• Name: Plowden, Anna Maria (Countess Dundonald)
• Gender: Female
• Birth Date:
• Death Date: 1822

In the 1796 list Godwin notes meeting Plowden in 1796 (although there is an entry in 1795) and this has been treated as Francis Plowden (1749-1829) lawyer and historian. Godwin's 1796 list also notes 'Plowdens' in the list for 1801. Given the circles in which Godwin meets Plowden in 1796 it is likely that these are the same person and that he uses the plural in the later entry to indicate his new acquaintance with the wider family. We have identified three Plowdens: Francis Plowden (noted as Plowden), his wife Dorothea (noted as Mrs Plowden) and their daughter Anna Maria (noted as Miss Plowdens or Plowden). Entries to 'Plowdens' plural have been coded for all three although many of these entries may refer to only two (although Godwin explicitly notes '3 Plowdens' on 20 June 1805 ). Moreover, of the three occasions Anna Maria appears alone, in two she is noted as 'Miss Plowdens'. It is therefore possible that Godwin also makes this mistake with regards to Francis Plowden and thus some references to 'Plowdens' in fact indicate Plowden singular.

Plowden's daughter, Anna Maria Plowden, writes to Mrs Godwin at the Polygon on 7 April 1802 to send her father's apologies to her and Mr Godwin. It seems probable that Godwin was trying to borrow some books or to ask information about them and hoped that Plowden might have had what he needed. The note says that her father has 'scarcely even a bowing acquaintance with any one of them. Plowden wrote several works of British history and Godwin may have been looking for material related to Chaucer. The note suggests that there is a good relationship between the families.

Anna Maria's death was reported in Jackson's Oxford Journal for 5 October 1822. As Countess Dundonald she wrote publicly endorsing American Soothing Syrup and reporting its wonderful contribution to her young daughter's health! (See Morning Chronicle for 20 December 1820 - although she refers to the child as eight months old, so she must have known Godwin in 1802 as a very young woman.

• DNB
• MS. Abinger c. 42, fols. 3-4: 7 Apr. 1802
• Jackson's Oxford Journal 5 October 1822
• Morning Chronicle 20 December 1820

This table lists the people this person is most frequently noted with in the diary.