Lord Leigh's Charming Molly and Diana
 
 


Lord Thomas Leigh was born in 1713 and succeeded his father Edward Leigh as Baron Leigh upon his death in March 1738. He was not the first one in the family who showed an interest in horse racing; in Cheny's Racing Calendars it can be seen that his father raced a bay gelding in 1734; and in 1736 and 1737 ran a chestnut horse, Hopewell, in races for some valuable prizes.

From 1744 to 1746 Thomas Leigh raced three full brothers - two bay geldings Foxhunter (1739) and Surly (1740), and a bay colt Bauble (1741) - all said to be out of the chestnut mare called Miss How[e] and got by the Coles Foxhunter, which was out of the Rutland Brown Betty and a son of the Darley Arabian.

In the history of thoroughbred breeding, however, Lord Leigh will be remembered as owner of two full sisters Diana and Charming Molly. Descendants of these mares make up one of the branches of Bruce Lowe's Family 13.

 
Diana and Charming Molly
 
Both Diana and Charming Molly were good race mares, winning consistently; they started almost exclusively for fifty pound prizes, or, that is, in company somewhat below the grade of competition for Royal Plates. According to Cheny's Racing Calendars this is the complete race record of these two mares:
 

Diana
started for 11 prizes, winning 7 valued at 350 pounds in total

1745
Jun 5th. Guildford, Surrey. £50 Plate, (given by the Right Honourable the Lord Onslow) free only for such as had never won the Value of the Prize. Won by Lord Leigh's Brown M Diana, 5yo (1 1).
Jul 4th. Town of Nottingham. £50 for 4yo and 5yo. Lord Leigh's Diana, 5yo, ran (2 2 3). Race was won by the Earl of Portmore's Grey H Moore-cock, 5yo, ran (1 1).
Sep. Burford, Oxfordshire. A Sweep stakes Purse of sixty Guineas, fifty of which was a Prize of the first Horse, &c and ten the Prize of the second. Lord Leigh's Browne M Diana, won (1 1).
1746
Jun 25th. Grantham, Lincolnshire. £50 for horses that had never won above 50 gs. Lord Leigh's br. m. Diana, 6yo, ran (3 4 1) in a race won by Mr Greville's gr h Crab, aged (1 1).
Aug 27th. Town of Warwick. £50 for horses that had not won £50 since Apr 1st, nor above 50 guineas any time before. Lord Leigh's br m Diana, 6yo, won (1 1).
Sep 12th. Burford, Oxfordshire. £50 for horses that never won a Royal Plate. Lord Leigh's br m Diana, 6yo, won (0 2 1 1).
1747
Aug 11th. Town of Warwick. £50 for those that never started for above £50, nor won the value of 10 gs, since Jan 1st last. Hon Miss Leigh's br m Diana, full aged, won (1 1).
Sep 15th. Chippingnorton, Oxfordshire. £50 for those that never started for above £50. Hon Miss Leigh's br m Diana, full aged, won (1 1).
1748
Apr 23rd. West Chester, Cheshire. City Plate of £30. Hon Miss Leigh's br m Diana ran (2 3 dr.). Plate won by Mr Hale's bl g Chimney Sweeper (4 1 1).
1749
Aug 17th. Reading, Berks. £50 for horses that had not won above the Value of the Prize. Hon Miss Leigh's br m Diana won (1 1).
Aug 23rd. Stockbridge, Hants. £50 for horses that had not won 50gs (matches excepted). Hon Miss Leigh's br m Diana ran (2 4 2). Won by Mr Swymmer's br m Molly.
 

 

Charming Molly
started for 14 prizes, winning 11 valued at more than 570 pounds in total

