Partner Beatrice Rosamond Pennington
Queer Places:
The Old Rectory, Church Lane, Barnwell, Peterborough, PE8 5PG, United Kingdom
22 Hyde Park Gate, South Kensington, London SW7 5DH, UK
Walsingham House (now The Ritz London, 150 Piccadilly, London W1J 9BR, United Kingdom)
Rhoda Majendie (October 26, 1845 – 1918) was a late-Victorian and Edwardian figure whose life reflects the quiet histories of same-sex female partnerships in the 19th and early 20th centuries. She is historically notable as the long-term romantic partner of the progressive feminist activist and author, Beatrice Rosamond Pennington (later Beatrice Headlam).
Rhoda Majendie was born on October 26, 1845, in Longdon, Staffordshire. She was one of thirteen children born to the Reverend Stuart Majendie—who served as the rector of Barnwell, Northamptonshire—and his wife, Mary Angelina Hughes. Raised in an upper-middle-class, ecclesiastical household, Rhoda grew up within the traditional structures of the Church of England gentry.
Rhoda’s historical significance is deeply anchored in her domestic and romantic partnership with Beatrice Rosamond Pennington.
Beatrice had married the prominent Christian socialist, radical thinker, and clergyman Stewart Duckworth Headlam in January 1878. However, the marriage suffered from a severe lack of physical intimacy and attraction. In 1881, while the Headlams were living at Hyde Park Gate South in London, Rhoda Majendie entered their lives as a visitor.
A deep romantic bond formed between Rhoda and Beatrice. By the mid-1880s, Beatrice separated from her husband permanently (though they never legally divorced due to his public standing).
Following the marital separation, Rhoda and Beatrice established a life together, creating an independent home grounded in mutual support. As partners, they navigated both London society and the English countryside:
They maintained a luxurious joint apartment at Walsingham House on Piccadilly (the site where the Ritz Hotel stands today) while moving between shared country cottages in areas like Hertfordshire.
Walsingham House was built in 1887 by Lord Walsingham as a lavish block of fully staffed, luxury residential mansion flats, the eight-story building was divided into two main sections: Block A fronted Piccadilly, while Block B extended to the rear with its own entrance facing Arlington Street. In the early 1900s, financial backers purchased both Walsingham House and the adjacent Bath Hotel. The building was demolished in 1904 to clear the plot and allow Piccadilly to be widened. The world-famous Ritz Hotel was constructed on this exact site and opened its doors in 1906, holding the current address of 150 Piccadilly.
Living with Rhoda allowed Beatrice the freedom to dive deeper into the late-Victorian feminist agenda. Alongside major figures like Emily Massingberd, Beatrice campaigned heavily for women's suffrage, local government representation, and the Rational Dress Society, while Rhoda provided a stable, shared domestic life.
Rhoda and Beatrice remained devoted companions for nearly forty years until they were separated by death. Rhoda Majendie passed away in 1918.
Beatrice survived her for nearly two decades, ultimately moving to Somerset, where she passed away in 1935, having lived a life profoundly shaped by her early choice to leave a traditional marriage for her true partnership with Rhoda.
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