Two possibilities to explain your mysterious "Lady" that don't seem to have been mentioned before: 1) A simple misunderstanding Both then and even today, the wife or daughter of any gentleman can rightfully claim to be, or be said to be, a "lady". Indeed, it is common to see the wife of gentlemen so described on census returns, etc. It is easy to confuse such a lady with a "Lady", as in titled lady. So, I can easily imagine a miscommunication where the generous donor for the RAF building was described as a "lady", and this was misunderstood as being a claim to hold a title. 2) The possible Wexford Carew connection. If the putative wife was one of the Wexford Carews then it is possible that she held the title of Lady in her own right. The Wexford Carews were titled - Lord Carew. Regards, The Chief

On 21/08/2013 01:15, The Chief wrote: > Two possibilities to explain your mysterious "Lady" that don't seem > to have been mentioned before: > > 1) A simple misunderstanding Both then and even today, the wife or > daughter of any gentleman can rightfully claim to be, or be said to > be, a "lady". Indeed, it is common to see the wife of gentlemen so That is not correct. The style or title of Lady is part of one's name. A lady is a woman of fine manners and accomplishments,or as you suggest, the daughter of a gentleman but it does does not entitle her to use Lady as part of her name. or style herself as such on a census.