1746
Aug 28th. Stockbridge, Hants. £50 purse for 4yo that never before started for Match or Prize. Hon Miss Leigh's br f Charming Molly won (1 1), beating Mr Rogers's gr c Highlander.
1747
Apr. 21st. Newmarket, Cambridgeshire. £50, 4yo, Hon Master Leigh's br f Charming Molly ran 7th (last) in a race won by E of Portmore's gr c Highlander.
Jul 15th. Town of Nottingham. £50 for 4yo and 5yo. Master Leigh's br m Charming Molly, 5yo ran (2 3 1) in a race won by E of Portmore's gr c Highlander.
Aug 12th. Town of Warwick. £50 that had not won £10 since Jan 1st. Hon Master Leigh's br m Charming Molly, 5yo won distancing the only other contender Mr Hope's b c Little Looby, 4yo.
Sep 2nd. Litchfield. £50, 5yo of subscribers. Hon Master Leigh's br m Charming Molly started alone.
Sep 12th. Burford, Oxfordshire. 70gs, 5yo of subscribers. Hon Master Leigh's br m Charming Molly won, beating Sir Watkin William Wynn's b h Madcap.
Sep 27th. Reading, Berks. £50 for horses that had not won above £50. Hon Master Leigh's br m Charming Molly, 5yo, won (2 1 1).
1748
Apr 22nd. West Chester, Cheshire. £50 Gold Cup, given by Sir Robert Grosvenor, Bart for 4yo and 5yo horses. Master Leigh's br m Charming Molly won (1 1).
Jul 7th. Town of Nottingham. £50 for horses that never won a Royal Plate. Won by Lord Leigh's br m Charming Molly, 6yo, beating Mr Rogers's b h Babram, aged, and one other.
Jul 21st. City of Peterborough. £50 wt for age. Lord Leigh's br m Charming Molly won (1 1).
Aug 9th. Town of Warwick. £50 for 6yo that never started for above 50gs. Lord Leigh's br m Charming Molly won, beating Hon Mr Child's b h Loutherio.
Sep 9th. Burford, Oxfordshire. £50 for 5yo and 6yo that never won a Royal Plate. Hon. Master Leigh's br m Charming Molly, 6yo ran (3 1 2); the Plate won by Mr Dutton's b h King Pippin, 5yo (1 5 1).
1749
Aug 15th. Town of Warwick. £50 for any horse that never won above 50gs. Won by Lord Leigh's br m Charming Molley.
Sep 12th. Chippingnorton, Oxfordshire. £50 for any horse that never won above 50gs. Won by Lord Leigh's br m Charming Molly (1 1), beating Hon Mr Howe's b m Diana (3 2 1) and one other.
 
Pedigrees
 
In Cheny's Calendars for 1745, 1746 and 1747 Diana's pedigree is given as: "Diana was got by the Godolphin Whitefoot". In Cheny 1746 is found the statement that, "Charming Molly, the Hon Miss Leigh's, ... is full Sister to the before-mentioned Diana".

Their pedigree is also stated indirectly in Sir James Lowther's manuscript Stud Book started in the mid-1750s (D\Lons\L9\2\4, Cumbria Record Office, Carlisle). Sir James had a mare described as a full sister to Lord Leigh's Diana and Molly, and his records indicate that her sire was Whitefoot.

Although the contemporary records mentioned above clearly state these 3 sisters to have been sired by Whitefoot, the sire of Lord Leigh's Diana and Charming Molly is given as Second in the General Stud Book. Mr Weatherby offered the following discussion in his Preface to An Introduction to a General Stud-Book (1791):

"The Editor cannot persuade himself that this work will be able, in any considerable degree, to promote the so much wished for purpose of preserving entire the Pedigrees of our most valuable Horses; but he feels happy, that it has been in his power, by his own researches, and the aid of Friends, to correct some few material errors that have obtained, for a long series of years; of which he will here only instance Lord Leigh's Diana and Charming Molly, both connected with some of the best horses, even of the present day, who, from the authority of Mr Cheney [sic], have ever been considered and reported as daughters of the Godolphin Whitefoot, whereas (as appears by a certificate under the hand of the Breeder) they were in reality got by Second. A few modern alterations have here been obliterated, and the ancient accounts restored, where there was sufficient reason to believe they had been incorrectly varied: and many names have also been inserted, which were originally given by the owners, and dropped by the purchasers, apparently for no purpose, but which has often caused confusion."

An Introduction to a General Stud-Book (1791) gave the following pedigree of these mares:
   DIANA (Lord Leigh's) - Mr Hanger, 1740, Own sister to Charming Molly.
   CHARMING MOLLY (Ld Leigh's) - Mr Hanger, 1741, She was own sister to Diana, got by Second, dam (Mr Hanger's brown mare) by Stanyan's Arabian, out of Gipsey; Gipsey was bred by Sir R Milbanke, and got by King William's No-tongued Barb - Makeless - Royal Mare.

