Gentleman's wedding ring and ring case, 19th Century

Gentleman's gold wedding ring and ring case belonging to Henry St.John, 5th Viscount Bolingbroke (1820-1899).

Due to Lord Bolingbroke's secret liaisons it is not straightforward to identify when he wore this ring. However the fact that it was preserved by his son and heir, Vernon Henry St.John, suggests that it related to the period he spent with Vernon's mother, Mary Howard, 5th Viscountess Bolingbroke (d1940).

The ring was purchased in Weston Super Mare, a fashionable Victorian seaside resort near the City of Bath where the couple resided. After many years together Henry secretly married Mary in 1893, though during his lifetime they kept up the pretence of being plain Mr and Mrs Wilson . While at Lydiard Park, she remained known as Mary Howard, his lordship's housekeeper.