have had two illegitimate children. I suspect they never lived in England.

I would love to find a portrait of Harriott. I'm sure more of them were made during her lifetime. The family were successful, and although they had trials, disappointments and hardships, they lived a fortunate life. So much so that apparently Lord Bloomfield found his good fortune troubling in later life, and became very religious, converting to Wesleyism. This may have been brought on by hardships endured during his childhood and younger years.

The family had a lot of memorabilia. Paintings, formal portraits, drawings, artwork and, for later generations - photos. There were boxes of photos of the Trench family listed at the auction, but no one seems to have claimed them. Georgiana Liddell, Lady Bloomfield died childless, so her line stops with her. All that Georgiana has left behind are the books she wrote, recording her diplomatic life, her memories, thoughts, a few photos and some artwork. Georgiana was a lifelong friend of the Queen Victoria. While she was appointed Lady in Waiting before she met the young Lord Bloomfield, what did she learn about keeping her trusted role, from her father-in-law, the 1st Lord Bloomfield, who for 27 years was one of the very closest companion and confident of King George IV?

As for Harriott, despite searching, I have found only found direct evidence of two portraits. A screengrab of a miniature of her eye and a chalk drawing which I think is Harriott. It's titled "Lady Bloomfield", and I think significantly different enough from the artwork of Georgiana for me to speculate that it is indeed a portrait of Harriott. If there are Kingscote descendants. they may still have a portrait of her.