The reason for including some of the Petres is partly they are a great story, and also that at George Lynch, and Carmela Lescher’s wedding the present from “the Hon. Mrs. Petre” was “a writing case” . She can only be Julia, who becomes the 15th Lady Petre in June 1908, and the Dowager Lady Petre five months later.
The funeral of Lord Petre took place at Thorndon Hall, Brentford, on Monday morning. A Requiem Mass was celebrated in presence of the Archbishop of Westminster, and the music was rendered by fourteen members of Westminster Cathedral Choir, under the conductorship of Mr. R. R. Terry. The following music was sung :—In the chapel : “Dies irae,” Anerio ; “De Profundis,” Tollemache ; ” Ne irascaris,” .Farrant; ” Libera me,” Casciolini ; “In Paradisum,” Gregorian ; and during the procession : ” Miserere,” Viadana ; ” Benedictus,” Terry. The priests taking part in the service were Father Norris, Father Musgrave, Father Grant and Father Shepherd. After the Requiem the body was laid to rest in the private cemetery in the grounds. A large number of people attended and all the chief county families were represented. Among the mourners were the Hon. Philip Petre (who succeeds to the title), and the Hon. Mrs. Petre, Mr. Lionel Petre, and Miss Petre, the Hon. Albert and Mrs. Petre, the Earl of Granard, Mr. and the Hon. Mrs. Bretherton, Count and Countess Blucher, Mr. and Mrs. S. H. Petre, Mr. Lawrence Petre, Miss Agnes Petre, Mrs. Chadwick, Lord Clifford, Lord Mowbray and Stourton, Mr. F. L. Petre, Mr. 0. T. Petre, Mr. B. Petre, Mr. Lydden Clark, Mrs. de Windt, Lord Howard, Sir Henry Bedingfeld, ord Howard, and Mr. R. Bedingfeld. R.I.P.
The above text was found on p.15, 27th June 1908 in “The Tablet: The International Catholic News Weekly.” Reproduced with kind permission of the Publisher. The Tablet can be found at http://www.thetablet.co.uk .
I have the list of old boys of Downside School and this shows 11 Petres including all these mentioned here. The Petres were great endowers of various bits of the new buildings at Downside and there is a Petre Library and Petre Cloister amongst other references.