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Margaret Smith, Countess Lucan


(b. 1740, Devonshire, England – d. Feb. 27, 1814, St James's, Westminster, London )

Gender: F

Margaret Smith or Smyth (1740-1814) was the younger daughter of James Smith, MP for Canons Leigh in Devon, and his wife Grace. In 1760 she married Sir Charles Bingham (1735-1799), who became Baron Lucan in 1766 and 1st Earl of Lucan in 1795, and they had five children. Her husband was the second son of Sir John Bingham, 5th Baronet, and his wife Anne Vesey (1707-1761), daughter of Agmondesham Vesey (1674-1733) and his first wife Charlotte Sarsfield, and half-sister of Agmondesham Vesey (1708-1785), husband of Elizabeth Vesey. Margaret was a painter of miniatures, still lifes and landscapes; her art was admired by Horace Walpole. She supplied miniatures and illuminations for a five-volume edition of Shakespeare’s plays for the library at Althorp (her daughter Lavinia married George, 2nd Earl Spencer), which took sixteen years to complete.

Also known as:

  • Countess Lucan
  • Margaret Smith


Mentioned in 5 letters


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Please note that all dates and location information are provisional, initially taken from the library and archive catalogues. As our section editors continue to work through the material we will update our database and the changes will be reflected across the edition.

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