Social Victorians/People/Burton

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Also Known As[edit | edit source]

  • Family name: Bass
  • Baron Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore
    • Michael Arthur Bass, 1st Baron Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore (29 November 1897 – 1 February 1909)[1]
  • Baroness Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore
    • Harriet Georgina Thornewill, 1st Baroness Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore ("with special remainder to his daughter"[1]) (29 November 1897 – 1 February 1909)
    • Nellie Lisa Bass, 2nd Baroness Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore (1 February 1909 – 28 May 1962)
  • Baronet Bass
    • Michael Arthur Bass, 1st Baron Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore ("with special remainder to his younger brother, Hamar"[1]) (17 May 1882 – 1 February 1909)

Acquaintances, Friends and Enemies[edit | edit source]

Organizations[edit | edit source]

Michael Arthur Bass, 1st Baron Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore[edit | edit source]

  • Harrow School[1]
  • Trinity College, Cambridge (B.A., 1859)[1]
  • Trinity College, Cambridge (M.A., 1863)[1]
  • Member of Parliament, Liberal, for Stafford (1865–1868)[1]
  • Member of Parliament, Liberal, for East Staffordshire (1868–1885)[1]
  • Member of Parliament, Liberal, for Staffordshire, Burton Division (1885–1886)[1]
  • South-East Railways, Deputy Chairman[1]
  • Chairman, Bass Brewery (1884–1909)[2]
  • With Arthur Edward Guiness, Baron Ardilaun and Samuel Charles Allsopp, 2nd Baron Hindlip of Hindlip, member of The Beerage[3]

Colonel James Evan Bruce Baillie of Dochfour[edit | edit source]

  • Major, Inverness-shire Battalion, Royal Horse Artillery[4]
  • Captain, 3rd Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers[4]
  • Member of Parliament, for Inverness-shire (1895–1900)[4]

Timeline[edit | edit source]

1869 October 28, Michael Arthur Bass and Harriet Georgina Thornewill married.

1879 February 22, Hamar Alfred Bass and Hon. Louisa Bagot married.[5]

1881 April 3, Sunday, the 1881 England Census lists the following people at at Tatenhill, Staffordshire: Michael T. Bass (81 years old), Eliza Jane Bass (68), Michael A. Bass (43), Harriett G. Bass (39), daughter Nelly Lisa Bass (7), Octavia J. Thornewill (38), Jane Thornewill (34), visitor Mary E. Prichard (33), visitor Henry (Baron) Waterearth (41), visitor Samuel C. Allsopp (39), visitor Georgina M. Allsopp (35), visitor Charles Allsopp (3), visitor Justinian H. E. Heathcote (37), visitor Eleanor Heathcote (35), visitor John Evans (52), and visitor Henry Evans (50), as well as 24 female and 15 male servants.[6]

1891 April 5, Sunday, the 1891 England Census lists the following people at Tatenhill, Staffordshire: Michael Arthur Baron Burton, Harriett G. Lady Burton, daughter Nelly Lisa Burton (17 years old), Eliza Jane Bass (Michael Burton's mother, 78), sister-in-law Octavia Jane Thornewill (48), sister-in-law Jane Thornewill (44), sister-in-law Arabella E. Moreton (47), nephew Maurice F. Reynolds Moreton (7), visitor Hon. Hally Burton G. Campbell (61), visitor Henry Evans (60), and boarder Rosa Eber Meyer (48), as well as 24 female and 30 male servants.[7]

1894 January 31,[8] Nellie Lisa Bass and James Evan Bruce Baillie of Dochfour married in a wedding "at Holy Trinity Church, Sloane Street, London, in the presence of a large and fashionable congregation."[9]:5, Col. 6a

1897 July 2, Friday, Lord and Lady Burton, James Evan Baillie of Dochfour and Nellie Baillie, 2nd Baroness Burton, as well as Mr. and Mrs. Hamar Bass and a Miss Jane Thornville attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House. (Harriet, 1st Baroness Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore is #334 on the list of people present at the ball; Michael Bass, 1st Baron Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore is #335; James Evan Bruce Baillie of Dochfour is #666; Nellie Lisa Baillie is #667; Hamar Bass is #438; Louisa Bass is #439; Miss Jane Thornewill or Thornville is #668.)

