History of Kilburn and West Hampstead

  Portrait by Richard Buckner When Laura Thistlethwayte died quietly at her home, ‘Woodbine Cottage’ in West Hampstead, in 1894, most people had no idea of the adventurous and notorious life she had led. Born Laura Bell in Dublin about 1829 she was the daughter of Robert Henry Bell and Laura Jane Seymour. Her mother was the illegitimate daughter of the 3 rd Marquess of Hertford and her father was the bailiff for the 4 th Marquess. Young Laura grew up at Bellbrook House, Glenavy, County Antrim. When she was 14 Laura went to Belfast and got a job as a shop assistant. As a very attractive girl she soon found a more lucrative living as a courtesan, and her affairs with wealthy men made her notorious. After a few years she moved to Dublin where she drove around the town in a coach with a pair of white horses. One of her lovers was Dr William Wilde, a well-known Dublin dental surgeon and the father of Willie and Oscar Wilde. Having accumulated gifts and money from her l...