Anne Finch, Countess of Nottingham


Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea and Nottingham, formerly Anne Hatton, was daughter of Christopher Hatton, 1st Viscount Hatton and the second wife of Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, and the mother of Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea. Lady Nottingham was appointed the Lady of the Bedchamber to Mary II of England in 1691, and served in that position until the Queen's death in 1694.

Early life

Anne was the daughter of Christopher Hatton, 1st Viscount Hatton, and his wife, the former Lady Cecilia Tufton. During an explosion at Castle Cornet on 30 December 1672, her mother and grandmother were killed, while she alongside her young sisters were rescued from the rubbles by her father's black servant named James Chappell.
From her father's second marriage, she had two younger half-brothers, William Hatton, 2nd Viscount Hatton and Henry Hatton, 3rd Viscount Hatton.
Her father, the 1st Viscount Hatton was the son of Christopher Hatton, 1st Baron Hatton and the former Elizabeth Montagu.
Her mother, Lady Cecilia Tufton was the fourth daughter of John Tufton, 2nd Earl of Thanet and Lady Margaret Sackville. Anne was presumably named after her great grandmother Lady Anne Clifford who was alive when she was born.
While at court, some of the court ladies were shocked by Lady Nottingham's extreme show of religious gesture while praying in the royal chapel.

Personal life

On 29 December 1685, she was married to Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, who was more than twenty years her senior. The earl's first wife, the former Lady Essex Rich, who was her distant cousin died in childbirth in 1684, leaving one surviving daughter. From Anne's twenty-two pregnancies, the couple had at least thirteen surviving children, including:
  1. Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea, who was married twice, first to Lady Frances Feilding, and second to Mary Palmer, but had no sons.
  2. William Finch, who married Charlotte Fermor, and was the father of George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea.
  3. John Finch, who had one illegitimate daughter, whose presentation at court in 1747 created controversy.
  4. Henry Finch, whose illegitimate daughter, Charlotte, married Thomas Raikes, Governor of the Bank of England
  5. Edward Finch, who became a diplomat and married Anne Palmer. He later took the surname Finch-Hatton, and was the grandfather of George Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea.
  6. Essex Finch, who married Sir Roger Mostyn, 3rd Baronet of Mostyn, and had children include Essex, Duchess of Roxburghe.
  7. Lady Charlotte Finch, who married Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, and had Charlotte and Frances Seymour.
  8. Lady Isabella Finch, who never married but became first Lady of the Bedchamber to Princess Amelia, and was the owner of 44 Berkeley Square in Mayfair, London.
  9. Mary Finch, who married Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham, and had children include 2nd Marquess of Rockingham and Countess Fitzwilliam.
  10. Lady Henrietta Finch, who married William Fitzroy, 3rd Duke of Cleveland, and had no children
  11. Lady Elizabeth Finch, who married William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, and had no children
Lady Nottingham died on 26 September 1743.