1897 November 29, Michael Arthur Bass was created Baron Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore: Gladstone,

in his short first Home Rule ministry, created Michael Bass, a rival brewer [to Samuel Charles Allsopp, 2nd Baron Hindlip and Guiness] Baron Burton ....[10]:199–200

1901 March 31, Sunday, the 1901 England census lists the following people at Rangemore Hall, Rangemore, Staffordshire: Lord Burton (63 years old), Harriet G. Burton (59), daughter Nellie L. Baillie (27), sister-in-law Jane Thornewill (54), and nephew Hubert M. C. Curtis (25), as well as 20 female and 10 male servants.[11]

1901 November 28, Hon. Louisa Bagot Bass and Reverend Bernard Day Douglas Shaw married.[5]

1932 July 25, Nellie Lisa Bass Ballie and William Eugene Melles married.[8]

Costumes at the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 Fancy-dress Ball[edit | edit source]

Lord and Lady Burton, probably Michael Arthur Bass, 1st Baron Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore, and Harriet Georgina Thornewill, 1st Baroness Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore, attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball. Their daughter, Nellie Lisa Baillie — Hon. Mrs. Baillie — also attended. Colonel James Evan Bruce Baillie of Dochfour is not mentioned in any account of the ball so far; was he present?

Old portrait of a woman in a red dress
Portrait of Madame de Tencin, attributed to Guynier

Lady Burton[edit | edit source]

Harriet Georgina Thornewill, 1st Baroness Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore was dressed as Madame de Tençin in the Quadrille of the Louis XV. and Louis XVI. Period.[12]

  • The Gentlewoman has a typo for Madame de Tençin, saying "Mme. de Fencie, Louis XV." and describing her costume as "yellow brocade petticoat, embroidered rubies and diamonds, trimmed real lace."[13]:p. 36, Col. 1c
  • According to the Pall Mall Gazette, "Lady Burton [was] in a Louis XV. gown of gold brocade, over white satin, veiled with embroidered lisse.[14]

A gossipy paragraph about Lady Burton appeared in the Lincolnshire Echo, appended to a small article that may have be reproduced from elsewhere: "A pretty story is told (perhaps invented) about Lady Burton, wife of the head of the great brewery house. She made up her mind to go to the ball dressed up as the Queen of Sheba. 'But,' she complained to a friend, 'there are in pictures so many Shebas. I don't know which to select.' 'You should go as Beer-Sheba,' said the friend, who, it need scarcely be added, was not of the male sex."[15]

Madame Claudine Guérin de Tencin, Baroness of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (27 April 1682 – 4 December 1749) was a writer and salonist in Paris.[16] One of her many lovers may have been Guillaume Dubois, later Archbishop of Cambrai. The painter of the portrait (right) is uncertain: if Jean Gueyner (1630-1707), then the painting is likely 17th century or very early 18th century, but the hair and dress suggest later, perhaps late 18th century.

Old portrait of a seated clergyman dressed in brilliant red and white
Portrait of Cardinal Guillaume Dubois, by Hyacinthe Rigaud

Lord Burton[edit | edit source]

Michael Arthur Bass, 1st Baron Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore was dressed as Cardinal Dubois in the Quadrille of the Louis XV. and Louis XVI. Period.[12]

  • "Lord Burton as Cardinal Dubois."[17]
  • "Lord Burton’s Cardinal Dubois" "completely eclipsed" Henry Irving's Cardinal Wolsey.[14]
  • "There were ecclesiastics galore, but Sir Henry lrving's Wolsey and Lord Burton's Cardinal Dubios threw all the others into the shade."[18]:p. 5, Col. 1
  • "Lord Burton was Cardinal Dubois in cloth soutane and Maltese lace surplice with state robe of cardinal moire, his ermine cape lined with the same bright colour."[19]:42, Col. 2b
  • "Lord Burton (Cardinal Dubois) made a study in cardinal. Soutane, cardinal fine cloth; surplice, real white Maltese lace; state robe, cardinal moiré silk; cape, ermine lined with cardinal moiré; blue moiré ribbon and order."[13]:p. 41, Col. 3a

