THE COUNT AND COUNTESS OF MORELLA
In 1850 the marriage took
place between Marianne Catherine Richards, wealthy daughter of an English QC
and Ramon Cabrera, Count of Morella. He was 43 and a Catholic and she was 29
and a Protestant. He had been a general and leader of the Carlist forces in
Spain and had earned a reputation for being cruel and ruthless, having
allegedly killed 1100 prisoners of war.
In
1855 they moved to the Wentworth Estate (now Wentworth Golf Club) from where he
still supported the Carlist cause. He received frequent visits from Carlist emissaries ( his wife contributing some of her
£25,000 a year to the cause). They enjoyed all the comforts of English
country life and brought up 5 children.
The
Count died in 1877 and is buried in Virginia Water. The Countess lived for a
further thirty-eight years and is buried beside him. The local paper at the
time of her death referred to her husband as 'The Carlist Desperado'. However,
in her diaries (which she wrote in English, German and Spanish from 1832 to
1914) it is obvious that she was devoted to him. When he died she wrote 'Thus
the dream of my youth and the love of my
life passed away and left me desolate'
On display were:-
A portrait of Cabrera from a biography by Roy Chant, entitled 'The
Spanish Tiger; the life and times of Ramon
Cabrera' 1983
A
photograph of a miniature by W J Newton of Marianne Richards, dated 1844
Marianne's letter book,
containing 40 letters dated between 1835 and 1892
Marianne's diary covering the years between 1820 and 1914
Letter
from Don Carlos (Carlos Maria Isidore), Pretender to the Spanish throne, to Ramon Cabrera, dated 1838. Handwritten, signed 'Carlos'
Letter to Don Ramon Cabrera,
Conde de Morella from Victor Gonzalez de
Liana, dated 1875, re. the ratification by King Alfonso XI1 of his titles
Joan Wintour
June 2008