Lady Anne Clifford
Encyclopedia
Lady Anne Clifford, 14th Baroness de Clifford (30 January 1590 – 22 March 1676) was the only surviving child of George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland
(1558–1605) by his wife Lady Margaret Russell, daughter of Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford
. In 1605, she became the suo jure
Baroness Clifford and hereditary High Sheriff of Westmorland
.
She was a patron of authors and literature; and her many letters and diary made her a literary personage in her own right.
.
Her parents' marriage was soured by the deaths of Anne's two elder brothers: her parents lived apart for most of her childhood. Upon the death of her father which occurred on 30 October 1605, she succeeded to the title of suo jure
Baroness Clifford but her father had willed his earldom and estates to his brother Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland
. In her young adulthood she was involved in a long and complex legal battle to obtain the family estates, (which had been granted by Edward II under absolute cognatic primogeniture) instead of the £15,000 willed to her. The main grounds were She was 15 years old at the time. It was not until Francis' only son Henry died without a male heir in 1643 that she managed to secure the family estates, although it was 1649 before she could take possession.
She was brought up in an almost entirely female household—evoked in Emilia Lanier
's Description of Cookeham—and given an excellent education by her tutor, the poet Samuel Daniel
. As a child she was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I of England
; she also danced in masque
s with Anne of Denmark
, queen of King James I of England
. She was the Nymph of the Air in Daniel's masque Tethys's Festival, and filled roles in several of the early court masques of Ben Jonson
, including The Masque of Beauty
(1608) and The Masque of Queens
(1609).
, whom she married on 27 February 1609. After his death in 1624, she married Philip Herbert, Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery
in 1630. She was Herbert's second wife; his first wife, Lady Susan de Vere
had died the year before. Both marriages were reportedly difficult; contemporaries sometimes cited Lady Anne's unyielding personality as a cause. (Her cousin Edward Russell, 3rd Earl of Bedford
compared her to the Rhone River
.) A more sympathetic view would blame some of the troubles in her first marriage on her husband's spendthrift extravagance and his infidelities.
, by whom she had 11 children.
The artist Jan van Belcamp
painted a triptych
portrait of Anne Clifford to her own design and specifications. Titled "The Great Picture," it portrays Lady Anne at three points in her life—at age 56, at age 15, and before birth in her mother's womb. In connection with the painting, Anne Clifford dated her own conception to 1 May 1589—certainly an unusual act of precision.
In 1656, she erected the Countess Pillar
in memory of her late mother. She restored churches at Appleby-in-Westmorland
, Ninekirks
, Brougham
and Mallerstang
. She was also responsible for the improvement and expansion of many of the Clifford family's castles across Northern England
, including those at Pendragon
(Mallerstang), Brough
, Skipton
and Appleby
, the last being her home.
She served as High Sheriff of Westmorland
from 1653 to 1676. At her death, aged 86, she was the Dowager Countess of Dorset, Pembroke, and Montgomery. Her tomb is in St Lawrence's Church, Appleby-in-Westmorland.
George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland
Sir George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland, KG was an English peer, as well as a naval commander and courtier in the court of Queen Elizabeth I.-Background:...
(1558–1605) by his wife Lady Margaret Russell, daughter of Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford
Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford
Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford, KG was an English nobleman, soldier and politician and godfather to Sir. Francis Drake.-Early life:...
. In 1605, she became the suo jure
Suo jure
Suo jure is a Latin phrase meaning "in her [or his] own right".It is commonly encountered in the context of titles of nobility, especially in cases where a wife may hold a title in her own right rather than through her marriage....
Baroness Clifford and hereditary High Sheriff of Westmorland
High Sheriff of Westmorland
Westmorland in North West England no longer exists as a county, the original core of it having merged into the modern district of Eden within the county of Cumbria....
.
She was a patron of authors and literature; and her many letters and diary made her a literary personage in her own right.
Early years
Lady Anne was born on 30 January 1590 and baptised the following 22 February at Skipton Church in YorkshireYorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
.
Her parents' marriage was soured by the deaths of Anne's two elder brothers: her parents lived apart for most of her childhood. Upon the death of her father which occurred on 30 October 1605, she succeeded to the title of suo jure
Suo jure
Suo jure is a Latin phrase meaning "in her [or his] own right".It is commonly encountered in the context of titles of nobility, especially in cases where a wife may hold a title in her own right rather than through her marriage....
Baroness Clifford but her father had willed his earldom and estates to his brother Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland
Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland
Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland was a member of the Clifford family which held the seat of Skipton from 1310 to 1676....