Guillaume Dubois (6 September 1656 – 10 August 1723) was a cardinal-minister, amassing great power and wealth from his positions in the courts of Louis XIV and Louis XV, like the other cardinal-ministers Richelieu, Mazarin, and Fleury.[20]

Nellie Lisa Baillie and Colonel James Evan Bruce Baillie of Dochfour[edit | edit source]

Black-and-white photograph of a standing woman richly dressed in an historical costume with a veil and a closed fan
Hon. Mrs Nellie Baillie in costume as Mrs James Baillie, from the family group by Gainsborough. ©National Portrait Gallery, London.
Old painting of a family, including 4 children
James Baillie and family, c. 1784, by Thomas Gainsborough

Nellie Lisa Baillie is not mentioned in any press reports, but her portrait is in the commemorative album of portraits.[21]

Lafayette's portrait of "Nellie Lisa (née Bass), 2nd Baroness Burton when Hon. Mrs Baillie as Mrs James Baillie, from the family group by Gainsborough" in costume is photogravure #184 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery.[21] The printing on the portrait says, "The Hon. Mrs Baillie as Mrs James Baillie, from the family group by Gainsborough."[22]

The Gainsborough portrait of James Baillie and family (c. 1784) is in the Tate, Britain now, bequeathed in 1857 by Alexander Baillie to the National Gallery of British Art, Trafalgar Square, accessioned in 1868.[23] It apparently was on display in the National Gallery and popular. Mrs. James Baillie is Colin Campbell Baillie, named for her father.[23] The dress worn by Mrs. Nellie Baillie does not look like the dress worn by Colin Campbell Baillie in the portrait.

Mr. J. E. Baillie was dressed in a "military costume of the early part of this century," with "scarlet cloth coat, lined with blue, trimmed with gold braid; white vest and breeches."[13]:p. 36, Col. 3b

Old full-length portrait of a woman in a blue-and-white dress with a decorative shawl sitting outdoors
Portrait of Anne, Countess of Chesterfield, Gainsborough, 1777–78

Mr. and Mrs. Hamar Bass[edit | edit source]

Hamar Bass and Louisa Bass attended the ball.[17] The Gentlewoman describes Louisa Bass's costume in this way: "The Hon. Mrs. Hamar Bass (picture dress, copied from picture at Chesterfield House), in blue and white."[13]:p. 34, Col. 3a

The Gainsborough portrait (right) of Anne Thistlewayte, Countess of Chesterfield looks as if it could be the original for Louisa Bass's costume. Completed in 1777–78, the portrait of the Countess of Chesterfield was passed down through inheritance in the Stanhope family until the early 20th century, so it was likely to have hung in Chesterfield House, where Louisa Bass could have seen it.[24] It was exhibited in 1887 at the Royal Academy and in 1891 at the Royal House of Guelf.[24]

Jane Thornewill[edit | edit source]

Miss Jane Thornewill (or Miss Jane Thornville, see Note #2, below) (at 668) wore a "costume of the Georgian era," of "gold and heliotrope brocaded satin sacque and petticoat with cream lace, and silver sequins; train lined with heliotrope, trimmed with wallflowers and ostrich tips."[13]:p. 36, Col. 3b

Demographics[edit | edit source]

  • Nationality: British[2]

Residences[edit | edit source]

Nellie Lisa Bass and Colonel James Evan Bruce Baillie of Dochfour[edit | edit source]

  • Dochfour, Inverness-shire, Scotland[4]

Family[edit | edit source]

Bass Family[edit | edit source]

  • Michael Thomas Bass (6 July 1799 – 29 April 1884)[25]
  • Eliza Jane Arden ( – 7 August 1897)[26]
    1. Emily Frances Anne Bass ( – 29 November 1915)
    2. Michael Arthur Bass, 1st Baron Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore (12 November 1837 – 1 February 1909)
    3. Hamar Alfred Bass (30 July 1842 – 8 April 1898)
    4. Alice Jane Bass (1 August 1843 – 26 November 1919)


