Dorothy Spencer, Countess of Sunderland
Encyclopedia
Dorothy Spencer, Countess of Sunderland (5 October 1617 – 5 February 1684) was the wife of Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland
and the daughter of Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester
.
In about 1635, she rejected a proposal of marriage from the poet Edmund Waller
, who addressed verses to her under the name of "Sacharissa". In 1639, she married Henry Spencer, and he was created 1st Earl of Sunderland
in 1643, in recognition of his service to the king in the English Civil War
. He was killed at the First Battle of Newbury
shortly afterwards, leaving Dorothy with two children, and pregnant with a third, who died in infancy. Their children were:
The widowed countess lived at Brington, Northamptonshire, but eventually returned to live with her parents at Penshurst Place
in Kent. In 1652 she remarried, to Robert Smith or Smythe.
Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland
Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland, 3rd Baron Spencer of Wormleighton , known as The Lord Spencer between 1636 and June 1643, was an English peer who fought and died in the English civil war on the side of the Cavaliers.Henry was born at Althorp to William Spencer, 2nd Baron Spencer and was...
and the daughter of Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester
Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester
Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester was an English aristocrat and diplomat.-Life:He was the son of Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester, and his first wife, Barbara Gamage...
.
In about 1635, she rejected a proposal of marriage from the poet Edmund Waller
Edmund Waller
Edmund Waller, FRS was an English poet and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1624 and 1679.- Early life :...
, who addressed verses to her under the name of "Sacharissa". In 1639, she married Henry Spencer, and he was created 1st Earl of Sunderland
Earl of Sunderland
Earl of Sunderland is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1627 in favour of Emanuel Scrope, 12th Baron Scrope of Bolton. The earldom became extinct on his death in 1630 while the barony became either extinct or dormant...
in 1643, in recognition of his service to the king in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. He was killed at the First Battle of Newbury
First Battle of Newbury
The First Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War that was fought on 20 September 1643 between a Royalist army, under the personal command of King Charles, and a Parliamentarian force led by the Earl of Essex...
shortly afterwards, leaving Dorothy with two children, and pregnant with a third, who died in infancy. Their children were:
- Lady Dorothy Spencer
- Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of SunderlandRobert Spencer, 2nd Earl of SunderlandRobert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland KG, PC was an English statesman and nobleman.-Life:Born in Paris, son of Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland, Spencer inherited his father's peerage dignities at the age of three, becoming Baron Spencer of Wormleighton and Earl of Sunderland...
- Lady Penelope Spencer (c. 1644–1645), died in infancy
The widowed countess lived at Brington, Northamptonshire, but eventually returned to live with her parents at Penshurst Place
Penshurst Place
Penshurst Place is a historic building near Tonbridge, Kent, south east of London, England. It is the ancestral home of the Sidney family, and was the birthplace of the great Elizabethan poet, courtier and soldier, Sir Philip Sidney. The original medieval house is one of the most complete examples...
in Kent. In 1652 she remarried, to Robert Smith or Smythe.