The Magic of Monmouthshire with Chris Barber

With reference to my article last month which told the story of the Civil War siege of Raglan Castle I would like to mention that on Friday 19 August, 2011 which was exactly 365 years to the day after the surrender of the castle a living history celebration was held with the participants wearing 17th century costume.

The procession was led by 81 year old Anna Tribe who lived in Raglan and was directly descended by nine generations from Sir Henry Somerset the first Marquess of Worcester who was the castle’s owner. The commemorative procession proceeded to the Great Hall where Anna laid flowers.

She commented afterwards, ‘I think it is marvellous that we have held a ceremony to mark the memory of my ancestor, the first Marquess of Worcester and all who stood by him.’

Her full maiden name was Anna Millicent Horatia Fitzroy Somerset and she was the daughter of Raglan Horatio Edwyn Henry Somerset QC(1885-1956) and Adelaide Somerset (1888-1958). Born on 12 September, 1929, she was also descended directly from Horatia Nelson the daughter born to Vice Admiral lord Nelson and his mistress Lady Hamilton.

In 1939 the Tribe family moved from London as wartime refugees to Hill House in Raglan, Monmouthshire, the home of Anna’s grandfather, Raglan Turberville Somerset the Warden of Raglan Castle, and his wife, Elizabeth Horatia Anne, the great granddaughter of Vice Admiral Lord Nelson.

Hill House is an eight bedroom detached house set in its own grounds on Monmouth Road and currently valued at £996,00. Anna and her husband ran it for many years as a Bed and Breakfast establishment. Anna was not only descended from Nelson, but also from Henry Somerset, the 5th Duke of Beaufort who was born in London on 9 September, 1929.

She studied at Haberdashers School for girls in Monmouth and in 1950 went to London, having ‘a passion’ to go on the stage, but soon returned to Raglan and married William Tribe, the son of one of her mother’s friends. He was born in 1924, the son of William Harold Tribe (1883-1926) of Temple, London.

They had three children who were named John Horatio, Mary Horatia and Raglan Horatio. There are five grandchildren: Owen Colin Nelson, Rebecca Horatia, William Horatio, Toby Raglan and Emma. Thus the names of Horatio and Horatia are carried down the line to this day In 1983 Anna Tribe was made an OBE for her Political and Public Service in Wales, serving as a magistrate and Chairman of the welsh Women Conservatives. She was also President of the Raglan Local History Society and the Monmouth Conservative Association, but her proudest honour was to be made life President of the Nelson Society, which was founded in 1981 and is a charity dedicated to promoting public education, research and awareness of the life and naval achievements of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson and his contemporaries

There is no doubt that Anna’s face closely resembled that of Nelson and she would often point at her nose and comment ‘just like Nelson’s nose . But unlike her famous ancestor, she never got sea sick when on a cruise ship and enjoyed giving lectures about Nelson, usually speaking without notes. Apparently, she regularly wore a locket which contained a lock of Nelson’s hair.

In 1999 she travelled to the scene of the Battle of the Nile (1798) which is regarded as the most complete naval victory of all time and it turned Nelson from a national hero to an international superstar. Anna was photographed shaking hands with the great-great-great-great grandson of Prince Lucien, brother of Napoleon.

The bicentenary of Nelson’s visit to Monmouth was celebrated on 25 August 2002. Actors dressed as Horatio Nelson and Lady Hamilton travelled down the Wye in the HMS Victory’s actual cutter with its Royal Navy crew. On landing, they were met by Anna Tribe, the great great great granddaughter of Vice Admiral Nelson.

In 2005 Anna Tribe attended a series of events at Portsmouth, the home of Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory, which is the most famous battleship in the world. They were being held to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. and she was the oldest surviving descendant of Nelson.

She visited the Historic Dockyard to see the permanent Nelson exhibition in the Nelson Gallery. Lady Llangattock the mother of Charles Rolls, who lived in Monmouth, was fascinated with the story of Admiral Horatio Nelson and she spent many years gathering vast amounts of personal and commemorative memorabilia related to him, even though he only had a very brief link to Monmouth through two visits.

On her death in 1923 the collection was bequeathed to the town. A Nelson Museum was opened in a building situated in Glendower Street. By 1969 the Nelson Collection had been moved to The Market Hall in Priory Street which then became the Nelson Museum and Local History Centre. When it closed in March 2020, the entire collection was moved to the Shire Hall, but is in storage as the Shire Hall closed for a major refurbishment on 20 December, 2025 and the planned re-opening is scheduled for early 2027.

Anna Tribe lived in Raglan for most of her life and she passed away at the age of 90 on 26 April 2020. She is survived by a large family who mostly carry Horatio or Horatia as a given name. She died at Kents Hill Care Home, Milton Keynes and had a private funeral due to the pandemic restrictions at that time and public records do not specify her burial place.

Certain members of the Somerset family were buried in the Beaufort Chapel of St Cadoc’s Church in Raglan which was originally built by William ap Herbert in the thirteenth century and then rebuilt by Sir William ap Thomas in the fifteenth century . A major restoration was then carried out in the 19th century.

The Beaufort Chapel was constructed by the Somersets and a tablet was placed there in 1868 by Henry somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort, giving details of all the Somerset internments. The north window is testimony to Fitzroy James Henry Somerset the first Lord Raglan who died in the Crimean War in 1855. He had been Wellington’s military secretary and lost an arm at the Battle of Waterloo. The Raglan overcoat with its special sleeve was named after him. The memorial window was paid for by the subscription of over 600 non commissioned officers.