  • Michael Arthur Bass, 1st Baron Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore (12 November 1837 – 1 February 1909)[1]
  • Harriet Georgina Thornewill (1841 – 21 January 1931)[27]
  1. Nellie Lisa Bass, Baroness Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore (27 December 1873 – 28 May 1962)


  • Nellie Lisa Bass, Baroness Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore (27 December 1873 – 28 May 1962)[8]
  • Colonel James Evan Bruce Baillie of Dochfour ( – 6 May 1931)[4]
  1. Brigadier Hon. George Evan Michael Baillie (19 December 1894 – 6 June 1941)
  2. Major Hon. Arthur Malcolm Augustus Baillie (4 July 1896 – 14 February 1963)
  3. Hon. Victoria Frances Maud Bailli (14 March 1899 – 10 January 1931)
  • Major William Eugene Melles ( – 20 February 1953)[28]


  • Hamar Alfred Bass (30 July 1842 – 8 April 1898)[29]
  • Hon. Louisa Bagot ( – 18 May 1942)[5]
    1. Major Sir William Arthur Hamar Bass, 2nd Bt. (24 December 1879 – 1952)
    2. Sibell Lucia Bass ( – 1881)
    3. Alexander Michael Bass (10 February 1885 – 9 March 1891)
  • Reverend Bernard Day Douglas Shaw ( – 7 August 1922)[30]

Thornewill Family[edit | edit source]

  • Edward Thornewill (1801–1866)[31]
  • Mary Pearson ()[32]
    1. Elizabeth Mary Thornewill (1831–)
    2. Fanny Susan Thornewill (1832–)
    3. Thomas Thornewill (1834–1859)
    4. Edward John Thornewill (3 April 1836 – 22 March 1901)
    5. Caroline Louisa Thornewill (1837–)
    6. Sophia Thornewill (1838–1850)
    7. Harriet Georgina Thornewill (1841 – 21 January 1931)
    8. Octavia Jane Thornewill (1842–)
    9. Emily Thornewill (1844–)
    10. Jane Thornewill (1847 – 8 August 1943[33])

Notes and Questions[edit | edit source]

  1. Michael Arthur Bass, 1st Baron Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore, was Chairman of Bass Brewery. When Lady Burton's friend suggested as a joke that she go as Beer-Sheba, she was probably referring to Michael Arthur Bass's role in Bass Brewery.
  2. According to the Gentlewoman, a Miss Jane Thornville attended the ball,[13]:36, Col. 3b but no records of a likely Miss Jane Thornville (or Thorneville) exist; Miss Jane Thornewell (or Thornwell or Thornwill) would also be possible, but no likely candidate appears. Miss Jane Thornewill attended a number of social events about this time, especially associated with her extremely wealthy family, the Basses, a number of whom were at the ball as well, but she was invited to weddings and attended horse races on her own. The Northampton Mercury in 1899 says that Miss Jane Thorneville of Chesterfield House, Rangemore, sent a wreath for the funeral of Richard Christopher Naylor.[34] This article about Naylor's funeral solidifies the link between Miss Jane Thorneville and the Bass family, probably through Harriet Georgina Thornwill because she lived in Rangemore.
  3. Jane Thornewill appears to have left her effects — £27,631 19s. 5d., not counting "settled land" — to brewery manager Maurice Fitzhardings Reynolds Moreton and his wife Anna Margaretta Moreton.[33]

