Anne Isabella Noel Byron, 11th Baroness Wentworth and Baroness Byron (née Milbanke; 17 May 1792–16 May 1860), known as Annabella and familiarly as Lady Byron, was an educational reformer and philanthropist who founded the first industrial school in England, besides being an ardent abolitionist. She married the poet George Gordon Byron, more commonly known as Lord Byron, and separated from him after less than a year, taking their daughter Ada Lovelace with her and refusing to hand her over despite laws at the time giving fathers sole custody of children.

Early Life

Lady Byron was born Anne Isabella Milbanke, the only child of Sir Ralph Milbanke, 6th Baronet, and his wife, the Hon. Judith Noel (1751-1822), sister of Thomas Noel, Viscount Wentworth. Her father’s only surviving sibling was Elizabeth Lamb, Viscountess Melbourne, the influential political hostess. Her mother’s only surviving sibling had no legitimate heirs, but he did have one son before his marriage, named after him, Thomas Noel; he became a clergyman. When Anne’s maternal uncle died, a few months after her marriage to Lord Byron, Lady Milbanke and her cousin Lord Scarsdale jointly inherited his estate. The family subsequently took the surname Noel over Milbanke.

Who was the wife of Lord Byron?

Annabella Milbanke married Byron in January 1815. Ada, born toward the end of their first turbulent year as a married couple, was only a few weeks old when Lady Byron removed both herself and her baby daughter from the marital home on Piccadilly Terrace in January 1816.

What is Lady Byron known for?

Anne Isabella Noel Byron, 11th Baroness Wentworth and Baroness Byron (née Milbanke; 17 May 1792–16 May 1860), nicknamed Annabella and commonly known as Lady Byron, was an educational reformer and philanthropist who established the first industrial school in England and was an active abolitionist.

Popularity

Byron’s popularity was soaring following the success of his work Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Annabella met him on many social occasions as he began a relationship with Lady Caroline Lamb, the wife of her cousin, William Lamb. However, Byron was drawn to her modesty and intellect, and in October 1812 he proposed marriage through her aunt, the well-connected political hostess Elizabeth Lamb, Viscountess Melbourne. In reply, she penned a synopsis of his character, and three days later rejected him. However, they were beset with a stubborn interest in each other.

Although well aware of Byron’s shortcomings, telling her mother, “He is a very bad, very good man,” she decided it was her religious obligation to support him and improve his behaviour. In August 1813, she contacted him in writing for the first time. The letters continued into the following year; some expressed assurances and comfort for him when opinion was against him, while others described her as having a very imperfect attachment towards him. By this time, he had accepted an invitation from Sir Ralph Milbanke to come to Seaham Hall, a family seat at County Durham, to get away from her pressures.

Marriage

When George Gordon Byron approached her a second time, in September 1814, she was willing to give in. Again, the union was private and by special license and took place at Seaham Hall in County Durham on January 2, 1815; the officiating clergyman, her cousin and illegitimate child of her uncle, Viscount Wentworth, was the Rev. Thomas Noel of Kirkby Mallory, and the union was at their London residence, Piccadilly Terrace.

Now Byron was as much in fiscal straits. He refused the sums tendered to him for his compositions since the business was an unworthy occupation for a gentleman and granted copyrights to those who assisted him. He was not having an easy time selling Newstead Abbey and Rochdale, with which to pay off the loan.

He turned his animosity and malice on his wife in the late summer of 1815. His mood was morbid, and he took to drink. To his half-sister, Augusta Leigh, he wrote that he had reason to suspect that his wife had unlocked his desk and searched it. In the latter half of that year, he had begun an affair with Susan Boyce, a London actress at Drury Lane Theatre, where he was a director.

Educational reformist and abolitionist

Lady Byron is on the far right of this painting of the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention. She committed herself to social causes, such as prison reform and the abolition of slavery. In furtherance of the latter, Lady Byron attended the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention, where she was one of the few women included in its commemorative painting. Lady Byron lived in Ealing between around 1822 and 1840 and established Ealing Grove School.

How did Lord Byron die?

The pathological conditions surrounding Byron’s death were the primary problem, namely malaria. Lord Byron died in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire at Messolonghi on 19 April 1824.

Later life

Annabella wrote to Byron during her first month away from him, affectionately addressing him as “dearest Duck.” Meanwhile, she and her parents consulted lawyers. Their attorney advised them to obtain a legal separation and sent a letter to Byron suggesting the separation. Augusta Leigh, who had stayed with Byron at Piccadilly Terrace since his wife left, intercepted the letter because she feared he would commit suicide if he knew of it.

She returned the letter to Kirkby Mallory and made known her view that the circumstances of marriage with the Byrons required a good deal more consideration than it had had up to now. A week later, though, a messenger dispatched back to the House sent the proposal to Lord Byron himself.

How Did Lady Byron Die?

Lady Byron died of breast cancer on 16 May 1860, the day before she was to turn 68. She was interred in Kensal Green Cemetery at Kensal Green in London. Before her death, she had related the history of her marriage to Byron to Harriet Beecher Stowe, who urged her to keep silent. In 1869, Stowe published the account given to her, the first time anyone had publicly hinted at an incestuous relationship between Byron and his half-sister.