Elizabeth Rawdon, Countess of Moira

Elizabeth Rawdon
Countess of Moira
Baroness Hastings of Hastings
Elizabeth Hastings, by Joshua Reynolds
Reign1789–1808
BornElizabeth Hastings
(1731-03-21)21 March 1731
Donington Park, Leicestershire
Died11 April 1808(1808-04-11) (aged 77)
Moira, County Down, Ireland (Now Northern Ireland)
Spouse(s)John Rawdon, 1st Earl of Moira
Issue5, including The 1st Marquess of Hastings
FatherTheophilus Hastings, 9th Earl of Huntingdon
MotherSelina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon

Elizabeth Rawdon, Countess of Moira in the Peerage of Ireland (23 March 1731 – 11 April 1808) was a political hostess, literary patron and antiquarian. She was born at Donington Park, Leicestershire, England and died at Moira, County Down, Ireland.[1] While declaring herself a "firm aristocrat", in Ireland she included in her circle men and women committed to the republican cause of the United Irishmen.

Born as Elizabeth Hastings, she was the daughter of Theophilus Hastings, 9th Earl of Huntingdon and Selina Shirley, founder of the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion religious denomination. Elizabeth was 16th Baroness Botreaux[2] and 15th Baroness Hungerford,[3] inheriting the titles on the death of her brother Francis Hastings, 10th Earl of Huntingdon.

She was the third wife of John Rawdon, 1st Earl of Moira,[1] in Dublin an opposition peer in the Ascendancy Parliament, and on his County Down estate an "improving landlord".[4] In 1798, following the Battle of Ballynahinch, fought largely on the Moira demesne, the government suspected her of assisting rebels and their sympathisers escape summary justice.

  1. ^ a b Richey, Rosemary (January 2008) [2004]. "Rawdon , Elizabeth, suo jure Baroness Botreaux, suo jure Baroness Hungerford, suo jure Baroness Moleyns, suo jure Baroness Hastings, and countess of Moira (1731–1808)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 29 November 2010. (available in print, and online for subscribers)
  2. ^ Rayment, Leigh. "Botreaux". Peerage. Archived from the original on 8 June 2008. Retrieved 29 November 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ Rayment, Leigh. "Hungerford". Peerage. Archived from the original on 8 June 2008. Retrieved 29 November 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).