Footnotes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 "Michael Arthur Bass, 1st Baron Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Michael Bass, 1st Baron Burton". Wikipedia. 2021-04-03. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Bass,_1st_Baron_Burton&oldid=1015775322. 
  3. ↑ "Beerage". Wikipedia. 2021-08-12. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Beerage&oldid=1038361697.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beerage.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Colonel James Evan Bruce Baillie of Dochfour." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Hon. Louisa Bagot." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  6. ↑ Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1881. Class: RG11; Piece: 2767; Folio: 52; Page: 16; GSU roll: 1341662. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1881 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
  7. ↑ The National Archives of the UK (TNA); Kew, Surrey, England; Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891; Class: RG12; Piece: 2207; Folio: 12; Page: 17; GSU roll: 6097317. Ancestry.com. 1891 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Nellie Lisa Bass, Baroness Burton of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  9. ↑ "Marriage of Miss Bass and Mr. Baillie." Birmingham Daily Post 01 February 1894 Thursday: 5 [of 8], Cols. 6a–8c [of 8]. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000033/18940201/015/0005.
  10. ↑ Cannadine, David. The Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy. New York: Yale University Press, 1990.
  11. ↑ Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives, 1901. Class: RG13; Piece: 2641; Folio: 113; Page: 14. Ancestry.com. 1901 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Fancy Dress Ball at Devonshire House." Morning Post Saturday 3 July 1897: 7 [of 12], Col. 4a–8 Col. 2b. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000174/18970703/054/0007.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 “The Duchess of Devonshire’s Ball.” The Gentlewoman 10 July 1897 Saturday: 32–42 [of 76], Cols. 1a–3c [of 3]. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003340/18970710/155/0032.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 “The Devonshire House Ball. A Brilliant Gathering.” The Pall Mall Gazette 3 July 1897, Saturday: 7 [of 10], Col. 2a–3a. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000098/18970703/019/0007.
  15. ↑ "Echoes of the Day." Lincolnshire Echo 23 July 1897, Friday: 2 [of 4], Col. 5c. British Newspaper Archive http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000332/18970723/003/0002.
  16. ↑ "Claudine Guérin de Tencin". Wikipedia. 2021-09-23. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Claudine_Gu%C3%A9rin_de_Tencin&oldid=1046039775.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudine_Guérin_de_Tencin.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Ball at Devonshire House." The Times Saturday 3 July 1897: 12, Cols. 1a–4c The Times Digital Archive. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
  18. ↑ “The Duchess’s Costume Ball.” Westminster Gazette 03 July 1897 Saturday: 5 [of 8], Cols. 1a–3b [of 3]. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002947/18970703/035/0005.
  19. ↑ “Girls’ Gossip.” Truth 8 July 1897, Thursday: 41 [of 70], Col. 1b – 42, Col. 2c. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0002961/18970708/089/0041.
  20. ↑ "Guillaume Dubois". Wikipedia. 2021-11-23. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guillaume_Dubois&oldid=1056808106.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_Dubois.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Devonshire House Fancy Dress Ball (1897): photogravures by Walker & Boutall after various photographers." 1899. National Portrait Gallery https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait-list.php?set=515.
  22. ↑ "Hon. Mrs Baillie as Mrs James Baillie." Diamond Jubilee Fancy Dress Ball. National Portrait Gallery https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw158547/Nellie-Lisa-ne-Bass-2nd-Baroness-Burton-when-Hon-Mrs-Baillie-as-Mrs-James-Baillie-from-the-family-group-by-Gainsborough.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Tate. "'The Baillie Family', Thomas Gainsborough, c.1784". Tate. Retrieved 2021-12-10. https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/gainsborough-the-baillie-family-n00789.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Portrait of Anne, Countess of Chesterfield". Wikipedia. 2021-06-23. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Portrait_of_Anne,_Countess_of_Chesterfield&oldid=1029967228.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_of_Anne,_Countess_of_Chesterfield.
  25. ↑ "Michael Thomas Bass." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  26. ↑ "Eliza Jane Arden." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  27. ↑ "Harriet Georgina Thornewill." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  28. ↑ "Major William Eugene Melles." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  29. ↑ "Hamar Alfred Bass." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  30. ↑ "Reverend Bernard Day Douglas Shaw." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
  31. ↑ "Edward Thornewill." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-06-16. https://www.thepeerage.com/p2839.htm#i28385.
  32. ↑ "Mary Pearson." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-06-16. https://www.thepeerage.com/p69144.htm#i691440.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England. Ancestry.com. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
  34. ↑ "Death of Mr. R. C. Naylor. An Ex-Master of the Pytchley." Northampton Mercury 08 December 1899 Friday: 7 [of 8], Col. 7a–c [of 8]. British Newspaper Archivehttps://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000317/18991208/085/0007.
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