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Women Of Norfolk Mary Cecil
Women Of Norfolk
Mary Cecil (1857 - 1919)
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Born Mary Rothes Margaret TyssenAmhurst on April 25th 1857 in Didlington Hall (near Swaffham), Norfolk, she was commonly known as ‘May’ among family.
Her surname was changed to Tyssen-Amherst in 1877 (reasons for changing the ‘u’ in ‘Amhurst’ to an ‘e’ are unknown, it could be to adhere to spelling errors of their name over the years). Her father was William Tyssen-Amherst and her mother was Margaret Susan Mitford.
Mary’s family came from wealthy Flemish traders who had come to own property in Hackney (London) and Norfolk. Her father was a collector of books and artefacts, especially of Egyptian origin - this was a huge influence on the young Mary. The collection of antiquities was (at one time) one of the largest in England. Mary’s mother, Margaret, was a talented wood carver (with many of her works decorating Didlington Hall) and an amateur surgeon; noted for her skills in needlework.
One of seven daughters, Mary was homeschooled by tutors on the guidance of her mother and father. She was taught in the arts (painting, music), domestic arts (coined ‘culture of domesticity’, covering cookery, needlework etc.) and also horsemanship. On the persistence of her parents, she was also taught the importance of childhood education, caring for the poor and the significance in establishing institutions that fostered the health and welfare of society.
Influenced by her father’s collection, Mary became interested by Ancient Egypt at a young age and would spend most of her time within the museum that her father had built within the family estate. In 1871, Margaret and William took the young Mary to Egypt (which had recently opened up to tourism). However, they did not travel commercially and instead went by private car of Isma’il Pasha (Khedive ‘Sutlan’ of Egypt and Sudan from 1863 to 1879). While in Egypt, they stayed at the Shepheard’s Hotel in Cairo and made trips to the pyramids, Saqqara (an ancient burial ground) and Suez. During this trip, Mary began to sketch local birds, camped in the desert and toured the palace of Inji Hanim (Isma’il Pasha’s aunt through marriage to his uncle, Sa’id Pasha). In 1885, Mary went on to marry Colonel Lord William Cecil, the son of the 3rd Marquess of Exeter and together had four sons: William Cecil (1886-1914, killed at the Battle of the Aisne), Thomas James Cecil (18871955), John Francis Amherst Cecil (1890-1954) and Henry Mitford Cecil (1893-1962).
In 1892, Mary’s father, William, was appointed the 1st Baron Amherst of Hackney for his membership of the House of Commons, which he served on multiple occasions. However, William had no male heirs and so a special remainder was granted allowing Mary to success him as 2nd Baron Amherst of Hackney (styled Lady William Cecil, Baroness Amherst of Hackney). This remainder would allow the title of Baron to be passed onto any male heir that Mary would produce in the future. Some time after, William became in debt when he was defrauded by his solicitor and was forced to sell his vast collection and a large portion of estate to settle
the debts - he would die suddenly seventeen years later (in 1909), with Mary inheriting the title of Baroness.
In 1901, on the encouragement by Howard Carter (who discovered the Tomb of Tutankhamun), Mary began an excavation at Qubbet el-Hawa near Aswan in the south of Egypt - this was quite unusual for a woman (at the time) to not only pursue a passion in archaeology but also to participate in a dig. While exploring the west bank of the Nile, she believed she had come across an ancient cemetery and contacted Carter to evaluate the site. Carter, who was one of the European Chief Inspectors and in charge of excavations in the Nile Valley, arranged permits to dig and supplied an inspector and workers for Mary. They discovered a termiteinfested necropolis containing a number of coffins. It was documented that a coffin of an unknown male disintegrated when touched while one of an unknown female was successfully transported out of the tomb intact. Mary kept detailed diaries of the expedition in which uncovered an estimated thirty-two tombs - the site of these were known as the ‘Cecil Tombs’ and later coined ‘Tombs of the Nobles’. It was reported that, from the tombs Mary uncovered, Carter took a lot of the best-preserved artefacts for himself.
On her return to England, Mary published her findings in the ‘Annales du Service des Antiquites de l’Egypte’ in 1903 with the title “Report on the Work Done at Aswan”. In the same year, Mary was invited by Princess Henry of Battenburg to return to Egypt to continue her excavation, though this did not reveal substantial findings. During this time, the discovery of a papyrus (a form of thick paper) engagement contract was discovered on Elephantine Island and both Mary and Carter worked hard to have the contract published. The following year, Mary published the book “Bird Notes from the Nile” with all the proceeds being donated to St. Mary’s Church in Scarborough, North Yorkshire - it was from this book that inspired the naming of the black crowned crane (balearica pavonia ceciliae - the ‘ceciliae’ deriving from her married name ‘Cecil’). Mary continued her charitable work with the Children’s Invalid Aid Fund, the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem (where she would serve as Lady Justice) and then became one of only two women directors at the London’s Queen’s Hospital for Children.
In 1906, Mary went to serve as Lady-in-waiting to the recently appointed Queen of Spain, Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg (daughter of Princess Henry, Mary’s personal friend) and was then requested to travel to China, on the invitation of Empress Dowager Cixi, to help organise schools (focusing on the teaching of English) for Chinese girls. Once the project was finalised, Mary returned to Queen Victoria (of Spain) to continue her role as Lady-in-waiting. On the outbreak of World War I, Mary had returned to England and started to hold fundraisers in the hopes to raise money for the war effort - this was done through exhibiting her paintings at the Dudley Galleries and holding events at the Royal School of Needlework, based at Hampton Court Palace (Surrey). Unfortunately, Mary’s eldest son (William) was killed at the Battle of the Aisne on September 16th 1914. On his death, he held the rank of Captain. He was buried at the Soupir Communal Cemetery in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. In 1919, Mary was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her charitable work and the work she did in sanitation and health. In November 1919, Mary’s mother (Margaret) passed away, and a month later, on December 21st 1919 Mary herself passed away in London at the age of sixty-two.
