Mary Leighton Collection

Mary Leighton, née Parker, 1799–1864: Third child of Thomas Netherton Parker (1771–1848) and his wife, Sarah. Her parents must have encouraged their children’s creative pursuits, as Mary and her elder brother John both became accomplished amateur artists. Their family was close friends of the Ladies of Llangollen, Eleanor Charlotte Barker (1739–1829) and Sarah Ponsonby (1755–1832), two upper-class Irish women who fled their families and established a home together in North Wales, at Plas Newydd, only fifteen miles from the Parker family estate, Sweeney Hall. Correspondence between Sarah Parker and Sarah Ponsonby, currently in the Denbighshire Record Office archives, reveals that Mary occasionally sent the ladies her drawings, many of which record the grounds of Plas Newydd and the surrounding countryside. The subjects of Mary’s drawings also include prominent Grand Tour sites, satirical treatments of contemporary fashions, and thoughtful portraits of friends and family. Notably, the only portrait from life of the Ladies of Llangollen is by Mary’s hand.

Mary remained an active amateur artist following her 1832 marriage to Baldwin Leighton, 7th Baronet (1805–1871), of Loton Hall. Together they had six children, who Mary actively encouraged in drawing and painting. The work of five of their children is represented in this archive.

Reverend John Parker, 1798–1860: Elder brother of Mary Leighton. He served as rector of Llanmerewig, Montgomeryshire, and, later, as vicar of Llanyblodwel, Shropshire. Although a clergyman, John was drawn to the history of North Wales and Shropshire, and he dedicated himself to documenting its architecture and landscape, both in image and verse. A Fellow of the Society of Antiquarians, John blended his antiquarian and religious interests in his drawings of Welsh rood screens and fonts, and in his alterations and restorations of the churches at Llanmerewig and Llanyblodwel. He further paid tribute to the architectural and natural wonders of North Wales in his book of poetry The Passengers, Containing the Celtic Annals (1831). Mary illustrated one of his poems with watercolors made after his drawings; this folio is now in the National Library of Wales.

Baldwyn Leighton, 8th Baronet, 1836–1914: Eldest son of Mary Leighton. Baldwyn became a Conservative Party politician yet retained a liberal bent, as evidenced by his tracts and speeches relating to depauperization, as well as his editorial work on a volume of letters and writings by philanthropist and Liberal Party politician, Edward Denison (1840–1870). Although he seems not to have shared the abiding antiquarian interests of other members of his family, he sketched regularly—albeit clumsily—throughout his youth. Many of his drawings were copies after illustrations, while others captured the swirl of social engagements during his early adulthood. Baldwyn shared his mother’s keen eye for the ridiculous, and his drawings of friends and acquaintances, including of his future wife, Eleanor Warren (1841–1914), often have a comedic tone.

Stanley Leighton, 1837–1901: Second son of Mary Leighton. As a Conservative Party politician, he served as M.P. of North Shropshire from 1876 until his death in 1901. He seemed less inclined toward politics than toward art and antiquarianism, and he was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquarians in 1880. Stanley also served as the Vice-President of the Shropshire Archaeological Society and published essays in its Transactions. He was deeply committed to recording the history and architecture of Shropshire, a commitment demonstrated by his book, Shropshire Houses Past & Present (1901), which he both wrote and illustrated. Stanley died shortly before the book was printed, and his wife, Jessie (née Williams-Wynn, d. 1939), provided the book’s postscript.

Frances Christina Leighton, d. 1930 Eldest daughter of Mary Leighton. Frances inherited her mother’s aptitude as an artist, and her drawings reveal an easy facility with watercolor. In 1862 she married Reverend Edward George Baldwin Childe (1818–1898), heir to Kyre Park, Worcestershire. Frances shared the antiquarian interests of her mother, uncle, and brother Stanley, and she edited or otherwise aided in the publication of registers and local histories of Shropshire and Worcestershire. Perhaps the best known of these publications is The Kyre Park Charters (Oxford, 1905), which offers a detailed history of the estate and the parishes of which it was part.

Isabella Leighton, d. 1911: Second daughter of Mary Leighton. In 1857 Isabella married the much older Conservative Party politician Beriah Botfield (1807–1863), whose fortune came from his family’s foundry and coalmines. He was a devoted art collector and bibliophile, even installing a printing press at his home, Norton Hall, in Northamptonshire. Isabella later married Liberal Party politician Alfred Seymour (1824–1888).

Charlotte Leighton, d. 1928: Third daughter of Mary Leighton. Charlotte married late in life to William Henry Adelbert Feilding (1836–1895), after whom the city of Feilding, North Island, New Zealand, is named. As a Director of the Emigrants’ and Colonists’ Aid Corporation, William oversaw the acquisition of land on which the original colony developed. Due to his work in emigration policy William traveled widely, as did Charlotte after their marriage, and her diary of an 1895 trip to Canada, New Zealand, and Singapore is in the UK National Archives. It was on this trip that William fell ill with cholera and died in Bangkok, where he was buried. Following his death, Charlotte compiled William’s memoirs, maintained a commonplace book of the Feilding family, and shepherded his posthumous reputation.