The accomplished Mrs Boscawen at Hatchlands Park

In 2018, we're celebrating the life and achievements of Frances Boscawen, Fanny to her friends, and the first ‘Lady of the House’. Fanny was a founding member of the Bluestocking Society, notable for giving women a public voice and cultural standing in a time where to be an educated woman was frowned upon. Throughout the year we’re embarking on a series of events, from cinema screenings to salon discussions, at the home of this remarkable pioneer.

A portrait of Fanny Boscawen
A portrait of Fanny Boscawen

Fanny Boscawen and her legacy 

Fanny Boscawen was the first ‘Lady of the House’ at Hatchlands and oversaw the construction of the mansion that you see today. An often overlooked founding member of the bluestockings, Fanny was well respected by her intellectual peers in fashionable society, male and female alike.

The Bluestockings depicted as the Characters of the Muses

The Bluestocking Society 

Fanny, along with Elizabeth Montagu and Elizabeth Vesey, was a founder member of the Bluestocking Society. A group of artists, writers and thinkers in the second half of the 18th century, they challenged society’s attitudes to women’s education and paved the way for the suffrage movement.

Suffragettes dressed in whitte marching.

Women and Power 

In 2018 we’re marking the 100 years since the passing of the Representation of the People Act. The long struggle for women’s suffrage and the debates it inspired across homes, workplaces and communities will be explored, both at Hatchlands and at hundreds of other special places across the country.

Events and exhibitions

The music room at Hatchlands Park

The Bluestocking Legacy: A Conversation 

Fanny Boscawen’s London home was a popular spot for the bluestockings’ salons, described as a ‘rendezvous of the wit and culture of the day’. We’re reinventing the salon for the 21st century. Join us for an evening of lively debate with successful women in the fields of history, art, literature and science.

Hatchlands Park, Surrey

The Bluestocking Club Presents: Beauty and the Beast 

As part of our celebration of ‘The Accomplished Mrs Boscawen’, the Bluestocking Club present a screening of Beauty and the Beast, the 2017 live action version of Disney's classic fairytale starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens.

The Bluestocking Club cinema event

The Bluestocking Club Presents: A Cock and Bull Story 

A screening of A Cock and Bull Story, the 2005 movie adaptation of the 1759 novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. Presented by the Bluestocking Club as part of our celebration of ‘The Accomplished Mrs Boscawen’.

From Tuesday 5 June, whenever our house is open, you’ll be able to visit the house and read Fanny's story set against the backdrop of our tenant’s collections. 

Discover works of art by, or featuring, some of Fanny’s friends and contemporaries. Read about her upbringing, uncover her influence on the popularity of Robert Adam and her role within the Bluestocking Society. Listen to a recording of her protégé Hannah More’s celebration of the bluestockings, ‘The Bas Bleu’. Share in Fanny's grief over the death of her beloved husband with a video installation created in partnership with the University of Brighton. Find yourself thrust into a representation of a Bluestocking salon, as created by our fantastic heritage volunteers from The Arts Society. 

Why not take a stroll along the walk that Fanny designed and wrote about. Take in some quotes from those letters and take a moment to relax in our recreation of her tea house.

" I look upon it as a fortunate omen to begin my New Year in Mrs. Boscawen’s company. She is in her conversation everything that can make the hours pass agreeably. I must be happier, and I should be better for her friendship."
- Elizabeth Montagu
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Family, friends and legacy

A letter from Fanny Boscawen to Hannah More

The unpublished bluestocking 

Kathleen Keown, researcher at the University of Oxford, discusses why Fanny has remained in the shadows. Unlike her more celebrated peers, she remained without literary achievements or publishing credits.

A portrait of Admiral Boscawen

Mrs Boscawen and the Admiral 

Edward and Frances Boscawen fell in love with Hatchlands Park, built the house you see today and made it a family home. They were instrumental in creating the family home and safe haven from urban life that you can see here today.

Mary Shelley by Richard Rothwell, exhibited 1840

From Wollstonecraft to Lovelace 

The efforts of Fanny and the bluestockings to progress the cause of women in the arts, opened the door to allow more women to publish work under their own names. These generations of pioneers continued to inspire their successors creating a far-reaching legacy.