Two other horses from this family are also mentioned in this edition:
   SPANKER - (Mr Pengree's), 1758, By Antelope, out of Ld Leigh's Charming Molly.
   FORTUNE - (Lord G Sutton's), 1762, got by Blank, out of a full sister to Lord Leigh's Diana.

 
Diana and Charming Molly in Pick's Turf Register
 
Accounts detailing the race records and pedigrees of Lord Leigh's Diana and Charming Molly were also written by William Pick in his Turf Register, vol. I (1803) [p.83]:

DIANA (A BROWN MARE - FOALED IN 1740,) Bred by Mr HANGER, and sold to Lord LEIGH.
DIANA was got by Second (son of Childers); her dam was a Brown Mare of Mr Hanger's. got by the Stanyan Arabian; grandam, called Gipsey, (bred by Sir Ralph Milbanke) by King William's no-tongued Barb; great grandam by Makeless, out of a Royal Mare.
   In 1745, DIANA won the Maiden Plate of £50 at Guildford, beating 7 others; and 50gs at Burford, beating Mr Cornwall's Nestgull. In 1746, She won £50 at Warwick, beating Mr Southcote's Dunkirk, Mr Greville's Sultan, &c. and £50 at Burford, beating, at four heats, Mr Greville's Grantham, Mr Dutton's Rat, Lord Portmore's Silverlocks, &c. - The first heat was won by Rat; and the Judge could not determine weather Diana or Silverlocks was second; the second heat was won by Grantham, from Diana; the third heat by Diana from Silverlocks; who also won the fourth from Grantham. In 1747, She won £50 at Warwick, beating Mr Wass's Jenny Cameron, Sir Harry Harpur's Merryman, &c and £50 at Chipping-Norton, beating Mr Wilabore's Bald Peg, and Mr Fugger's Poker.
   DIANA was the dam of the Duke of Ancaster's Polly, (Guardian and Polydamus' dam); of Lord George Sutton's Fortune; of Sir Charles Sedley's Sophia, (Jessica's dam), all by Blank. --DIANA was also grandam of Javelin, Polydore, Dido, Little Henry, &c.

CHARMING MOLLY (a Brown Mare, foaled in 1742) also bred by Mr HANGER, and sold to Lord Leigh. - She was own sister to DIANA. --In 1746, CHARMING MOLLY won the Maiden Plate of £50 for four-year olds, at Stockbridge, beating Mr Rogers's (afterwards Lord Portmore's) Highlander, and 6 others. --In 1747, [p 84] She won £50 at Warwick; 50gs at Lichfield; 70gs at Burford; and £50 at Reading. --In 1748 She won the Gold Cup at Chester; £50 at Nottingham, beating the famous Babram, at one heat; £50 at Peterborough, beating Ld Byron's Maidenhead, the Duke of Ancaster's Badger, &c and £50 at Warwick. --In 1749, She won £50 at Warwick, beating the Duke of Ancaster's Blank, &c also £50 at Chipping-Norton, beating Mr Howe's Diana and Mr Fisher's Poker.

 
The General Stud Book, Volume 1, 5th edition (1891)
 
An attempt to decipher the produce of their dam, of Diana, Charming Molly, and their sister[s] is given in GSB volume I, 5th edition (1891).
 
STANYAN'S ARABIAN MARE
Bred by Mr HANGER, her dam, Gipsey, by King William's Barb-without-a-tongue, out of Sir R Milbanke's Makeless Mare, which was the dam of Hartley's Blind Horse.
 
1740 br f Diana, by Second ... Mr Hanger, and sold to Lord Leigh
1742 br f Charming Molly, by ditto ... Mr Hanger, and sold to Lord Leigh
  f   by ditto ... Mr Hanger
1749 f   by Marksman ... Mr Hanger
* f   by Whitefoot ... Mr Hanger

   * Lord Chedworth's Diana, by Whitefoot, was, according to the Racing Calendar, a sister to Charming Molly, and may have been this Whitefoot mare.

