Henrietta Clive, Countess of Powis

Henrietta Antonia Clive, Countess of Powis (née Herbert; 3 September 1758 – 3 June 1830), was a British writer, mineral collector, and botanist. Her time in India, while her husband was Governor of Madras, was inspirational to her for all three of these pursuits.

Early life and background

Born in Oakly Park, at Bromfield, Shropshire, into a landed and titled family, she was the daughter of Henry Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis, and Barbara Herbert, granddaughter of William Herbert, 2nd Marquess of Powis. Her family owned a property in London and significant estates in Wales and Shropshire. Her birthplace was sold to Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, in 1771, so Lady Henrietta spent her teenage years at the family's ancestral home, Powis Castle.

Mineral collection and botany

In 1798, Henrietta's husband, Lord Edward Clive, was appointed Governor of Madras. Lady Clive followed him to India. It is not known when she first began taking a scientific interest in collecting and cataloguing rocks and minerals but she was certainly pursuing this interest by the time she arrived in India and continued it after she returned to Britain. She was one of the first aristocratic woman to pursue this hobby.

Upon arriving in India, Lady Powis also created a garden and kept a record of the plants in the area of Mysore and the Carnatic region.

Writing Lady Clive's journals are one of the first written accounts of India by a British woman. Published in the 2010 edited collection Birds of Passage: Henrietta Clive's Travels in South India 1798-1801, they were an important milestone in the emergence of female travel writers and their ascension to the level of their male counterparts.

Marriage and issue Lady Henrietta married Lord Clive's eldest son and heir, Edward Clive, 1st Baron Clive, in 1784. The marriage was beneficial to both families; the bride's family had a prestigious name but considerable debts, while the groom accrued wealth built during Clive's military campaigns in India. The couple settled in Walcot Hall, at Lydbury North, near Bishop's Castle, Shropshire. Their four children were: