Emma Dent was an English antiquarian and collector who restored and developed Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire.
21 Facts About Emma Dent
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Emma Dent planned the layout of the gardens at Sudeley and oversaw their creation.
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Emma Dent was an authority on the locality, publishing a lengthy account and documenting antiquities.
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Emma Dent acquired many fine antiques, and amassed a large collection of autographs, as well as a world-class collection of lace and needlework.
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Emma Dent Brocklehurst was born in April 1823, one of four daughters and four sons of John Brocklehurst and Emma Dent Coare.
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Emma Dent spent most of her life restoring Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire, having married John Coucher Dent, the heir to the property, a romantic ruin purchased by his uncles in 1837.
7.
John and William Emma Dent had already completed a significant restoration.
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Emma Dent continued the Dent uncles' tradition of hosting large events at Sudeley, including in the Conservative interest: the Blue Ball of January 1854 attended by nearly 600 people celebrated a by-election victory, and at a historical party in January 1859 she and her husband entertained in the guise of Henry VIII and Katherine Parr.
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Emma Dent was an active correspondent and was known in her lifetime as an avid collector and antiquarian.
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Emma Dent's most lasting legacy is the gardens at Sudeley, a re-creation in historical style, in keeping with the remains of the castle.
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Emma Dent published a substantial account of the history of the locality and for seven years towards the end of her life a monthly local magazine.
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Emma Dent had the road from the town to the castle completely rebuilt in the 1890s.
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Emma Dent adopted the Tory politics of her husband's family, having grown up in a Liberal household.
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Emma Dent wrote circulars to the electorate, was a supporter of women's suffrage, and a member of the National Anti-Vivisection Society.
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Emma Dent was succeeded as Macclesfield's Liberal MP by her eldest brother William.
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On 16 September 1847, Emma married John Coucher Dent, a barrister.
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Emma Dent was due to inherit Sudeley Castle from his uncles, glove makers from Worcester, who had bought the property in a derelict state ten years previously.
18.
In 1857, Emma Dent suffered a miscarriage, but the couple had no children.
19.
John Dent died on 25 March 1885, leaving Sudeley to Emma's use in her lifetime.
20.
Emma Dent died on 22 February 1900 and is commemorated on two brass plaques in the chapel at Sudeley: one with her husband, the other a tribute from the rector and tenants.
21.
Emma Dent was cremated in England's first and only crematorium, at Woking, attended only by her nephew and successor at Sudeley, Harry Dent-Brocklehurst.