sense of pity and protected her from imposture. Her private beneficiaries were chiefly the very poor, but she was always accessible to the appeal of struggling professional men, and all victims of sudden calamity. Doing little vicariously, she devised and developed for herself her
schemes of philanthropy. Dickens was her almoner for a time, and on his recommendation William Henry Wills [q. v.]
acted in that capacity from 1855 to 1871, when he was succeeded by Sir John Hassard. But all her charities were carried on under her own supervision, and her house at Stratton Street was often the meeting-place of the administrative committees. She was fertile in suggestion of method, and sought to turn to practical use existing
agencies before instituting new ones. At
the same time she was a pioneer in
creating new modes of dealing with the
problems of poverty, many of which
were subsequently adopted well-nigh
universally. Her public benevolence em-
braced an exceptional range, and knew
no distinction of race or creed. The welfare
of the Church of England, the housing
of the poor, elementary and scientific
and technical education, the care of neglected children, the extension of women's
industrial opportunities, the protection of
dumb animals, colonial expansion, female
emigration, the exploration of Africa, the
civilisation of native races, the care of
the wounded in war, were all causes in
which she took an originating part and
expended, virtually with her own hand,
vast sums of money. Those who could
help her in the distribution of her wealth on
her own lines were among her most welcome
guests at Stratton Street or Holly Lodge.
A strong protestant, but no doctrinal partisan, she first gave play to her philanthropic instinct by munificent benefactions to the Church of England, which she regarded as the best of all philanthropic organisations. William Howitt, in his 'Northern Heights of London' (1869), wrote, 'I suppose no other woman under the rank of a queen ever did so much for the established church ; had she done it for the catholic church she would undoubtedly be canonised as St. Angela.' The beautiful church of St. Stephen in Rochester Row, Westminster, which with the schools and vicarage form a striking and important architectural group in the Gothic style, designed by Benjamin Fcrrcy [q. v.], was built and endowed by Miss Burdett-Coutts, at a cost of more than 90,000l., in memory of her father, who represented the city of Westminster in parliament for thirty years. The foundation stone was laid on 20 July 1847, and the consecration followed on 24 June 1850. The duke of Wellington presented an altar cloth and a silk curtain taken from Tippoo Sahib's tent at the storming of Seringapatam. There he buried William Brown and his wife, Mrs. Hannah Brown, the baroness's lifelong friend. The district was poor, and Miss Burdett-Coutts, besides building the church, the patronage of which she retained, created a new and complete parochial organisation, including guilds, working and friendly societies, temperance societies, Bible classes, soup kitchens, self-help club, and the like.
Three other churches in London St. John's, Limehouse, in 1853 ; St. James', Hatcham, in 1854; and St. John's, Deptford, in 1855 were built by the assistance of Miss Burdett-Coutts, who placed in the hands of Charles James Blomfield [q. v.], the bishop of London, a sum of 15,000l. to be applied to the erection of churches at his discretion. In 1877 she joined with the Turners' Company in giving four of the peal of twelve bells to St. Paul's Cathedral. In the poorest district of Carlisle, too, she built at her entire cost another St. Stephen's church, which was consecrated on 31 May 1865. In 1872 she acquired the right of presentation to the vicarage of Ramsbury on her father's Wiltshire estate, and subsequently restored the church, while she acquired the living of the adjoining parish of Baydon, repaired the church, and increased the value of the living in perpetuity.
Religious feeling at first coloured her interest in colonial expansion, which grew steadily with her years. In 1847 she endowed the bishoprics of Capetown, South Africa, and Adelaide, South Australia, both of which were strictly modelled on the English diocesan system. Ten years later she founded the bishopric of British Columbia, providing 25,000l. for the endowment of the church, 15,000l. for the bishopric, and 10,000l. towards the maintenance of the clergy. She intended that her colonial bishoprics should remain in dependence on the Anglican church at home. In 1866, however, Robert Gray [q. v.], bishop of Capetown, in the course of his dispute with Bishop Colenso of Natal, declared his see to be an independent South African church. Miss Burdett-Coutts petitioned Queen Victoria to maintain the existing tie, but her action was without avail, and her colonial bishoprics