 

 
DIANA (Lord Leigh's)
Bred by Mr. HANGER, in 1740, got by Second, her dam, Mr Hanger's Brown Mare, by Stanyan's Arabian, out of Gipsey, by King William's No-tongued Barb.
 
  f Polly, by Blank ... Duke of Ancaster
1757 b f   by Blank ... Duke of Ancaster
1761 br c   by Blank ... Duke of Ancaster
1762 b f Fortune, by Blank (died in 1768) ... Lord G. Sutton
1764 f Sophia, by Blank ... Sir C. Sedley
  f   by Spectator ... Sir C. Sedley
 

 
CHARMING MOLLY (sister to Diana)
Bred by Lord LEIGH, in 1742, got by Second, her dam by Stanyan's Arabian - Gipsy, by King William's Barb without a tongue - Makeless
 
1751 ch f Pretty Polly, by Old Starling ... Lord Rockingham
1756 b c Hackney, by Cullen Arabian ... Sir J. Moore
1758 br c Spanker, by Antelope ... Mr. Pengree

Was afterwards sent to Ireland, and had a f. by Bustard, son of Crab, who was dam of a f. by Coalition colt

 

 
DIANA
Bred by Lord CHEDWORTH, in 1737, got by Godolphin Whitefoot. This pedigree can be traced no further, she has no descendants in the Stud Book. According to the Racing Calendar of 1746, p.159, this mare was sister to Charming Molly.
 
1747 b c Aaron, by Whitenose ... Lord Chedworth
1751 br c Bauble, by Trifle ... Lord Chedworth
1752 b f Diana, by Whitenose ... Mr. Rogers
1753 ch c Dormouse, by Dormouse ... Lord Chedworth
1754 ch c   by Dormouse ... Lord Chedworth
 

 
WHITEFOOT MARE*
Her dam, by Stanyan's Arabian, out of Gipsey, by King William's Black No-tongued Barb.
 
  c by Janus ... Lord Eglinton
1757 br f by Janus ... Sir J. Lowther
1758 f by Dormouse ... Sir J. Lowther
1759 b c by Regulus ... Sir J. Lowther
1760 b c by Mirza ... Sir J. Lowther
1762 br f by Mirza ... Sir J. Lowther
1763 br c by Mirza ... Sir J. Lowther

   * see note to Stanyan Arabian mare, page 200.

 
More Recent Developments
 
Documents that have come to light since the 1891 edition of the GSB suggest that the produce records of the Stanyan's Arabian mare and her daughter Charming Molly are not correct.

Papers from the Earl of Antrim's Stud published by C M Prior in his book The Royal Studs of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (1935); page 182, give the record of Charming Molly's produce, as follows:

 
CHARMING MOLLY, Brown, 1742
Full sister to the late Lord Lee's Diana, got by the *Godolphin Whitefoot, 14hds, 1 1/2 ins.
 
1752   § Gr filly by Bustard.  
1753 B filly by Bajazet. This filly was covered in 1757 by Antelope.
1754 B filly by Bajazet.  
1756 Blk colt by Highlander, and covered by Antelope.

   * Charming Molly was in reality got by Second, as corrected by Mr Weatherby in his Introduction to the General Stud-book of 1791, she having been confused with a mare of the same name belonging to Lord Chedworth].+
§ This Bustard filly had in 1757 a ch filly by the Coalition Colt, and was covered by Antelope.
+ comment by Mr Prior.

 
If the Earl of Antrim's stud book produce record of Charming Molly is correct, then Sir J Moore's 1756 b c Hackney, by the Cullen Arabian, cannot have been her foal.

Pond's racing calendar for 1755 also calls into question the attribution of Lord Rockingham's 1751 ch f Pretty Polly, by Old Starling, to Charming Molly; Pond wrote, "Pretty Poll, three years old, the Marquis of Rockingham's, was got by Starling; her dam by Second, out of the Dam of Lord Leigh's Molly and Diana."

Two documents of interest can be found in the Stratford Record Office: (1) Inventory of Lord Leigh's horses taken after his death, on Jan 12th, 1749/50, Stoneleigh Abbey, and (2) a similar list with buyers of his horses, with prices achieved, dated Jan 29th, same year. While no pedigrees of the horses are given, some familiar names occur which allows us to fill out the histories of the horses in question.

A brown mare Diana is listed as sold to Mr Corker for [22 1 0] and a brown mare Molly, probably Charming Molly, as sold to Mr Edward Stevens for [27 6 0].

