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{{EngvarB|date=January 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name = The Countess of Powis
| image = File:Henrietta Clive, Countess of Powis.jpg
| caption = Lady Henrietta Herbert in 1777, by Sir [[Joshua Reynolds]]
| birthname = Lady Henrietta Antonia Herbert
| birth_date = 3 September 1758
| birth_place = Oakly Park, [[Bromfield, Shropshire]], England
| death_date = {{dda|3 June 1830|3 September 1758|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Walcot Hall]], [[Southorpe]], England
| resting_place = [[St Mary the Virgin's Church, Bromfield|Bromfield Parish Church]]
| occupation = Writer, [[mineral collecting|mineral collector]], [[botany|botanist]]
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Edward Clive, 1st Earl of Powis]]|1784}}
| children = {{Plainlist|
* Lady Henrietta Williams-Wynn
* [[Edward Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis]]
* [[Charlotte Percy, Duchess of Northumberland]]
* [[Robert Clive (1789–1854)|Robert Clive]]
}}
| parents = [[Henry Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis]]<br>[[Barbara Herbert, Countess of Powis|Barbara Herbert]]
}}
'''Henrietta Antonia Clive, Countess of Powis''' (née '''Lady Henrietta Antonia Herbert'''; 3 September 1758 – 3 June 1830), was a British writer, [[Mineral collecting|mineral collector]], and [[botany|botanist]]. Her time in India, while her husband was [[Governor of Madras]], was inspirational to her for all three of these pursuits.

== Early life and background ==
[[File:The Earl and Countess of Powis with their family.jpg|thumb|Lady Henrietta with her parents and brother in 1760]]
Born in [[Oakly Park]], at [[Bromfield, Shropshire]], into a landed and titled family, she was the daughter of [[Henry Herbert, 1st Earl of Powis]], and [[Barbara Herbert, Countess of Powis|Barbara Herbert]], granddaughter of [[William Herbert, 2nd Marquess of Powis]]. Her family owned a property in London and significant estates in Wales and Shropshire. Her birthplace was sold to [[Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive]], in 1771, so Lady Henrietta spent her teenage years at the family's ancestral home, [[Powis Castle]].<ref name="Tom">Cotterell, Tom. ''[http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/rhagor/article/countess_of_powis/ The fabulous mineral collection of Lady Henrietta Antonia Clive, Countess of Powis.]'' National Museum Wales, 2012</ref><ref name="Sally">Williams, Sally. ''[http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/12/03/laid-bare-the-passions-and-obsessions-of-lady-henrietta-a-19th-century-rock-chick-91466-27758004/ Laid bare the passions and obsessions of Lady Henrietta, a 19th-century rock chick]'' Wales Online 2010</ref>

== Mineral collection and botany ==

In 1798, Henrietta's husband, Lord Clive, was appointed [[Governor of Madras]]. Lady Clive followed him to India where she started collecting rocks and minerals,<ref name="Tom"/> as the first aristocratic woman to pursue that hobby.<ref name="Sally"/> As her collection was growing, Lady Clive contacted prominent collectors and mineral dealers, such as [[James Sowerby]], [[John MacCulloch]] and the [[Louisa Finch, Countess of Aylesford|Countess of Aylesford]]. Her records show that many specimens had been given to her by her children. The minerals in Lady Clive's collection, numbering up to 1,000, are arranged systematically by chemistry, as was usual in the early 19th century.<ref name="Tom"/> In 1817, she organised her collection in two handwritten catalogues, using numbers to identify each specimen and helping the collection remain remarkably complete to this day. A quarter of the original collection is now kept at the [[National Museum Wales]] as one of the most important historic mineral collections,<ref name="Tom"/><ref name="Sally"/> having been donated by her great-grandson, [[George Herbert, 4th Earl of Powis]], in 1929.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.visitcardiff.com/events/calendar-highlights/search-products/the-fabulous-mineral-collection-of-lady-henrietta-antonia-herbert-countess-of-powis-p145691 |title=The Fabulous Mineral Collection of Lady Henrietta Antonia Herbert, Countess of Powis |access-date=6 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529125613/http://www.visitcardiff.com/events/calendar-highlights/search-products/the-fabulous-mineral-collection-of-lady-henrietta-antonia-herbert-countess-of-powis-p145691 |archive-date=29 May 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Upon arriving in India, Lady Powis also created a garden and kept a record of the plants in the area of [[Mysore]] and the [[Carnatic region]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hagglund |first=Betty |year=2011|title=The Botanical Writings of Maria Graham |journal=Journal of Literature and Science|volume=4|issue=1|pages=44–58|doi=10.12929/jls.04.1.04 |url=http://literatureandscience.research.glam.ac.uk/media/files/documents/2011-10-28/JLS_4.1_Hagglund_44-58.pdf|accessdate=23 November 2012|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Writing==
Lady Clive's journals are one of the first written accounts of India by a British woman. Published as ''Birds of Passage'', they were an important milestone in the emergence of female travel writers to ascend to the level of their male counterparts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Birds of Passage|url=http://www.travelbooks.co.uk/shop-online-books/birds-of-passage|website=Eland Books|accessdate=12 September 2016}}</ref>

== Marriage and issue ==
Lady Henrietta married Lord Clive's eldest son and heir, [[Edward Clive, 1st Baron Clive]], in 1784. The marriage was beneficial to both families; the bride's family had a prestigious name but considerable debts, while the groom accrued wealth built during Clive's military campaigns in India. The couple settled in [[Walcot Hall]], at [[Lydbury North]], near [[Bishop's Castle]], Shropshire. Their four children were:<ref name="Tom"/>

* Lady Henrietta Antonia Herbert (d. 1835); married [[Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 5th Baronet]].
* [[Edward Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis]] (1785–1848)
* [[Charlotte Percy, Duchess of Northumberland|Lady Charlotte Florentia Herbert]] (1787–1866); married [[Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland]], and was the governess of the future [[Queen Victoria]].
* [[Robert Clive (1789–1854)|Robert Henry Clive]] (1798–1854); a politician.

Lady Clive inherited the Herbert estates upon the death of her brother, [[George Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis]], in 1801, when the Earldom became extinct. Three years later, it was recreated in favour of her husband, making her Countess of Powis.

== Death ==
The Countess of Powis died at Walcot Hall in 1830 aged 71 and was buried at [[St Mary the Virgin's Church, Bromfield|Bromfield Parish Church]], near Oakley Park. Her husband survived her, dying in 1839.<ref name=compeerage>{{cite book|title=The Complete Peerage, Volume X|year=1945|publisher=St Catherine's Press|page=653}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*Shields, Nancy K: ''Birds of Passage: Henrietta Clive's Travels in South India 1798–1801'' Eland 2010 {{ISBN|1906011370}}

== External links ==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121024223248/http://cliviasociety.org/william_t_aiton_william_hooker_john_lindley.html The Noble Family of Clive]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powis, Henrietta Clive, Countess of}}
[[Category:1758 births]]
[[Category:1830 deaths]]
[[Category:British countesses]]
[[Category:Natural history collectors]]
[[Category:British collectors]]
[[Category:People from Shropshire]]
[[Category:Women collectors]]
[[Category:Daughters of British earls]]
[[Category:Clive-Herbert family]]
[[Category:Herbert family]]

Henrietta Clive, Countess of Powis - Revision history

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