Miss Hoare with a guitar

Born in 1845, Augusta Frances Anne Hoare was the only child of the Fleet Street banker Sir Henry Ainslie Hoare, 5th Baronet, and his wife Lady Augusta Frances née Clayton East. In 1858 Lady Augusta Hoare sat for Frederick Leighton, as did her daughter a few years later.

On 22 February 1868 at St George's Hanover Square Miss Augusta Hoare married William John Nettleship Angerstein, son of the former MP for Greenwich William Angerstein of Weeting, Norfolk, and of Woodlands, Blackheath. 'A very large party of friends met at the church on the interesting occasion. The religious ceremony was performed by the Rev. George Ainslie, cousin of the bride, assisted by the Rev. Charles Bicknell, rector of Stourhead, Wilts. After the ceremony Sir Henry and Lady Hoare received the wedding party at breakfast at their house in Albemarle-street, Piccadilly. The bride's trousseau was supplied by Mrs Perry, of New Bond-street. The bride's and bridesmaids' bouquets, the gift of the bridegroom, were composed of the choicest flowers, surrounded with rich lace. They were made by Harding, of Maddox-street, Regent-street' (Morning Post, 24 February 1868).

The marriage produced three daughters and one son before it ended in divorce in 1887 'by reason of the cruelty and adultery of her husband. [...] From 1875 he had taken too much to drink. He had taken morphia in large quantities. Since 1875 there had been occasions when he was guilty of personal violence towards her. When they were living at Newcastle Court, Radnorshire, he knocked her off the chair. In 1866 [sic] she was living with him at Glynweddw, near Pwllheli, Carnarvon. He was violent towards her; he knocked her about, and she was very much bruised. Corroborative evidence was given of cruelty, after which testimony was adduced that the respondent lived with Rachel Scott, who had formerly been in his employ. A decree nisi with costs, was granted, with the custody of the younger child' (Manchester Evening News, 16 December 1887).

Rachel Scott appears on the 1881 census, living with the Angerstein family at Craigdarroch, Contin, about 15 miles NW of Inverness in Scotland. Aged 20 in 1881, she was a ladysmaid in the Angerstein household.

Augusta's ex-husband died, aged 48, on 17 February 1892 and two years later she married, secondly, Colonel James St Aubyn Hastie.

Mrs Augusta Hastie died, aged 76, on 7 November 1922 at the Queen's Hotel in Eastbourne. She left an estate valued at £6732.

Photographed on 6 March 1861 by Camille Silvy of London.