Vault, Dean Castle

This glass plate slide shows the memorial erected by the 8th Lord Howard de Walden for his mother Lady Blanche after her death in 1911.  It stands within Dean Castle Country Park, Kilmarnock.   Blanche Holden was the daughter of William Holden. She married, firstly, Frederick George Ellis, 7th Baron Howard de Walden on 27 April 1876. In 1893, she won a high profile court case (which was fairly scandalous, in her day, considering her class) against her husband who had repeatedly beaten and abused her.  She was granted a divorce and custody of their son, Thomas Evelyn (the 8th Lord Howard de Walden), who she then raised by herself.   She married, secondly, Henry Ludlow Lopes, 2nd Baron Ludlow, son of Sir Henry Charles Lopes, 1st Baron Ludlow and Cordelia Lucy Clark, on 25 March 1903.1 She died on 8 April 1911. From 27 April 1876, her married name became Ellis. As a result of her marriage, Blanche Holden was styled as Baroness Ludlow on 25 March 1903. From 25 March 1903, her married name became Lopes.