Albinia Hobart (1737/8 – 11 March 1816) was an 18th-century British celebrity. She was the heiress of her father, and became the Countess of Buckinghamshire by marriage in 1793. Her lifestyle and size made her the subject and victim of cartoons by James Gillray and others; she figures in over 50 satirical prints.
Hobart was born Albinia Bertie to Lord Vere Bertie and Anne Casey.[1] Her mother's father was Sir Cecil Wray, 11th of the Wray baronets; Anne Casey was illegitimate but her father's heiress, left in his will dated 21 Jan 1735/6 £14,000 and all his estates.[2] Albinia married George Hobart in 1757, and so became Countess of Buckinghamshire when he inherited the title in 1793. The Hobarts lived in Hobart House, Ham Common, in Richmond, London, supposedly based on the Frederick the Great's summer palace, Sanssouci. There Albinia organised lavish parties which included performances by her and her daughters.[3] These were attended by high society, including the royal princes.
William Pitt the younger and Hobart. Here she is the victim of a 1792 engraving by James Gillray "A sphere, projecting against a plane"
The fashion at the time was for gambling, particularly with the card game Faro. She[4] and other celebrities like Charles James Fox and Georgiana Cavendish were renowned for their indulgent gambling. The Hobarts were known for this extravagance. Despite not having a license she allowed her house to be used for high stake gambling. By this device she managed to lose money and to fall foul of the authorities. She was having fun and losing money and so was her husband.
He tried a number of careers with poor results and consoled himself with mistresses. Despite their other interests the couple had four daughters and three sons.[3] Meanwhile the press saw her illegal gambling and indulgent parties as a legitimate target. The commentators at the time could not resist noting the growing size of Albinia and her love of extravagant fashion which was intended more for her daughters.[3]
This 1796 caricature by James Gilray shows Albinia from behind at left, next to Lady Georgiana Gordon, later Duchess of Bedford, at the age of 14. The title and the lecherous servant refer to Lady Godiva. Lady "Godina" is holding the diamond nine, called the "Pope" in the game of Pope Joan. The man opposite Albinia is John Sneyd (1763–1835). The rout-party may have been at Albinia's house.
On her husband's death in 1804, she became the Dowager Countess of Buckinghamshire. She died on 11 March 1816 in Nocton, where she was buried with her husband.[1]
^ abMatthew Kilburn, ‘Hobart, George, third earl of Buckinghamshire (1731–1804)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 accessed 4 June 2017
