Descendants of the Home family
Absentee plantation owner
Elizabeth was the only child of William Gibbons, a Jamaican plantation owner. When she was about 16 she married James Lawes, who was probably the most eligible bachelor on the island at that time. His father was a rich and influential planter and governor of Jamaica. The couple had no children and Lawes died in 1733.
Elizabeth went to London where, in 1742, she married William, Earl of Home. A few months later, he deserted her. But Elizabeth was a wealthy woman in her own right, having inherited substantial property and money from both her father and her first husband.
For about 30 years, little is known of Lady Home's life. In 1773 she commissioned Robert Adam, the most fashionable architect of the time, to build a grand house in Portman Square. The house, now 20 Portman Square, can still be seen today. Lady Home lived in Portman Square from 1776 until her death aged 80 in 1784.
William Beckford, who came from another wealthy plantation-owning family, and who also lived in the square, described her as: '.. the Countess of Home, known among all Irish chairmen and riff-raff of the metropolis by the name, style and title of Queen of Hell...' He went on to describe her extravagant and eccentric behaviour. She entertained other wealthy Caribbean plantation owners and was related to many of them. She also had royal connections.
Two portraits by Gainsborough hung in her house, depicting the duke and duchess of Cumberland. The duke was the brother of George III and the duchess related to Lady Home through her first husband. It has been suggested that Lady Home's motive for building such a large and elegant house when she was a widow who had no children was to entertain the Cumberlands.
