Edith Bernal Blake

• Name — Lady Blake • Office — Spouse of the Governor of Hong Kong • Term Start — 25 November 1898 • Term End — 21 November 1903 • Governor — Sir Henry Arthur Blake • Predecessor — Felicia Robinson • Successor — Flora Shaw, Lady Lugard • Birth Name — Edith Bernal Osborne • Born — 7 February 1846 • Birthplace — Newtown Anner House, Clonmel, Ireland • Died — 18 April 1926 • Place of death — Myrtle Grove, Youghal, Ireland • Resting Place — Myrtle Grove, Youghal • Parents — * Ralph Bernal • Catherine Isabella Osborne • Children — 3 • Relatives — Fanny Currey, Gwen Richardson • Known for — Botanical illustration

Blake was born on 7 February 1846 in Newtown Anner House, near Clonmel, County Tipperary. Though her date of birth is often cited at 1845. She was the eldest daughter of Catherine Isabella Osborne and Ralph Bernal Osborne, who took his wife's surname following their marriage in 1844. The Osbornes appear to have become estranged early in their marriage, with her father living in London, seeing Edith and her sister Grace raised by her mother alone. Mrs Osbourne was a talented artist, and encouraged both her daughters to take up artistic pursuits. Artists often stayed at Newtown Anner, including Thomas Shotter Boys and Alexandre Calame, and it is possible the sisters received tuition from them. Edith developed an interest in botany around this time, corresponding over the years with Newtown Anner's garden designer Joseph Paxton. Fanny Currey was a frequent visitor to the house, with the pair collaborating on illustrating envelopes from 1858 to 1868. In 1874 she married widower and Royal Irish Constabulary sub-inspector Henry Arthur Blake. As her parents did not approve of the marriage and had been arranging a suitable marriage for her, the couple eloped. Following the marriage, Edith was disinherited. They were sheltered for a time by friends Richard and Harriet Bagwell of Marlfield House. The couple went on to have two sons and a daughter. They first moved to Belfast, seeing Henry appointed resident magistrate (RM) in 1876 and a "special RM" during the land war. When he received assassination threats, Edith would travel with him armed with a gun. Despite her husband's work, Blake was sympathetic to romantic nationalism and became friends with Anna Parnell.

Upon Henry's retirement in 1907, the Blakes returned to Ireland. They settled in Myrtle Grove, Youghal, County Cork, where many of Blake’s sketchbooks are still held. The staircase was decorated by her with botanical illustrations. As Lady Blake she published 3 plays: Samhain's eve, The quest of Edain, and The swan, all adapted from Irish mythology. Following her husband's death in 1918, Blake lived as a near recluse as a widow, but continued to paint. She died in Myrtle Grove on 18 April 1926, the same year her sister Grace died. The Blakes are buried together in the garden of the house. Her collection in the Natural History Museum, London was conserved in 1984 and is noted for its scientific value.

• Twelve Months in Southern Europe. London, 1876. • The Realities of Freemasonry. Chapman and Hall, London, 1879. • "The Maroons of Jamaica" in The North American Review, Vol. 167 (1898), pp. 558-568.

• Samhain's Eve • The Quest of Edain • The Swan