There was also a brown Whitefoot mare that was sold for even more money than these two very well known mares [35 14 0]. She was purchased by Ld Eglintowne [Eglinton], and it is probable that she was the dam of his bay colt, by Spinner, mentioned in Pond 1753 & 1754: "The Earl of Eglintowne's bay Colt, got by Spinner, his Dam by White Foot, against Thomas Duncomb's Esq; bay Colt, got by Regulus, out of a Roundhead Mare, on Friday in Easter Week 1755, over the Beacon Course, for forty Pounds, play or pay, and fifty Guineas bye, wt nine Stone." Mr Duncomb's colt won - see the ad for Young Regulus in Heber 1755 ("He beat Lord Eglintown's Bay Colt, got by Spinner, a Match over the Beacon Course at Newmarket in April Meeting, 1755, for forty Pounds, Play or Pay, and fifty Guineas bye, which was the only Time he ever started"); Lord Eglinton also raced a "bay horse" 5 years old, later that year, so probably the same. Since the Spinner colt was born in 1750, it is likely that the Whitefoot mare was in foal to Spinner when sold to Lord Eglinton.

To support this it can be seen that a horse named Spinner was also among Lord Leigh's horses sold in Jan 1750, and that he was sold to Mr Edward Stevens (who bought Smiling Molly, too) for a small sum [7 7 0]. A note in Cheny's 1746 Calendar identifies this horse as Lord Portmore's Spinner (that won the Ladies Plate of 80gs at Oxford in 1733): "Hautboy ... also got Grey Hautboy, Sire of Bay Bolton, Lamprie, Bell's Painted Lady, and the Dam of the Portmore Spinner, now Lord Leigh's". The small price for Spinner must be the result of his age (23) and the fact that he had not proved very successful in the stud.

The unnamed brown Whitefoot mare appears to be the Whitefoot Mare entered in GSB, i, 1891 (page 221) who produced 1 foal for Lord Eglinton, followed by 6 for Sir James Lowther. Sir James Lowther's manuscript stud book (D\Lons\L9\2\4, Cumbria Record Office, Carlisle) seems to have been the source of the GSB entry for this mare, since it mentions the purchase of the 1757 b c by Janus from Lord Eglinton as well as the births of the succeeding 5 foals exactly as given in GSB; there is no mention in either of the 1750 Spinner colt.

 
Another Diana
 
There is one more player in this confused picture --another mare of the same name -

Lord Chedworth's DIANA
started for 4 prizes, winning the last 3 for hunters, about 200 gs in total

1743
Aug 30th. Gloucester, Gloucestershire. £50 for aged horses that never won a King's Plate, nor that had won £50 since Jan 1st last, 12st, 6yo that since Jan 1st last had not won a Royal Plate, 11st, and all 5yo 10st 7lb Ld Chedworth's b m Diana ran (5 5 dr). Race was won by Mr Grisewood's gr h Tom Tinker, aged, ran (4 1 1).
Sep 29th. Seven-Downs Course near Burford, Oxfordshire. 60gs Purse for Hunters properties of Subscribers. Ld Chedworth's b m Diana won (4 1 1).
1744
Sep 26th. Burford, Oxfordshire. 60gs for Hunters properties of Subscribers. Ld Chedworth's b m Diana, won (1 1).
1745
Sep 19th. Burford, Oxfordshire. Purse of eighty Guineas were run for by Hunters. Lord Chedworth's Bay M Diana won (1 1).
 
The only pedigree offered at the time she raced was: "Diana was got by the Godolphin Whitefoot..." The reference cited in the entry by GSB, Vol. 1, 1891, for Lord Chedworth's Diana, to the Racing Calendar of 1746, p 159, lists the horses racing for Lord Leigh and the Honorable Miss Leigh, these including "Diana, ...got by the Godolphin Whitefoot," and "Charming Molly ...full Sister to the before-mentioned Diana." Lord Chedworth, on the other hand, had only one horse racing in 1746 (Whitefoot), and that pedigree is given on page 148.

It is clear from an ad in Pond 1757 and several editions of Heber starting in 1758 that Lord Chedworth owned a Whitefoot mare out of Silverlocks and that he bred at least one foal from her. According to Lord Godolphin's records as published by C M Prior in The Royal Studs of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries (1935) this mare was a 1737 bay, sold to Mr Poole in 1740. Since Lord Chedworth bred at least 5 or 6 foals from his Diana, it is possible that she was the 1737 bay mare by Whitefoot, bred by Lord Godolphin.

