Elizabeth Wilmot, Countess of Rochester
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Wilmot, Countess of Rochester (1651 – 20 August 1681) was an English
heiress and the wife of John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester
, the "libertine
." She was born Elizabeth Malet, the daughter of John Malet of Enmore
Castle and Unton Hawley.
became infatuated with Elizabeth Malet and asked for her hand in marriage. She refused to marry the earl, and he attempted to abduct her on 26 May 1665. In his diaries, Samuel Pepys
describes Elizabeth Malet as the "great beauty and fortune of the North" and notes the scandal of her kidnapping by Rochester:
Elizabeth Malet later forgave Rochester, and they were married on 29 January 1667 against her father's wishes.
After the couple married, Rochester spent much of his time in London, where he engaged in public affairs, most famously with the actress Elizabeth Barry
. Elizabeth Wilmot stayed in his house at Adderbury
House in Oxfordshire
along with Rochester’s mother Anne Wilmot, Countess of Rochester, her mother Elizabeth Hawley, and Rochester’s nieces Eleanor and Anne Lee (later the poet Anne Wharton).
, includes songs and a fragment of a pastoral attributed to Elizabeth Wilmot, some of which has been anthologized in Kissing the Rod: An Anthology of Seventeenth-Century Women's Verse.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
heiress and the wife of John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester , styled Viscount Wilmot between 1652 and 1658, was an English Libertine poet, a friend of King Charles II, and the writer of much satirical and bawdy poetry. He was the toast of the Restoration court and a patron of the arts...
, the "libertine
Libertine
A libertine is one devoid of most moral restraints, which are seen as unnecessary or undesirable, especially one who ignores or even spurns accepted morals and forms of behavior sanctified by the larger society. Libertines, also known as rakes, placed value on physical pleasures, meaning those...
." She was born Elizabeth Malet, the daughter of John Malet of Enmore
Enmore, Somerset
Enmore is a village and civil parish west of Bridgwater on the Quantock Hills in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlet of Bare Ash.-History:The parish name means Duck marsh....
Castle and Unton Hawley.
Rochester
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of RochesterJohn Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester
John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester , styled Viscount Wilmot between 1652 and 1658, was an English Libertine poet, a friend of King Charles II, and the writer of much satirical and bawdy poetry. He was the toast of the Restoration court and a patron of the arts...
became infatuated with Elizabeth Malet and asked for her hand in marriage. She refused to marry the earl, and he attempted to abduct her on 26 May 1665. In his diaries, Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys FRS, MP, JP, was an English naval administrator and Member of Parliament who is now most famous for the diary he kept for a decade while still a relatively young man...
describes Elizabeth Malet as the "great beauty and fortune of the North" and notes the scandal of her kidnapping by Rochester:
Thence to my Lady Sandwich’s, where, to my shame, I had not been a great while before. Here, upon my telling her a story of my Lord Rochester’s running away on Friday night last with Mrs. Mallett, the great beauty and fortune of the North, who had supped at White Hall with Mrs. Stewart, and was going home to her lodgings with her grandfather, my Lord Haly, by coach; and was at Charing Cross seized on by both horse and foot men, and forcibly taken from him, and put into a coach with six horses, and two women provided to receive her, and carried away. Upon immediate pursuit, my Lord of Rochester (for whom the King had spoke to the lady often, but with no successe) was taken at Uxbridge; but the lady is not yet heard of, and the King mighty angry, and the Lord sent to the Tower. Hereupon my Lady did confess to me, as a great secret, her being concerned in this story. For if this match breaks between my Lord Rochester and her, then, by the consent of all her friends, my Lord Hinchingbroke stands fair, and is invited for her. She is worth, and will be at her mother’s death (who keeps but a little from her), 2500l. per annum.
Elizabeth Malet later forgave Rochester, and they were married on 29 January 1667 against her father's wishes.
After the couple married, Rochester spent much of his time in London, where he engaged in public affairs, most famously with the actress Elizabeth Barry
Elizabeth Barry
Elizabeth Barry was an English actress of the Restoration period.She worked in big, prestigious London theatre companies throughout her successful career: from 1675 in the Duke's Company, 1682 – 1695 in the monopoly United Company, and from 1695 onwards as a member of the actors' cooperative...
. Elizabeth Wilmot stayed in his house at Adderbury
Adderbury
Adderbury is a large village and civil parish in northern Oxfordshire, England. It is about south of Banbury and from Junction 10 of the M40 motorway. The village is divided in two by the Sor Brook. The village consists of two neighbourhoods: West Adderbury and East Adderbury...
House in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
along with Rochester’s mother Anne Wilmot, Countess of Rochester, her mother Elizabeth Hawley, and Rochester’s nieces Eleanor and Anne Lee (later the poet Anne Wharton).
