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Mary Frances Baker 21 April 1848 to 30 December 1937
BAK00307
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The home page of the Farndale family website of which this section is a part |
The Home page of the Baker family part of the website |
The Baker Family directory |
Notes on the Baker family history |
The Baker Family Tree, which is the best way to search the family history |
Headlines of Mary Baker’s life are in brown.
Dates are in red.
Hyperlinks to other pages are in dark blue.
References and citations are in turquoise.
Context and local history are in purple.
1848
Mary Frances
Baker was the daughter of Rev Ralph B and Frances (nee Singer) Baker (FAR00302).
Mary was born in Dublin, Ireland on 21 April 1848.
1851 Census - Parsonage, Hilderstone, Stone, Staffordshire
Ralph Bourne Baker,
Head, Married, Male, 47, 1804, Perpetual curate of hilderstem
rural dean of stone magistrate of county of Stafford, Fenton, Staffordshire,
England
Frances Crofton, Baker,
Wife, Married, Female, 28, 1823, Clergyman’s wife, Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Mary Frances Baker, Daughter, Female, 2, 1849, Clergyman's
daughter, Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Sarah Adelaide Baker,
Daughter, Female, 0, 1851, Clergyman's daughter, Staffordshire, England
Jane Fisher, Servant,
Unmarried, Female, 35, 1816, Cook, Staffordshire, England
Hannah Hervey, Servant,
Unmarried, Female, 31, 1820, Housemaid, Staffordshire, England
Mary Tomlinson, Servant,
Unmarried , Female, 25, 1826, Nurse,
Derbyshire, England
Mary A Hasketh, Servant,
Unmarried, Female, 15, 1836, Under nurse, Staffordshire, England
1861 Census - Hasfield
Court, Hasfield, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire
Ralph Bourne Baker, Head, Male, 68, 1803, Staffordshire, England
Frances Crofton Baker, Wife, Female, 48, 1823, Ireland
Mary Frances Baker, Daughter, Female, 22, 1849, Ireland
Letitia Jane Dowthen Baker, Daughter,
Female, 19, 1852, Ireland
Sarah Hitchman, Sister,
Female, 60, 1811, Staffordshire, England
John Belmore, Servant, Male, 56, 1815, Devon, England
John George Westlake, Servant, Male, 16, 1855, Somerset, England
Louisa Field, Servant,
Female, 34, 1837, Somerset, England
Jane Welch, Servant, Female,
36, 1835, Somerset, England
Mary Heywood, Servant, Female, 33, 1838, Devon, England
Elizabeth Ann Redding,
Servant, Female, 18, 1853, Gloucestershire, England
1861 Census - 22, Porchester Square,
Paddington
Ralph B Baker, Head , Married, Male, 58, 1803, Clergyman church
England without cure of souls, Kenton, Staffordshire, England
Frances C Baker, Wife,
Married, Female, 38 , 1823, Ireland
Mary F Baker, Daughter, Female, 12,
1849, Scholar, Ireland
Letitia J D Baker,
Daughter, Female, 9, 1852, Scholar, Ireland
William M Baker, Son,
Male, 3, 1858, Hilderstone, Staffordshire, England
Jessie Goward, Servant, Unmarried, Female, 25, 1836,
Housemaid, Scotland
Sarah Death, Servant, Unmarried, Female, 22, 1839,
Cook, Kentish Town, Middlesex, England
Sarah Addison, Servant, Unmarried, Female, 22, 1839,
Nurse, Staffordshire, England
1871
1871 Census – Hasfield
Court, Hasfield, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire
Ralph Bourne Baker, Head, Male, 68, 1803, Staffordshire, England
Frances Crofton Baker, Wife, Female, 48, 1823, Ireland
Mary Frances Baker, Daughter, Female, 22, 1849, Ireland
Letitia Jane Dowthen Baker, Daughter, Female, 19, 1852, Ireland
Sarah Hitchman, Sister,
Female, 60, 1811 Staffordshire, England
John Belmore, Servant, Male, 56, 1815, Devon, England
John George, Westlake, Servant, Male, 16, 1855, Somerset, England
Louisa Field, Servant,
Female, 34, 1837, Somerset, England
Jane Welch, Servant, Female,
36, 1835, Somerset, England
Mary Heywood, Servant, Female, 33 ,
1838, Devon, England
Elizabeth Ann Redding,
Servant, Female, 18, 1853, Gloucestershire, England
1881
1881 Census – Hasfield
Court, Hasfield, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire
Frances Crofton Baker,
Head , Widow, Female, 57, 1824,
Householder, Ireland
Mary Frances Baker, Daughter, Single,
Female, 32 , 1849, Householder’s daughter,
Ireland
Letitia Jane Baker,
Daughter, Single, Female, 28, 1853, House holders
daughter, Ireland
William Meath Baker,
Son, Single, Male, 23, 1858, Landowner, b a
Stafford, Staffordshire, England
Alice Frances Crofton,
Visitor, Single, Female, 32, 1849, Ireland
Helen Julianna Jenkins,
Visitor, Single, Female, 36, 1845, Bond holder, Ireland
John Belmont, Servant, Widower, Male, 59, 1822,
Domestic servant butler, Marwood, Devon, England
Thomas Smith , Servant, Single, Male, 18, 1863, Domestic
servant footman, Aston, Gloucestershire, England
Elizabeth An Bedding, Servant, Single, Female, 28, 1853, Domestic
servant housemaid, Forthampton, Gloucestershire,
England
Laura Box, Servant, Single, Female , 27, 1854, Domestic servant cook,
Monmouthshire, Wales
Clara Louisa James,
Servant, Single, Female, 32, 1849, Domestic servant ladies
maid, Tipton, Staffordshire, England
Kate Lake, Servant,
Single, Female, 16, 1865, Domestic servant kitchen maid, Ashleworth,
Gloucestershire, England
Rose Emme Colebrook,
Servant, Single, Female, 19, 1862, Domestic servant house maid,
Carmarthenshire, Wales
Louisa Westlake, Servant, Married, Female, 39, 1842,
Domestic servant housekeeper, Somerset, England
1889
Mary Frances Baker had been a childhood friend of Caroline Alice
Roberts, who later married Edward Elgar in 1889.
