Frances Molesworth

(b. May 15, 1758, Wembury, Devonshire – d. July 7, 1829, Mayfair, London )

Gender: F

Frances Molesworth (1756/60-1829) was the only child of William Molesworth and Anne Smyth. After the early death of her parents, she was taken in by her mother’s sister, Margaret Bingham, Lady Lucan. In 1778, Lord Lucan announced that she would marry William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, but the engagement was broken off. On 31st December 1785, she married John Jeffreys Pratt (1759-1840), later 1st Marquess Camden, only son of the famous jurist 1st Earl Camden; they had one son. She had a fortune of £40,000, presumably settled on her by Lord Lucan, whose generosity Elizabeth Carter praised in her letter to Montagu of 24th November 1785.

Also known as:

Frances Molesworth

No transcribed letters| show transcribed only

Please note that all dates and location information are provisional, initially taken from the library and archive catalogues. As our section editors continue to work through the material we will update our database and the changes will be reflected across the edition.

Browser support: The website works best using the Chrome, Edge, and Firefox browsers on the PC, and only Chrome and Firefox on the Mac.