Isabel and Adeline Somers Cocks were daughters of the 3rd Earl Somers and his beautiful and vivacious wife, Virginia. A third daughter, named Virginia after her mother, sadly died in infancy from diptheria.
The two girls had a privileged but rather cloistered childhood, often left to the care of a succession of governesses as their parents travelled widely. Their mother was so paranoid about them catching infections that she issued detailed instructions as to what they were to wear and what activities they could or could not undertake. This was all rather frustrating to the girls, although Adeline seems to have been more obiedient than the spirited Isabel.

It is therefore rather surprising to find that in later life both Isabel and Adeline chose actively to support causes which were not fashionable and which took them face to face with some of the more unsavourary aspects of Victorian life.

Isabel, better known by her married name of Lady Henry Somerset, campaigned for temperance and worked tirelessly with women and children whose lives had been blighted by alcohol abuse. She regularly went out onto the streets of London, late at night, to see for herself the social problems caused by drink and drug abuse.
Adeline, meanwhile, had married the Marquis of Tavistock, son of the Duke of Bedford. Her mother-in-law, the Duchess was so straight-laced that when Isabel sought a legal separation from her husband on the grounds of his homosexuality, she refused to associate with her. There was a farcical incident at Adeline’s home where Isabel had to flee down the backstairs so as to avoid the Duchess, who had come to visit.
But Adeline too was moved by the plight of those less fortunate than herself. She didn’t just support her sister’s causes, finacially and emotionally. She herself became Chairman of the board of Borstal Institutions and Vice-President of the Association of Lady Visitors to prisons. Like her sister, she was not just a titled figurehead. yet prison visiting was hardly a glamorous pastime for someone of her social rank.
Both sisters were deeply religious and Adeline was a very close friend of the Archbishop of Canterbury and his wife.

Having written the biography of Isabel, Lady Henry Somerset, I now plan to research the life of Adeline, as I feel this has the potential to be another so far untold story of a remarkable woman.

If anyone has any information about Adeline, i would love to hear from you.