CH58. Tablet with a dark surround above arch
In a vault under the entrance / to the chancel are deposited the remains of / three old inhabitants of this parish / THOMAS HUSSEY Esq. / of Galtrim in the county of Meath / died on the 1st of Aril 1824 / aged 79 years / Lady MARY HUSSEY his wife / died on the 25th of March 1840 / aged 85 years / Lady KATHERINE WALPOLE her sister / died on the 2nd of July 1831 / aged 81 years / They were the daughters of / HORATIO Earl of ORFORD / by RACHAEL daughter of WILLIAM / third Duke of Devonshire.
Hussey
This monument records the burial of “three old inhabitants of this parish” namely Thomas Hussey, his wife Lady Mary Hussey and her sister Lady Katherine Walpole. All three died in the first half of the 19th century.
All we know about Thomas Hussey is that he lived at the Rectory House (which stood where Bishopshalt School now stands.) We only know this because Rachel De Salis writes in her book that after Thomas Hussey died there was a bit of argument about who would have the right to sit in his pew.
The two sisters were grand-daughters of the third Duke of Devonshire, (on their mother’s side) whose home is Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. Their father was Horatio Walpole 1st Earl of Ortford, a whig politician and M.P. for King’s Lynn. He was also godfather to Horatio Lord Nelson who was named after him.
A portrait of their mother, Lady Rachel Cavendish can be seen online: Lady Rachel Cavendish, Countess of Orford (1727-1805) 1129191 | National Trust Collections
What a well connected family!!
Christine Bartlett