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LADY LLANOVER AND HER CIRCLE* by MAXWELL FRASER, M.A. ALTHOUGH the main source of information about the Llano vers is the correspondence of Lord and Lady Llanover,l and of Lady Llanover's mother, Mrs. Waddington, and her eldest sister, Frances de Bunsen,3 there are fascinating details in the diairies and letters of Lady Greenly of Titley Court4 in Herefordshire, who was the closest friend of Mrs. Waddington. They cover the period from 1806 until Lady Greenly's death in 1839. Even fuller and more intimate details are to be found in the letters and diaries of Elizabeth (Betha) Johnes of Dolau Cothi,5 which cover the period from 1853 until Lady Llanover's death in 1896. The traditional picture of Lady Llanover as an absolute autocrat, over-riding everyone, is so unattractive that if it were true it would be surprising that she had any friends at all, but like so many traditional beliefs it will not stand up to investigation. Her memory suffers from the fact that one of the best known descriptions of her in print is the highly biased account by Herbert M. Vaughan6 in The South Wales Squires. On his own showing he had never met her, but he chose to ridicule her and to An address given to the Society in London on 15 October 1968. Chairman: Dr. Ll. Wyn Griffith, C.B.E. 1 Benjamin Hall (1802-1867), created a baronet in 1838; raised to the peerage as Lord Llanover of Llanover and Abercarn in 1859. Augusta Waddington (1802-1896); married Benjamin Hall in 1823. 2Georgina Mary Ann Port (1771-1850); married Benjamin Waddington in 1789. "Frances Waddington (1791-1876); married Christian Carl Josias Bunsen (1791-1860) in 1817. He was created Baron Bunsen in 1864. 4 Elizabeth Brown Greenly (1771-1839); married Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin in 1811. Titley is 3 miles north-east of Kington, Herefordshire. 'Elizabeth (Betha) Johnes (1834-1937); married Sir James Hills in 1882. He assumed, by royal licence, the additional name and arms of Johnes the following year. Dolau Cothi is 91 miles north-west of Carmarthen, on the northern border of Carmarthenshire. 6 Herbert Millingchamp Vaughan, b. 1870, was the eldest son of John Vaughan of Llangoedmor, Cardiganshire; he died 31 July 1948. Herbert M. Vaughan, The South Wales Squires (Methuen, 1926) pp. 128-135.