The older of two daughters of the 2nd Duke of Abercorn, Lady Alexandra Phyllis Hamilton was born on 23 January 1876. As a young woman, Phyllis, as she was generally known, developed a keen interest in archaeology. In the course of 1907 she began to make firm plans for carrying out a number of excavations. A prehistoric megalithic monument (an unusual pairing of portal tombs within a long cairn) in Ballyrenan, on the west facing slopes of Bessy Bell overlooking Barons Court, was investigated first. In late October 1907, under Phyllis’ direction, workmen cleared the monument of stones and rubbish so that excavations could begin. Among the artefacts discovered were some stone beads, fragments of pottery and bone, and some flints including ‘a lovely little arrow-head in perfect preservation’. The care with which she undertook the excavation is reflected in her own account of the discovery of the beads: ‘Carefully sifting every spadeful, we got altogether seven large beads, four of them round and flat, and two long-shaped, of a greenish stone, and another very light and black – all perforated.’

Excited by her finds, Phyllis wrote to Robert Cochrane of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland who thanked her for her report and asked if a notice of the excavation could be published in the next issue of the Society’s Journal which Phyllis happily approved. She also corresponded with George Coffey, the Keeper of Antiquities at the Dublin Museum of Science and Art (now the National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology) who was very positive about her investigations, writing, ‘If I may say so, you have displayed much care as well as zeal in what you have done already.’ Members of her family were enthusiastic about what she had achieved, with her father writing, ‘What an excellent “antiquarian” you have become & you deserve the greatest credit for all your energy which has been rewarded.’ 

She next excavated at the small island in Lough Catherine known as Island MacHugh which included the remains of a medieval castle. Excavations were carried out here in the summer of 1908 and coincided (probably deliberately) with the temporary lowering of the lakes at Barons Court. This lowering of the water level revealed that stakes had been driven into the ‘beach’ all the way round the island showing that it was in fact a crannog, something that had not been apparent before. No evidence for a causeway to the island was discovered, but among the finds were large quantities of flint as well as bones. No report of her work on Island MacHugh seems to have been published in any scholarly journal and it seems that Phyllis did not carry out any further archaeological investigations, though why this should have been so is not clear. 

In October 1918 she and her mother were staying at Shelton Abbey, County Wicklow. When her mother left for London, Phyllis stayed on an extra week. Remaining with her were Martha Bridge, the family’s cook, and her lady’s maid, Ellenor Strachan. All three boarded a mail steamer, the RMS Leinster, at Kingstown on 10 October. However, shortly after setting sail for Holyhead the vessel was torpedoed by a German submarine. Over 500 people lost their lives in the sinking, including Phyllis, whose body was never recovered, and her two servants. The family was later told by a survivor that as the ship was going down, Phyllis gave up her life jacket to her cook, saying ‘I’m a strong swimmer’. A memorial service was held in St Mark’s Church in London on 14 October and at Barons Court Church five days later.

Born:	23 January 1876
Died:	10 October 1918