1895
Mary married on 28 August 1895, Canon Alfred Penny (1845-1935), prebendary and Rural Dean of Lichfield, son of Rev.
Charles Joseph Penny, rector of Bubbenhall,
Warwickshire in Tewkesbury, probably as Hasfield
Court.
Dora Mary Powell, nee Penny, born 8 Feb 1874 was the daughter of
Rev Alfred Penny and Dora Mary Heale. Following the death of her mother, she
had lived at Highfield with her grandmother while her father served in
missionary work in the Melanesian and Solomon Islands. She rejoined her father
at Wolverhampton, where he had been appointed Rector in 1895.
As well as being stepmother of Dora Powell, Mary was the sister of
William Meath Baker, sister-in-law to Richard Baxter Townshend, and a close
friend of Isabell Fitton, all of whom would feature in Elgar's 'Enigma
Variations'. Through this group, Dora Penny became
acquainted with the Elgars and was to be characterised as 'Dorabella'
(Variation 10) of the Variations.
Mary and Alice and Edward Elgar
Mary’s brother, WMB was a close friend of the composer, Sir Edward
Elgar, and was one of the friends portrayed in Elgar's 'Enigma Variations' of
1899. He had been acquainted with the family of Edward Elgar’s future wife and
thus became acquainted with Edward Elgar himself. WMB’s mansion at Hasfield Court was about ten miles from a village called
Red-Marley d’Abitot where a friend of Mary Baker
lived. The friend was Caroline Alice Roberts, daughter of the late Major
General Sir Henry Gee—Roberts of Indian Mutiny and Sikh Wars fame.
Mary and Alice studied geology together with the local rector who
was known as ‘the Professor’ and they would often go fossil hunting on the
Severn.
Alice Roberts started to take music lessons from an Edward Elgar
who taught the violin at Worcester High School. Despite a lack of talent, she
tried hard at her lessons and the reason soon became apparent. She became
engaged to Edward Elgar. When they visited Hasfield
Court, Mary Baker found Edward rather shy. Alice Robert’s family, including two
rather severe aunts were horrified at the idea that Alice wanted to marry a
music teacher and she was cut of from various wills
and ostracised. Of course the snobbery was misplaced
since Sir Edward Elgar would become one of the country’s most famous composers!
However WMB
and Mary continued to welcome the Elgars and their friends to Hasfield. Mary Baker took them on holiday to Germany in
1892 and they visited Bayreuth, Heildelberg and the
Bavarian Highlands.
In 1895 Mary Baker married Rev Alfred Penny and then moved to
Wolverhampton. By his first marriage, Alfred had a daughter called Dora who
later wrote “Memories of a Variation” which includes many stories about
life at Hasfield.
Mary Baker became great friends with the Elgars. She described how
Edward Elgar would bring in hedgehogs from the woods at Hasfield
and feed them in the house. There is a story of him sitting in a strawberry bed
and wishing that someone would bring him champagne in a bedroom jug.
1896
When he visited the potteries in October 1896, the first
performance of Edward Elgar’s oratorio, King Olaf was performed at the Victoria
Hall, Hanley. The work had been commissioned for the Hanley Festival. It was
conducted by Elgar himself. After the performance, Elgar wrote “If ever I
may come to the Potteries again I may come among
friends.” WMB was in the audience and had already been a friend of Edward
Elgar for many years.
1898
R B Townshend, Dora Penny and WMB would be immortalised in
consequence of Edward Elgar’s visits to Hasfield. In
October 1898, Edward Elgar was at his piano one evening and his wife liked a
new theme and asked what it was. He replied, ‘nothing, but something might
be made of it.” He played some more and asked Alice who it was like. Alice
replied that “it is exactly the way WMB goes out of the room.”. She
added “surely you are doing something that has never been done before.”
This was the origin of the Enigma Variations, one of the greatest orchestral
works written by a British composer. Elgar dedicated the variations to ‘my
friends pictured within’.
He called the third variation “RBT” and his funny voice and his
bicycle bell can be heard in the music.
He called his fourth variation “WMB” and the variation is highly
energetic and includes a sharp bang of the door.
He called the tenth variation “Dorabella” after Dora Penny, which
was her nickname from Cosi Fan Tutte and the music parodies
her youthful stammer.
But for the Bakers and Hasfield Court,
the Enigma Variations would not have been what they were.
1937
Mary Frances Penny died in Lichfield on 30 December 1937, and probate was given on 15 March 1938 to Frances Ralph Baker
and Sir Morgan Singer KCB KCVO retired admiral RN (presumably her mother’s
brother). Effects £16,144 5s 3d.