Rowell, Lady Mary Dobree
Lady Mary Dobree Rowell (née Robin) 1867-1953
“Reedsmouth Hall was a lovely big country house with a lawn in front and a Ha-Ha allowing unrestricted views of the River North Tyne. Reedsmouth Hall was next to Reedsmouth Farm. Nobody in the 1930s and 1940s knew her ladyship as she was never seen, not even by people on the neighbouring farm. Lady Rowell was just a shadow in the back of a large black car which Matthew Hetherington would drive in his uniform. He was her handyman, gardener and caretaker when she was away from the Hall, as she often was. She never went to any church in Bellingham, though there was plenty of choice. There was a little narrow bridleway from the UP platform at Reedsmouth station along to Reedsmouth Hall and Reedsmouth Farm but nobody ever used it. Her ladyship never used the path or the station, although Reedsmouth Hall was only a couple of minutes way. In all the years I travelled on the train, Lady Rowell was never seen getting into a First Class compartment helped by her servant.” Clive Dalton
Naples-born Lady Rowell was a widow for 32 years after the death of her husband Sir Herbert Babington Rowell, a prominent Tyne shipbuilder and engineer, who died on 23rd June 1921 at Reedsmouth Hall, his country residence. He was buried in Stamfordham churchyard. His death occurred shortly after the 1921 census was taken when she was staying with her sister, Victoria Alexandrina, wife of clergyman Thornton Sutton Shaw, in Suffolk. Lady Rowell kept the family residence, The Manor House in Jesmond, for some time but made Reedsmouth Hall her main residence, from where she made the occasional appearance in Bellingham to sponsor or open events. None of the Reedsmouth locals really knew her. The Hall was strictly off limits as well as the few acres that she let out.
After the death of her husband, aged almost 61, she became something of a recluse. As a Lady, she supported local functions in Bellingham and Newcastle, often connected with nursing organisations. In 1939, she got a telephone installed in Reedsmouth Hall (Bellingham 13) and frequently advertised for maids (Protestant only). She died on 21st January 1953, leaving just under £20,000. Matthew James Hetherington, her chauffeur, died in 1965 leaving £696.
