Letter #11, Post #4

Thursday 14 June 2012
To Cassandra, from Steventon, "Mrs. Portman is not much admired in Dorsetshire; the good-natured world, as usual, extolled her beauty so highly, that all the neighbourhood have had the pleasure of being disappointed." - Jane Austen, Saturday 17-Sunday 18 November 1798

Mr. Edward-Berkeley Portman, born on 31 January 1771 in Bryanston, Dorset, England, married Lucy Whitby of Cresswell Hall, Cresswell, Stafforshire, England on 28 August 1798 at Bath. She was born about 1777 and died on 20 March 1812 in Bryanston. They had seven children. Mr. Portman remarried Mary Hulse on 16 March 1816 but they did not have any children. Mr. Portman died 19 January 1823 in Rome, Italy. He is buried in Bryanston.

This is a picture of Cresswell Hall c. 1880-1900. This was the family home of Lucy Whitby before she married Edward-Berekeley Portman. So pretty!
This picture is from this website which contains a little more information about this house.
http://www.staffspasttrack.org.uk/conditions.asp

No matter what the opinion of Lucy Whitby Portman's looks might have been it looks like Edward married into a pretty wealthy family, and as long as he was happy about it what else matters?

Of course, Edward's family was not in any need to be sure. They had two estates, one of which was Orchard Portman, Somerset. This property has it's own Wiki page!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portman_Square

                               Portman Square in 1813.

Of interest is that Sir Brooke Bridges, 3rd Bt., Edward Austen Knight's father-in-law, Elizabeth's father had a residence there.

This is Orchard Court in Portman's Square today!

I hope you had a good day today!
Terrie