Helen Hope


Helen Hope was a Scottish forester and countess of Haddington through marriage. She planted many trees in Haddingtonshire and created Binning Wood at Tyninghame.

Early life

Helen Hope was born to Lady Margaret Hamilton and John Hope in Kirkliston, Linlithgowshire. She was baptized on 28 September 1677. When she was five, her father drowned whilst travelling with the Duke of York. Hope's brother Charles was born in 1681 and later became a peer and governor of the Bank of Scotland. Her mother arranged her marriage to her first cousin Thomas Hamilton, 6th Earl of Haddington in 1696, at which point she became the countess of Haddington.

Career

Hope first lived with her husband at Leslie House in Fife and had the first of four children, who was named Charles and had the title of Lord Binning from birth. Charles would become a politician and knight marshal of Scotland. In 1700, the family moved to the earl's ancestral home, Tyninghame House in Haddingtonshire. Hope immediately wanted to plant trees despite the initial disinterest of her husband and local people.
She decided to plant trees on the moorland of Tyninghame and to call it Binning Wood in honour of her son. The estate had a total size of 800 acres was planted with 50 varieties of tree. In addition, she created a wildenerness zone and a bowling green from where 14 walks began. Her husband wrote a Short Treatise on Forest Trees in which he praised Hope's efforts.

Death and legacy

Hope died in Edinburgh on 19 April 1768 at the age of ninety. She was buried alongside her husband at Tyninghame. An obelisk constructed in 1856 by Thomas Hamilton, 9th Earl of Haddington pays tribute to the couple's extensive planting.