Lady Mary Bennet was the fifth of eleven children born to the cricketing pioneer Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of Tankerville and his wife Emma Colebrook. The family home, from 1771, was Walton House, Walton-on-Thames. On 26 July 1831, Lady Mary became the second wife of Sir Charles Monck. She was a keen amateur artist. In 1924, Walter John Heathcote, a descendant of Lady Mary's sister Caroline, produced an album of her work, 'Views of Walton, M.E.B (M.E.M.)'.
This charming compilation includes drawings and watercolours of local views, Walton House and its gardens, and domestic interior scenes. Her favoured media were brown ink, graphite, lead white and watercolours on white, blue and tinted paper. Three of the watercolours may be attributable to John Varley (1778-1842), a founder member of the Old Watercolour Society in 1805, a prolific exhibitor and enthusiastic teacher. Lady Mary may have been one of his pupils. Some of Varley's works can be found at Tate Britain and in the Queen's Collection.
Browse a selection of objects in our collection relating to Lady Mary Bennet below.
