Louisa Finch, Countess of Aylesford


Louisa Finch, Countess of Aylesford was an English naturalist and botanical illustrator who made studies and paintings of the plants, algae, and fungi from the Warwickshire area.

Life

She was born the eldest daughter of the politician Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath, and his wife, the former Lady Elizabeth Bentinck. In 1781 she married Heneage Finch, 4th Earl of Aylesford. She had thirteen children, including Heneage Finch, 5th Earl of Aylesford. She was widowed in 1812. In 1816, she leased Stanmore Park House, Stanmore, Middlesex: the site is now a housing estate, Lady Aylesford Avenue. She died at the age of 72 at the family home of Packington Hall.

Botany

Upon settling in Warwickshire, the Countess of Aylesford took to studying the region's flora. She produced over 2,800 botanical watercolour drawings and was a correspondent of botanists such as William Withering, William Thomas Bree, and George Don. Additionally, she documented about 30 first records of plants from Warwickshire.
She amassed an extensive collection of minerals, which was acquired by Henry Heuland after her death. Her plants are collected in Oxford University, and her minerals and manuscripts in the Natural History Museum.

Marriage and issue

Lady Louisa married Heneage Finch, 4th Earl of Aylesford, on 18 November 1781. They lived at Packington Hall near Meriden, Warwickshire and had thirteen children: