Person    | Female  Born 26/4/1844  Died 13/10/1906

Ada Lewis-Hill

Categories: Philanthropy

Countries: Ireland

Ada Hannah Lewis-Hill, philanthropist. Born Liverpool but brought up in a large family in Dublin where she married Samuel Lewis in 1867. They lived in Grosvenor Square until his death in 1901, when she was left a fortune. In 1904 she married William James Montagu Hill. He added her name to his to become Lewis-Hill. See William Burdett-Coutts for more examples of this. Wikipedia describes him as a moneylender to the aristocracy, but he was also an army officer more than 30 years her junior. Possibly the moneylending came after his marriage. Her marriage to William has interesting similarities with that of Angela Burdett-Coutts to her William.

1905 she founded the Ada Lewis Nurses' Institute. 1906 she became one of the two wealthiest women in the UK, the other being Lucy Cohen (one of the Rothschilds), not Angela Burdett-Coutts. Oddly all 3 of these rich women died in 1906. 

Having loved music and been a violinist herself, in her will she endowed the Royal Academy of Music and left her Stradivarius violin to the president of the Royal Academy for the use of the Ada Lewis scholars. 1913 the Ada Lewis Women's Lodging House was opened.

One of her younger sisters was the Irish songwriter and composer, Hope Temple (born Alice Maude Davis, 1859 -1938, also known as Mrs André Messager).

Wikipedia gives two dates for her birth: 26 April and 29 June. Nowhere can we find a record of any children born to Ada.

Looking for more on Ada's second husband, we have found a number of records of William James Montagu Hill (who may be our man) in the army, the earliest of him as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1897. 1902-3 he is given as a Lieutenant in the Scots Guard. 1917, as a Captain, he was honoured with a DSO.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Ada Lewis-Hill

Commemorated ati

Ada House

Ada House This block was built in 1937 by the London County Council and was n...

Read More

Other Subjects

Emery Hill

Emery Hill

Brewer and benefactor in the parish of St Margaret Westminster. In 1708 founded 12 almshouses and a school in Rochester Row on land leased from Westminster Abbey. The almshouses were consolidated w...

Person, Philanthropy

1 memorial
British and Foreign Sailors' Society

British and Foreign Sailors' Society

Sailors’ Society is an international Christian charity working in ports across the world. After the Napoleonic Wars ended, the need for ships declined, and many former seafarers became destitute. ...

Group, Armed Forces, Community / Clubs, Philanthropy

1 memorial
Sir Cowasjee Jehangir Readymoney

Sir Cowasjee Jehangir Readymoney

Companion of the Star of India, a wealthy Parsi gentleman of Bombay. His grandfather and two great-uncles had made their names, literally, in the opium trade with China (facilitated by the British)...

Person, Engineering, Philanthropy, Politics & Administration, India

2 memorials
Dudley Francis Fortescue

Dudley Francis Fortescue

Liberal politician. The third son of Hugh Fortescue, 2nd Earl Fortescue. Married his first cousin and had no children. Lady Winifred Fortescue was his cousin John's wife and Lady Emily Fortescue wa...

Person, Philanthropy, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
Lord Paul

Lord Paul

Business magnate, philanthropist and politician. Born Swraj Paul at Jalandhar, Punjab, India. He moved to England in 1966 to get treatment for his daughter who was suffering from leukaemia. Founded...

Person, Commerce, Philanthropy, Politics & Administration, India

2 memorials

Previously viewed

St Mary le Bow

St Mary le Bow

There is archaeological evidence that a church has existed on the site in Cheapside since Saxon times and the current building was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. Its famous bells feature in the ...

Building, Religion

1 memorial