Born Lady Augusta Fane, daughter of John Fane, 9th Earl of Westmorland (1728–1774). In 1781 she married William Lowther, who became 1st Earl of Lonsdale in 1807; the couple had six children. The Countess encouraged artists and writers to visit their main home at Lowther Castle and Southey confessed ‘Lowther is the only place of its kind to which I can reconcile myself, because there are plenty of old books there, and there is a kindness about Lady Lonsdale which makes one think nothing about her rank, or rather, which makes one like her in spite of her rank.’ During a week at Lowther Castle in 1821, Southey wrote ‘Lines, Written in Lady Lonsdale’s Album, At Lowther Castle, Oct. 13. 1821’, which was later published in Joanna Baillie’s A Collection of Poems, Chiefly Manuscript, And From Living Authors (1823).