Emily Meynell-Ingram

Emily Charlotte Meynell Ingram (1840–1904) was a British artist, traveller and the last resident of Temple Newsam House, Leeds. She was the daughter of Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax.

Early life Born Emily Charlotte Wood, she was the second eldest of six children born to Sir Charles Woods and Lady Mary Woods (formally known as Grey). The Woods family were an old gentry family who were respectable York merchants. They reached this level of respectability through the discovery of coal on their ancestral estate, the great Barnsley field, which helped to supply some of Britain's richest and finest coal. In addition to this, Sir Charles Woods had a successful political career, owning many seats in Garrowby and Pocklington near York; Hickleton near Doncaster and a home in London in Belgrave Square. She spent her childhood between Hickleton and London. In her diaries, she described herself as a "joyous and headstrong spirit". According to J.G Lockhart, her brother's colleague and biographer, described as being clever, capable, but spoilt by her father, making it hard for her to interact with strangers as she could be difficult and dictatorial . She was largely involved in her father's political career

As a child, she would often visit Buckingham Palace. She was friends with Princess Victoria, Helena and Louise, often visiting them to play together. She was particularly close to her older brother Charles, whom she would later rely on after the passing of her husband in 1871.

Marriage and Temple Newsam In 1864, she married Hugo Meynell-Ingram, who was the last surviving descendant of Sir Arthur Ingram. He was eighteen years older than her, and they met through a mutual friend (Lady Harcourt) whilst Emily was visiting Chiswick. They came from politically very different houses: the Woods were Whigs, whereas the Meynell-Ingrams were Tories. Once Emily and Hugo were married, they spent most of their married lives at Hoar Cross in Staffordshire, using Temple Newsam as a place to stay when they went hunting.

When her husband died in 1871 from a hunting accident, she became a widow and childless at the age of 31 after 8 years of marriage. She was devastated by her husband's death, and to commemorate his memory, she built a church near Hoar Cross Hall. Known as Hoar Cross Holy Angels Church. She inherited all of the Meynell Ingram properties and wealth. After losing her husband, she came to rely on her family, with her younger brother (Fredrick) and his wife (Mary), who moved into Temple Newsam with her. In addition to this, she found great comfort in her Anglo-Catholic faith, spending time and money building new churches in memory of her husband and investing in charitable institutions. She had acquired a large collection primarily from the 17th century. Coincidentally, prior to owning the collection, in a letter to her brother on 5 June 1860, she wrote about her love of 17th-century art and how she hoped to own some paintings of her own from the period. Due to the values of the time and her religious beliefs, any pieces in her collection that were thought to be distasteful or erotic were either disposed of or cleaned up, concealing any offensive elements.

Through her inheritance, charity work and renovations, Emily Ingram became one of the richest and most independent women in the country. Often throwing lavish dinners and shooting parties. One highlight of her social career was hosting King George V and Queen Mary in 1894 on their official visit to Leeds. She hired the architect George Fredrick Bodley to build the church and was in charge of the furnishing within it. The church is decorated with marble flooring, reredos, screens and a front cover.