Alice Lisle
Encyclopedia
Lady Alice Lisle commonly known as Dame Alicia Lisle or Dame Alice Lyle, was a landed lady of the English
county of Hampshire
, who was executed for harbouring fugitives after the defeat of the Monmouth Rebellion
at the Battle of Sedgemoor
.
in Hampshire
and his wife, Edith Bond, daughter and co-heiress of William Bond of Blackmanston in Steeple
in Dorset
. She had a younger sister, Elizabeth, who married Sir Thomas Tipping
of Wheatfield
Park in Stoke Talmage
in Oxfordshire
. Alice Lisle's husband, Sir John Lisle
(d. 1664), had been one of the judges at the trial of Charles I
, and was subsequently a member of Cromwell's House of Lords, hence his wife's courtesy title. She seems to have leaned to Royalism, but she combined this with a decided sympathy for religious dissent.
. Hickes, who was a member of Monmouth
's defeated army, brought with him Richard Nelthorpe, another supporter of Monmouth and under sentence of outlawry. The men spent the night at Moyles Court, and in the morning were arrested. Their hostess, who had initially denied their presence, was charged with harbouring traitors.
at the opening of the Bloody Assizes
at Winchester. She pleaded she had no knowledge that Hickes's offence was anything more serious than illegal preaching. Furthermore, she had known nothing of Nelthorpe, who was not named in the indictment, but was nevertheless mentioned to strengthen the case for the Crown. She said she had no sympathy with the rebellion whatsoever. The jury reluctantly found her guilty, and the law recognizing no distinction between principals and accessories in treason
, she was sentenced to be burned
.
allowed beheading as fit her station to be substituted for burning. Lady Alice Lisle was publicly executed in the Winchester market-place on 2 September 1685. She is buried in a tomb on the right hand side of the porch at St Mary's Church, in Ellingham, Hampshire.
A plaque marks the spot of Lady Alice's execution, opposite "The Eclipse Inn" near the Cathedral in Winchester.
after the Glorious Revolution
was to reverse her attainder on the grounds that the prosecution was irregular and the verdict injuriously extorted by "the menaces and violences and other illegal practices" of Judge Jeffreys. However, it is doubtful that Jeffreys, for all his brutality, exceeded the strict letter of the law of the day.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, who was executed for harbouring fugitives after the defeat of the Monmouth Rebellion
Monmouth Rebellion
The Monmouth Rebellion,The Revolt of the West or The West Country rebellion of 1685, was an attempt to overthrow James II, who had become King of England, King of Scots and King of Ireland at the death of his elder brother Charles II on 6 February 1685. James II was a Roman Catholic, and some...
at the Battle of Sedgemoor
Battle of Sedgemoor
The Battle of Sedgemoor was fought on 6 July 1685 and took place at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater in Somerset, England.It was the final battle of the Monmouth Rebellion and followed a series of skirmishes around south west England between the forces of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth and the...
.
Family
Dame Alice was a daughter of Sir White Beconshaw of Moyles Court at EllinghamEllingham, Hampshire
Ellingham is a small village near Ringwood in Hampshire, England, west of the New Forest National Park. Ellingham is most famous for the story of Alice Lisle, who was executed by the infamous Judge Jeffreys in 1685, on the charge of harbouring fugitives after the defeat of the Monmouth...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
and his wife, Edith Bond, daughter and co-heiress of William Bond of Blackmanston in Steeple
Steeple, Dorset
Steeple is a hamlet in the Purbeck district of the English county of Dorset. It is situated some eight miles west of Swanage. The village has a population of 94 ....
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
. She had a younger sister, Elizabeth, who married Sir Thomas Tipping
Thomas Tipping (knight)
Sir Thomas Tipping was a prominent Parliamentarian during the English Civil War.-Family:Sir Thomas was the eldest son of John Tipping of Wheatfield Park in Oxfordshire and his wife, Anne daughter of Sir Christopher Pigott of Doddershall in Buckinghamshire. He was baptised in Wheatfield Church on...
of Wheatfield
Wheatfield, Oxfordshire
Wheatfield is a civil parish and deserted medieval village about south of Thame in Oxfordshire.All that remains today is the crenellated Church of England parish church of Saint Andrew, former rectory and the old stables. Wheatfield Park was the home of the Tipping family from the 16th century...
