In 1808, a young lady – daughter of Simeon Vorontsov, (Ambassador to Great Britain sent by Catherine the Great) – married George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke. At a time when Russia was unsure of its place in the world: a part of Europe or of Asia, or an Empire in its own right, the Vorontsov family held the ear of St Petersburg. The young Countess was to hold the Herbert family together through many troubles, both private and national.
Ros Liddington spent 17 years living and working in East Africa and the Far East, and, on her return to the UK, with a young family, was taken on by Henry Herbert, 17th Earl of Pembroke to create and deliver a school programme for Wilton House. The remit was to ‘rootle’ around the roof spaces and archives to bring alive moments in the history of the House and family which had yet to be researched. The work has taken her to the USA and Crimea. 16 years later, she is now a freelance history teacher, creating contextual history days for schools and bringing schools to Wilton, as well as giving talks and workshops across the South, speaking every year at the Chalke Valley History Festival.
