Lady Dorothy Howard (The Lady Henley) was the daughter of Rosalind, Countess of Carlisle and the granddaughter of Lady Stanley of Alderley, both benefactors of Girton College. Her father was George Howard, 9th Earl of Carlisle, an amateur artist whose work was honoured by contemporary professionals. She was brought up at the family seats of Naworth Castle and Castle Howard, educated at home, and came to Girton 1901-1905 to read first History and then Economics, BA (TCD) 1905. While at Girton she wrote home several times a week and although her letters appear to represent the filial affections of a dutiful daughter, relations with her mother were stormy. In 1913 she married Francis Eden, 6th Baron Henley and had two sons and three daughters. She was, at various times of her life, a member of Girton College Council, Yorkshire Rural District Council, the Executive Committee of the Women’s Liberal Association and Hon. Secretary of the British Women's Temperance Association. A newspaper obituary described her as the ‘last of the great Liberal ladies’; her chief interests were votes for women and temperance. She was also an enthusiastic amateur actress.