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Dorothy Una Ratcliffe (often known as D.U.R.) led a rich and colourful life. Glamorous, wealthy, a socialite who loved nature and the gypsy life, she published almost fifty books, travelled all over the world, nurtured her garden, adored Yorkshire and its traditions, was a prolific collector and the inspiration behind a magnificent legacy to Leeds.

Brought up in Sussex and Surrey, she was the eldest of the three daughters of George Benson Clough, a wealthy barrister originally from Scarborough: she called him the first Yorkshireman in her life. He was active in local politics, author of several books, and encouraged her early literary efforts. Dorothy and her sisters were educated locally, then sent to finishing schools in Germany and Paris to polish their accomplishments.

In London in 1909, aged 22, she married Charles Frederick Ratcliffe, nephew and heir of the wealthy chemical tycoon Edward Allen Brotherton, later Lord Brotherton of Wakefield. He had no children, as his wife and baby had died in childbirth, and Charles, his sister’s son, was destined to inherit the business. The newly married couple settled in a house near Edward Brotherton’s home at Roundhay Hall (now the Spire Hospital), and in later years moved there themselves.

Dorothy’s marriage to Charles, however, was not a success and Dorothy began to help her husband’s uncle Lord Brotherton who by then was a childless widower. He became Lord Mayor of Leeds in 1913 – 1914 and Dorothy was his Lady Mayoress – the youngest woman ever to hold the post.

After the failure of her first marriage in 1930, Dorothy married Noel McGrigor-Phillips with whom she purchased and renovated Temple Sowerby Manor in the Lake District. This is now the National Trust property Acorn Bank Garden & Watermill in Cumbria. IN 1950, After Noel's death in 1943, Dorothy donated Acorn Bank to the national trust and what she called her "Gypsy library" to Leeds University, along with funds to make further additions to the collection.