 
   To Cover this Season, at Eyford, in Gloucestershire, at 3 Guineas a Mare, and Half a Crown the Servant, to be paid at the Stable Door, or when the Mare is taken away. A Brown Bay Colt, rising 4 Years old [1758 ad], and bred by Ld Chedworth. He was got by Dormouse, late Sir James Lowther's, Son of the Godolphin Bay Arabian; his Dam by Whitefoot, his Grand Dam Old Silver-locks, by the Bald Galloway, his Great Grand Dam by the Acaster Turk, his Great, Great Grand Dam by the Sire of Leeds, and his Great, Great, Great Grand Dam by Spanker, Son of the Darcey Yellow Turk. He is 14 Hands and 3 Inches high, has Strengh [sic] in Proportion, and a Shape that promises to have been a Racer, but was lamed at a Year old, therefore not trained, though he walks upright.
Good Grass for Mares at 3 Shillings per Week, and well attended.
N. B. Eyford is 3 Miles from Stow on the Wold, Gloucestershire, 11 from Chipping-Norton, and 8 from Burford, Oxfordshire.
* * * It is being doubted last Year concerning the Truth of the above Pedigree on the Mare's Side, at Eyford aforesaid, any one may be satisfied it is true, by seeing Certificates from the Breeder and Proprietors of the same Mare, to her being Ld Chedworth's. [covered at least through 1760] (Pond 1757, Heber 1758, etc.)
 
On the other hand, if Diana was out of the famous mare Silverlocks, it seems strange that this was not mentioned in Diana's pedigree or those of her offspring. All contemporary calendars, starting with Heber 1751, give the following pedigree for "Aaron, Lord Chedworth's, ...was got by White Nose a Son of the Godolphin Arabian, and out of a mare of his Lordships, called Diana."
 
Pick's Turf Register, vol. I (1803) [p116] gives the following:

AARON (a bay horse - foaled in 1747)
Bred by Lord CHEDWORTH; sold to Mr Benjamin ROGERS, and afterwards to Mr SMITH.
AARON was got by Lord Portmore's Whitenose, (sire of Mr Fenwick's Duchess), out of Lord Chedworth's Diana ...AARON generally measured under 14 hands.
DIANA (dam of AARON) was a Bay Mare, and foaled in 1737. --She was also bred by Lord CHEDWORTH; and got by Whitefoot, page 64. - In 1743, DIANA won the Hunter's Purse at Burford, beating 7 others. --In 1744, She won 60gs for hunters, at Burford, beating 3 others. --And in 1745, She also won, at the same place, the 80gs Purse, for hunters, beating 2 others. --DIANA was also the dam of Mr Rogers's bay mare, Diana, (foaled in 1752) and was own sister to AARON.

As if there are not already enough Diana's to confuse us, in Cheny 1747, Lord Chedworth is recorded as having raced yet another Diana, although she can be distinguished as a different mare based on age:

 
1747
May 22nd. Epsom, Surrey. £50 Purse for 5yo Lord Chedworth's b m Diana ran (2 5 1) in a race won by Mr Keck's br m Brown Betty (1 1).
Sep 17th. Chippingnorton, Oxfordshire. £50 for those that are neither 7yo, nor had won £20 since Apr 1st, nor had started for above 50gs. Lord Chedworth's b m Diana, 5yo, won (3 1 1).
 
The breeding of this mare (foaled 1742) was not revealed.
 
Pretty Polly and Mr Weatherby
 
To return to the pedigree from Pond 1755:
Pretty Poll, three Years old, the Marquis of Rockingham's, was got by Starling; her Dam by Second, out of the Dam of Lord Leigh's Molly and Diana.
It seems likely that Pond would have described the dam of Pretty Poll, if she had been a sister to Lord Leigh's Molly and Diana, as their sister and not as out of their dam.

