169 - Ø ENGLISH SCHOOL (CIRCA 1805)

Ø ENGLISH SCHOOL (CIRCA 1805) The Reverend William, later Earl, Nelson; The Lady, later Countess, Sarah Nelson, circa 1805 Watercolour on ivory, framed. 2¾ x 2¼in. (7.3 x 5.3cm.); together with William Nelson's copy of The Heads of a Course of Lectures in Experimental Philosophy Read at Christ College by Anthony Shepherd, inscribed: W Nelson Xt: Col. Cambridge: May 1776; and a copy of Observations on no. CCXXI of the Quarterly Review, with reference to Admiral Lord Nelson, 12pp., Salisbury, [1862]; IDN: 4NW3KJDC and X6S883GM (4) Provenance: Miniatures: The Blair Collection, Blair House, Ayrshire, where incorrectly titled in pencil: “The Rev H. Nelson” and “Mrs Nelson Mother of the famous Admiral Nelson." William Nelson, first Earl Nelson, second Duke of Bronte (1757-1835) was the older brother and heir to Admiral Lord Nelson. After being ordained in 1781, Nelson pursued a short career as a naval chaplain under his brother in H.M.S. Boreas. He subsequently returned to be rector of Hilborough in Norfolk and in 1803, prebendary of Canterbury Cathedral. After Trafalgar, Nelson was created Earl Nelson and Viscount Merton enjoying the benefits and financial rewards of his late brother’s achievements. By grant of Parliament, he purchased Trafalgar Park in Hampshire. In 1786, Nelson married Sarah Yonge, with whom he had two children, Charlotte, later third Duchess of Bronte, and Horatio, later styled Viscount Trafalgar, who died young in 1808. Anxious for a male heir, after Sarah Nelson’s death in 1828 Nelson married again the much younger Hilare Barlow, but that marriage was childless. William Nelson is interred beside his brother in the crypt of St. Paul’s Cathedral. This is a very rare and previously unknown portrait of Nelson's brother and heir. Sarah Nelson, née Yonge, Countess Nelson, Duchess of Bronte (1749-1828), was the daughter of the Reverend Henry Yonge. In the years before Trafalgar, Sarah was close friends to Emma, Lady Hamilton to whom she entrusted her daughter Charlotte’s education. The women were estranged after Nelson’s death. This is a rare and possibly unique portrait of Lord Nelson's sister-in-law. Cites for man: 4NW3KJDC Cites for lady: