Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt. 1646 - 1723

The sitter was the daughter of Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds (1632-1712) and his wife Bridget, daughter of Montagu Bertie, 2nd Earl of Lindsey.  Her father was a prominent political figure in the reign of Charles II, but was imprisoned during the period of the 'Popish Plot'.  He was one of the seven peers who invited William of Orange to England in 1688 and was created Duke of Leeds by the King. He died at Easton Neston in 1702 on his way to his great estates at Kiveton in Yorkshire.

On 26th May 1679 Sophia married Donogh, Lord O'Brien (1663-1682), son of Henry, Lord Ibracken and grandson of Henry O'Brien, 6th Earl of Thomond.  Her husband was drowned at the early age of nineteen in the wreck of the Gloucester whilst  accompanying James, Duke of York to Scotland in 1682.  In 1692 she married, as his third wife, Sir William Fermor, 1st Baron Lempster, builder of Easton Neston. The marriage brought her new husband a substantial dowry of £10,000, and through the influence of the Duke of Leeds, her father, he was created Lord Lempster within six weeks of the wedding. They had two sons and four daughters. She died on 8th December 1746 and was buried at Easton Neston.

The sitter, or rather her grand family connections, are thought to have been a spur to her husbands's ambitions as a builder. It is no coincidence that shortly after the marriage, Hawksmoor was summoned to design the present house, a masterpiece of the English Baroque.