Theodosia Blacker was born on 23 July 1803 at
Warkworth, Northumberland, the fifth and youngest daughter of Major Latham Blacker (1765–1846) of
Drogheda, Ireland, and subsequently of
Newent, Gloucestershire, and Catherine Maddison (1769–1823). She married Frederick John Monson, 5th
Baron Monson of Burton (1809–1841) on 21 June 1832 at
St James's Church, Piccadilly in Westminster, London. The married couple lived together for less than a week. She was a friend of
Anna Jameson and the married poets
Elizabeth Barrett Browning and
Robert Browning. In December 1859, Baroness Monson rented and furnished a building as a meeting place in central London for like-minded women, a counterpart to the
gentlemen's clubs that were then so popular. 19
Langham Place had a committee room, a reading room and a coffee shop open from 11am to 10pm. It served as an office for one of the first organisations of British women, the
Society for Promoting the Employment of Women and its publication the ''
English Woman's Journal''. In 1860, it became "The Ladies Institute" managed by
Sarah Lewin (1812–1898). The circle of women known as
the Langham Place group included, in addition to Lady Monson and Matilda Hays,
Helen Blackburn,
Emily Faithfull,
Maria Rye,
Emily Davies, and
Jessie Boucherett. At the end of 1863, Lady Monson refitted the place to be a house. She died on 3 July 1891 at Malvern Wells, Worcerstershire. ==Gallery==