The New Murrey and Blue blog

The sitter of this portrait is said to be Lucy Hutchinson (born Apsley) who was the wife of Civil War General John Hutchinson, MP.

Lucy was a remarkable woman. She wrote what is thought to be the first epic poem produced by an Englishwoman. She was also a translator, and as if that was not enough also wrote a biography of her husband which is still valued by students of the Civil War.

Lucy’s mother was a St. John. Going back several generations, she was descended from Margaret Beauchamp of Bletsoe, Duchess of Somerset. This means she was a half-blood relation of Margaret Beaufort, Henry VII and their descendants. Other ancestors included the Scropes of Bolton and Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland – with his first wife, Margaret Stafford.