Mary Chester

Plaque on wall of Norbiton House, 1930s flats built on the site of Norbiton Hall, Kingston upon Thames. Mary Jenkinson, Countess of Liverpool (; 24 June 1777 – 18 October 1846) was the second wife of Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool who served as Prime Minister from 1812 to 1827.

Biography Mary Chester was born on 24 June 1777, the daughter of Charles Bagot Chester and Catherine Legge. She had three brothers and one sister. Her father was the son of Sir Walter Bagot, Bt and the brother of the first Lord Bagot. Born Charles Bagot, her father took the additional surname Chester in 1755 on inheriting Chicheley Hall, Buckinghamshire from his cousin, Sir Charles Bagot Chester, Bt. Her mother was the granddaughter of William Legge, 1st Earl of Dartmouth.

In 1815, Mary Chester was granted a grace and favour apartment at Hampton Court Palace, where her elder sister Catherine Chester had been a resident since 1808. By this time Mary had become the close friend and companion of Louisa, Countess of Liverpool, the wife of the prime minister, Robert Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool.

Louisa died after a long illness in June 1821 aged 54. The following year, on 24 September 1822, Lord Liverpool was married to Mary Chester at Hampton Court by the Lord Bishop of London. Miss Mary Chester, aged 45 at the time, then became the Countess of Liverpool. Mary died on the 18 October 1846, aged 69 years, at Norbiton Hall. She had been suffering from heart disease for a number of years. She was buried at All Saints Church, Kingston upon Thames, on 24 October.