who granted the people of Cardiff the use of the Bute estates between Cathedral Road and the River Taff for use as the town's first public park. The 18-acre park, named Sophia Gardens, was financed by the Marchioness and included a lodge, flower beds, landscaping and an ornamental pond, supervised by her head gardener and ready to be opened by the summer. Death The marchioness died, aged fifty, in Edinburgh, with her twelve-year-old son at her bedside. In her will, she left provision for almshouses to be built near Edinburgh, which she specified were to be named the "Flora Almshouses" after her mother and sister. The young marquess arranged for a cast to be taken of his mother's face. A post-mortem confirmed the cause of death as Bright's disease. The marchioness was buried in the family vault at Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. In his eulogy, the officiating minister described her as "one firm, yet gentle, loving and wise". References 1809 births 1859 deaths Scottish marchionesses Daughters of British marquesses Daughters of Scottish earls Scottish philanthropists Sophia Wives of knights