Nicola Cornick
Lady Diana Beauclerk was born Diana Spencer in 1734 and married Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke, in 1757. A talented artist from childhood, Lady Diana drew on the sights and experiences of life at Lydiard for her drawings and paintings. Following a scandalous divorce and unhappy second marriage, she became one of the few aristocratic women of the day to support herself with her income from painting and was also one of the first women to design for Josiah Wedgwood. Nicola’s award-winning book The Woman in the Lake was inspired by the story of Lady Diana and her links to Lydiard Park.