Description:
This lady is possibly the wife of Aubrey Beauclerk, 6th Duke of St Albans (1765-1816). Their family seat is Bestwood Park.
The park was used as a place of 'recreation' for King Charles II and his mistress Nell Gwyne. A local legend tells how Nell Gwyne tricked King Charles into giving her the whole of the Bestwood Estate. The king would always be up hours before Nell who would get up after lunch. Jokingly, the King promised Nell all the ground she could ride around before he got up. Unknown to King Charles, Nell arranged to ride out within minutes of his going to sleep and rode for miles around, claiming it all for their illegitimate son, the first Duke of St. Albans. And so in 1683 Charles II, by letters patent, granted Bestwood to his son Charles Beauclerk, first Duke of St. Albans.In subsequent years his ennobled family did much to improve it and make it worthy to rank as one of the stately homes of England.
The Victorian mansion, Bestwood Lodge, was built for the Duke of St Albans in 1862-5 by S S Teulon. The mansion was built in brick in the Gothic style, and was altered in 1867. In 1885 Bestwood Lodge was completed, under the direction of the 10th Duke of St Albans and further enlarged in 1896. Among royal visitors entertained by his Grace were Edward the Prince and Princess of Wales on the occasion of the opening of Nottingham Castle Museum in 1878.
In the park was erected a small church, in which lie the remains of the 10th Duchess, to whom there was a memorial, and a marble medallion carved by the Princess Louise.
The whole site is now used as a hotel centre.