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Dido Elizabeth Belle was the daughter of
her royal naval officer and an African
woman
Mariah Belle her father Saddam Lindsey
was the nephew of William Murray first
Earl of Mansfield and he brought her
here to Kenwood to be raised by her
great-uncle
they enjoyed a really good relationship
and he was very fond of her it was
relatively unusual for a mixed-race
woman to enjoy this high social status
in the 18th century particularly as
during this period Britain was involved
in the slave trade
we've invited some English heritage
members here to Kenward to find out what
life was like for Dido Belle please
hello miss Belle I'm Ella my name is
Layla I'm Olivia I'm very pleased to
make your acquaintance
you see I do not often have guests here
we'd love to find out more about you and
your life as a lady at Kenwood House
where were you born
I was born in the Caribbean Dido was
raised as a lady rather than as a
servant she was taught to read and write
and play music all skills that were
expected of an accomplished young lady
of the 18th century she also worked as a
sort of secretary to her uncle Lord
Mansfield she would help him with
letter-writing
she also supervised the poultry yard and
dairy this was a fashionable pastime for
young ladies during the 18th century the
Mansfield's employed a dairy maid to do
the day-to-day chores but Dido was
proudly involved in tasks like churning
the butter or making cream the dairy was
a sort of family pastime she was very
much part of the family however she was
sometimes treated differently
when lord mansfield had guests Dido
wouldn't dine with the family instead
she would join the ladies after dinner
for coffee or to walk in the grounds
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Dido was raised with her cousin Lady
Elizabeth Murray they were very close in
age and they enjoyed a really close
relationship how did you feel when you
were painted next to your cousin as an
equal it was a real honor
my cousin is like a sister to me this
painting is really unique in 18th
century British art in that it shows
Dido as a near equal to her white
companion Lady Elizabeth
they both dressed in fashionable silk
dresses and are wearing beautiful pearl
jewelry however there are still
references to Dido's origins she's
wearing a silk turban with an ostrich
feather plume and carrying exotic fruits
which are in sharp contrast to the more
traditional English roses worn by her
cousin
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Lord Mansfield died in 1793 in his will
he left her a generous financial gift
he also made sure to state that she was
a free woman and not a slave Dido
married and left Kenwood she left in
London with her husband and three sons
until 1804 when she died at the age of
only 43 Dido Belle was a really
remarkable woman for her time one of the
lovely things about working here at
Kenwood is knowing that we are walking
in her footsteps and one of my favorite
things is sharing her story with
visitors
we think you misspell your most loved
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you
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