Children
- Charles Wilmot, 3rd Earl of Rochester (christened 2 January 1670/71 – 12 November 1681)
- Lady Anne Wilmot married firstly Henry Bayntun, Esq., a country gentleman, by whom she had issue one son and one daughter Anne Bayntun (mother of Sir Edward Bayntun-RoltRoltRolt is a surname, and may refer to:*Edward Rolt, later Sir Edward Bayntun-Rolt, 1st Baronet , great grandson of John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester and Elizabeth Wilmot, Countess of Rochester*Sir John Rolt , English lawyer and Attorney-General...
, 1st Baronet). She married secondly the poet Hon. Francis Greville, MPFrancis Greville (MP)Francis Greville was the eldest son of Fulke Greville, 5th Baron Brooke and Sarah Dashwood.He married Lady Anne Wilmott, daughter and eventual coheiress of John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester...
(1 Jul 1667-11 Oct 1710), eldest son of Fulke Greville, 5th Baron BrookeBaron BrookeBaron Brooke is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1621 and was absorbed into the Earldom of Warwick in 1759.-History:The title was created in 1621 for Fulke Greville, who was already 5th Baron Willoughby de Broke. Greville was a favourite courtier of Queen Elizabeth and served...
of Beauchamps Court, and had two sons, the 6th and 7th Barons Brooke; the 7th Baron was father of Francis Greville, 1st Earl of WarwickFrancis Greville, 1st Earl of WarwickFrancis Greville, 1st Earl of Warwick KT , known as Lord Brooke from 1727 to 1746 and Earl Brooke from 1746 to 1759, was a British nobleman....
. - Lady Elizabeth Wilmot (christened 13 July 1674 – 1 July 1757); she married 8 July 1689 Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of SandwichEdward Montagu, 3rd Earl of SandwichEdward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich was born in Burlington House, London, England to Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Sandwich and Lady Ann Boyle. He was styled Viscount Hinchingbrooke from 1672 until his accession to the earldom in 1688...
(10 April 1670 – 20 October 1729), and had issue, one daughter (who died young) and one son Edward Montagu, Viscount HinchingbrookeEdward Montagu, Viscount HinchingbrookeEdward Richard Montagu, Viscount Hinchingbrooke was the eldest son of Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of the Earl of Rochester....
, father of John Montagu, 4th Earl of SandwichJohn Montagu, 4th Earl of SandwichJohn Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, PC, FRS was a British statesman who succeeded his grandfather, Edward Montagu, 3rd Earl of Sandwich, as the Earl of Sandwich in 1729, at the age of ten...
(for whom the sandwichSandwichA sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...
, is named). She became renowned for her learning and wit. - Lady Malet Wilmot (christened 6 January 1676, d. 13 January 1708/9) married John Vaughan, 1st Viscount LisburneJohn Vaughan, 1st Viscount LisburneJohn Vaughan, 1st Viscount Lisburne , of Trawsgoed, Cardiganshire, was a Welshnobleman.The son of Edward Vaughan and grandson of Sir John Vaughan, he was created Baron Fethard and Viscount Lisburne, in the Peerage of Ireland, on 5 June 1695...
on 18 August 1692; their son was Wilmot Vaughan, 3rd Viscount Lisburne, father of Wilmot Vaughan, 1st Earl of LisburneWilmot Vaughan, 1st Earl of LisburneWilmot Vaughan, 1st Earl of Lisburne , of Trawsgoed, Cardiganshire, known as Viscount Lisburne from 1766 to 1776, was a Welsh peer and politician.Lisburne was the son of Wilmot Vaughan, 3rd Viscount Lisburne...
, ancestor of the present Earl.
Death
Elizabeth Wilmot died in 1681, only a few months after her husband. Her son Charles died soon thereafter.Poetry
Elizabeth Wilmot's poetry survives in a manuscript that she and her husband produced together. The manuscript, now held by the University of NottinghamUniversity of Nottingham
The University of Nottingham is a public research university based in Nottingham, United Kingdom, with further campuses in Ningbo, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
, includes songs and a fragment of a pastoral attributed to Elizabeth Wilmot, some of which has been anthologized in Kissing the Rod: An Anthology of Seventeenth-Century Women's Verse.
External links
- Elizabeth Malet Wilmot's abduction
- Elizabeth Malet Wilmot's abduction detailed
- Samuel Pepys' description of Elizabeth Malet Wilmot's abduction
- The Perdita Project link to Elizabeth Malet Wilmot's manuscript poetry
- A description of letters from John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester's mother (some of which concern Eilzabeth Malet Wilmot)