Park in Stoke Talmage
Stoke Talmage
Stoke Talmage is a village and civil parish south of Thame in Oxfordshire.Stoke Talmage seems to have had a parish church since the 11th century, although the first clear historical reference to it dates from 1219. The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary Magdalene was restored in 1758....
in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
. Alice Lisle's husband, Sir John Lisle
John Lisle
Sir John Lisle was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1659. He supported the Parliamentarian cause in the English Civil War and was one of the Regicides of King Charles I of England...
(d. 1664), had been one of the judges at the trial of Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, and was subsequently a member of Cromwell's House of Lords, hence his wife's courtesy title. She seems to have leaned to Royalism, but she combined this with a decided sympathy for religious dissent.
After Sedgemoor
On 20 July 1685, a fortnight after the Battle of Sedgemoor, Lady Alice agreed to shelter John Hickes, a well-known Nonconformist minister, at Moyles Court, her residence near RingwoodRingwood
Ringwood is a historic market town and civil parish in Hampshire, England, located on the River Avon, close to the New Forest and north of Bournemouth. It has a history dating back to Anglo-Saxon times, and has held a weekly market since the Middle Ages....
. Hickes, who was a member of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, KG, PC , was an English nobleman. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II and his mistress, Lucy Walter...
's defeated army, brought with him Richard Nelthorpe, another supporter of Monmouth and under sentence of outlawry. The men spent the night at Moyles Court, and in the morning were arrested. Their hostess, who had initially denied their presence, was charged with harbouring traitors.
Trial
Lady Alice's case was tried by Judge JeffreysGeorge Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys
George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys of Wem, PC , also known as "The Hanging Judge", was an English judge. He became notable during the reign of King James II, rising to the position of Lord Chancellor .- Early years and education :Jeffreys was born at the family estate of Acton Hall, near Wrexham,...
at the opening of the Bloody Assizes
Bloody Assizes
The Bloody Assizes were a series of trials started at Winchester on 25 August 1685 in the aftermath of the Battle of Sedgemoor, which ended the Monmouth Rebellion in England....
at Winchester. She pleaded she had no knowledge that Hickes's offence was anything more serious than illegal preaching. Furthermore, she had known nothing of Nelthorpe, who was not named in the indictment, but was nevertheless mentioned to strengthen the case for the Crown. She said she had no sympathy with the rebellion whatsoever. The jury reluctantly found her guilty, and the law recognizing no distinction between principals and accessories in treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
, she was sentenced to be burned
Execution by burning
Death by burning is death brought about by combustion. As a form of capital punishment, burning has a long history as a method in crimes such as treason, heresy, and witchcraft....
.
Execution
Jeffreys ordered the sentence to be carried out that same afternoon, but a few days' respite was granted, and James IIJames II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
allowed beheading as fit her station to be substituted for burning. Lady Alice Lisle was publicly executed in the Winchester market-place on 2 September 1685. She is buried in a tomb on the right hand side of the porch at St Mary's Church, in Ellingham, Hampshire.
A plaque marks the spot of Lady Alice's execution, opposite "The Eclipse Inn" near the Cathedral in Winchester.
Legacy
Many writers have described Lady Alice's execution a judicial murder, and one of the first acts of parliament of William and MaryWilliam and Mary
The phrase William and Mary usually refers to the coregency over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, of King William III & II and Queen Mary II...
after the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
was to reverse her attainder on the grounds that the prosecution was irregular and the verdict injuriously extorted by "the menaces and violences and other illegal practices" of Judge Jeffreys. However, it is doubtful that Jeffreys, for all his brutality, exceeded the strict letter of the law of the day.