We can only guess, but perhaps Mr Weatherby saw a certificate of the breeder (Mr Hanger) involving the Second mare (dam of Pretty Poll) and concluded that she was a full sister to Lord Leigh's Molly and Diana. Later the compilers of GSB, vol. 1, 1891, perpetuated another error by following Pick in stating that Pretty Polly was out of Ld Leigh's Charming Molly, which was not possible, since she was in Ireland at that time.

Pretty Polly's pedigree appears in Pick's Turf Register, vol. I (1803) [p 394] as:
PRETTY POLLY, (dam of CORIOLANUS) a Chesnut Mare, foaled in 1751, and bred by Lord Rockingham. --She was got by the Duke of Bolton's Starling, her dam, Charming Molly, (the dam of Sir J Moore's Hackney*, &c.) by Second, and was own sister to Lord Leigh's Diana, page 83.
* HACKNEY, (a Bay Horse, foaled in 1756) bred by Lord ROCKINGHAM, and sold to Sir John MOORE, Bart and got by Lord Cullen's Arabian.

 
Lord Rockingham
 
Lord Rockingham owned a mare called "Bellina" and several items relating to her have been preserved among his papers in the Sheffield Archives (WWM/R193).

R193/15 is a note from Dan: Corker, dated at Lichfield 3 Feb 1752, in which he details the fees arising from a journey to Wentworth House for an in-foal mare received from John Hawkes.

R193/21 is a letter from Gabriel Hanger regarding this same mare.

My Lord
Your servant came to me in London to know the Pedigree of a Mare I sold to Mr Hawks of Staffordshire which I could not then recollect. He bought two of me both got by Second, Out of my Brown Mare which was got by Stanyan's Arabian at Hampton Court, out of Gipsey, who was bred by Sr Ralph Millbank and was got by King William's Black barb wthout a Tongue out of Sr Ralph's black Mare who was bred by Mr Darcy and was got by Makeless out of one of his best Royall Mares. The Oldest is 5 years old & the Brown one 4 this Grass. If your Lordship has occasion for another filly I have a very fine one out of the same Mare & got by Marksman a Son of Lord Godolphins Arabian 3 years old now, as promising as any thing can be which I intend to dispose of as I understand / nothing about training. I sold three fillys out of this same mare to the late Lord Leigh two of which proved so good that my Lord told me he was offerr'd five hundred pounds for them I mention this only for your Lordship information of the breed. The three filly's were got by Whitefoot.
I am your Lordships / Most Obedient and Very / Humble Servant
Dryffield [near] Cirencester
In Glostersher June 17th 1752 Gabl Hanger

R193/50 is a sheet of paper, labeled "Bellina", including what appears to be a description of this mare:

A ^ Bay ^ filly rising five 14 hands 2 [a fraction] got by Second out of the Dam of Ld Lee's Molly & Diana, bred at Hampton Court got by Stanyer's Arabian. Her dam by the Black tongueless Barb of King William's - great grandam Gipsy Sr Ralph Milbanke's got by Mackeless. - dam of Hartleys Blind Horse & Othello. Drogheda / in foal by old Starling price 120 G

If written early in 1752, as were the other 2 items, the resulting foal would have been Pretty Polly (1752).

 
Conclusions
 
From all this analysis it seems odd that no one prior to 1791, and Mr Weatherby's discovery, knew that the pedigree of Diana and Charming Molly was wrong. It is perplexing that the sire of Diana and Charming Molly remained uncorrected three years in a row in Cheny's calendars. It also seems unlikely that Sir James Lowther and the Earl of Antrim did not know the pedigrees of their own mares.

According to the evidence in early records discussed here it can be concluded:

 
(1) The dam of Ld Leigh's Diana and Charming Molly had the following offspring:
 
1740 br f Diana, by Whitefoot (Ld Leigh's)
 
1742 br f Charming Molly, by Whitefoot (Ld Leigh's, later Ld Antrim's)
 
----- br f by Whitefoot (sold from Ld Leigh's Stud to Ld Eglinton, Jan 1749; later Sir James Lowther's)
 
1747 b f Bellina, by Second (sold from Mr Hawks to Ld Rockingham, in foal to Starling, 1752)
 
1748 br f by Second (Mr Hawks)
 
1749 f by Marksman
 
(2) There is no evidence that Ld Chedworth's Diana is from this family - there is only coincidence of sire (Whitefoot) and name (Diana).
 
© Miodrag Milovanovic and A J Hibbard