Baroness (1814-1906)
A respected businesswoman and the public face of Coutts in the Victorian era, as well as helping manage the bank, Angela established the NSPCC and was closely involved with forming the RSPCA. The first woman Peer in her own right, she was also the first woman presented with the Freedom of the City of London and the first Burgess of Edinburgh, having also been the first woman to have the Freedom of that city.
In 1837 Angela became the wealthiest woman in England when she inherited her grandfather's fortune. Over the next few years she gave most of this money away to good causes. This included the Ragged Schools Union and the Temperance Society. Other projects she funded included a home for former prostitutes, soup kitchens, working-class housing schemes and the building of Anglican churches. Angela also established the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (1883) and the Westminster Technical Institute (1893). By the time she died in 1906 Angela Burdett-Coutts had given away nearly three million pounds.
Angela’s wealth provided funding for education and practical training, so that people gained useful skills and could then support themselves. Not only did she fund training schemes, Angela also secured Government contracts for the workers upon completion. In addition to her work in Britain, Angela provided practical help for people in many other countries, including Ireland, South Africa, Turkey, Bulgaria and Australia. In all her work Angela kept meticulous records, so that success was evaluated and thus she could become even more effective.
Angela was a great friend of Dickens and her interests were wide reaching; she was President of the British Beekeepers Association for almost 30 years, supported the British Horological Institute and also founded Columbia Road market. She was a patron of music, art and drama; commissioned the first housing ‘estate’ and many other buildings, including St Stephen’s church in Westminster.
She lived with her companion Hannah for many years and they were ‘socially recognised’ as a couple. After Hannah’s death, Angela caused a scandal by marrying her secretary William, a man less than half her age who changed his name to Burdett-Coutts. Edward VII is reported to have described her thus: "After my mother (Queen Victoria), the most remarkable woman in the kingdom”.
By the time she died in 1906 Angela had given away nearly three million pounds.