. In her young adulthood she was involved in a long and complex legal battle to obtain the family estates, (which had been granted by Edward II under absolute cognatic primogeniture) instead of the £15,000 willed to her. The main grounds were She was 15 years old at the time. It was not until Francis' only son Henry died without a male heir in 1643 that she managed to secure the family estates, although it was 1649 before she could take possession.
She was brought up in an almost entirely female household—evoked in Emilia Lanier
Emilia Lanier
Emilia Lanier, also spelled Lanyer, was the first Englishwoman to assert herself as a professional poet through her single volume of poems, Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum...
's Description of Cookeham—and given an excellent education by her tutor, the poet Samuel Daniel
Samuel Daniel
Samuel Daniel was an English poet and historian.-Early life:Daniel was born near Taunton in Somerset, the son of a music-master. He was the brother of lutenist and composer John Danyel. Their sister Rosa was Edmund Spenser's model for Rosalind in his The Shepherd's Calendar; she eventually married...
. As a child she was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
; she also danced in masque
Masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio...
s with Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I...
, queen of King James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
. She was the Nymph of the Air in Daniel's masque Tethys's Festival, and filled roles in several of the early court masques of Ben Jonson
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
, including The Masque of Beauty
The Masque of Beauty
The Masque of Beauty was a courtly masque composed by Ben Jonson, and performed to inaugurate the refurbished banqueting hall of Whitehall Palace on January 10, 1608. It was a sequel to the preceding Masque of Blackness, which had been performed three years earlier, on January 6, 1605...
(1608) and The Masque of Queens
The Masque of Queens
The Masque of Queens, Celebrated From the House of Fame is one of the earlier works in the series of masques that Ben Jonson composed for the House of Stuart in the early 17th century...
(1609).
Marriages
Lady Anne's first husband was Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of DorsetRichard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset
Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset was the son of Robert Sackville, 2nd Earl of Dorset....
, whom she married on 27 February 1609. After his death in 1624, she married Philip Herbert, Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery
Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke
Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke and 1st Earl of Montgomery KG was an English courtier and politician active during the reigns of James I and Charles I...
in 1630. She was Herbert's second wife; his first wife, Lady Susan de Vere
Susan de Vere, Countess of Montgomery
Susan de Vere, Countess of Montgomery was an English noblewoman and the youngest daughter of Elizabethan courtier, poet, and playwright Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.-Family and early years:...
had died the year before. Both marriages were reportedly difficult; contemporaries sometimes cited Lady Anne's unyielding personality as a cause. (Her cousin Edward Russell, 3rd Earl of Bedford
Edward Russell, 3rd Earl of Bedford
Edward Russell, 3rd Earl of Bedford was the son of Sir Francis Russell, Lord Russell and the grandson of Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford....
compared her to the Rhone River
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
.) A more sympathetic view would blame some of the troubles in her first marriage on her husband's spendthrift extravagance and his infidelities.
Patron of the arts
She was an important patron of authors and literature; her letters, and the diary she kept from 1603 through 1616, have made her a secondary literary figure in her own right.John Donne is reported to have said that she could 'discourse of all things from Predestination to Slea-silk '. She bore five children by her first husband— although none of their three sons survived to adulthood. Her two surviving daughters both married and had issue. A central conflict with her second husband lay in a choice of husband for her younger daughter, Lady Margaret Sackville (2 July 1614- 14 August 1676). Lady Margaret married in 1629, John Tufton, 2nd Earl of ThanetJohn Tufton, 2nd Earl of Thanet
John Tufton, 2nd Earl of Thanet was an English nobleman and supporter of Charles I of England. He was the eldest son of Nicholas Tufton, 1st Earl of Thanet and Lady Frances Cecil granddaughter of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley .On 21 April 1629, he married Lady Margaret Sackville , daughter of...
, by whom she had 11 children.
The artist Jan van Belcamp
Jan van Belcamp
Jan van Belkamp , a Dutch artist, who passed the greater part of his artistic life in England, where he was much employed in copying the pictures in the Royal Collection, and died in 1663...
painted a triptych
Triptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
portrait of Anne Clifford to her own design and specifications. Titled "The Great Picture," it portrays Lady Anne at three points in her life—at age 56, at age 15, and before birth in her mother's womb. In connection with the painting, Anne Clifford dated her own conception to 1 May 1589—certainly an unusual act of precision.
In 1656, she erected the Countess Pillar
Countess Pillar
The Countess Pillar is a 17th-century monument near Brougham, Cumbria, England, between Penrith and Appleby. It is two miles east of Penrith on the A66...
in memory of her late mother. She restored churches at Appleby-in-Westmorland
Appleby-in-Westmorland
Appleby-in-Westmorland is a town and civil parish in Cumbria, in North West England. It is situated within a loop of the River Eden and has a population of approximately 2,500. It is in the historic county of Westmorland, of which it was the county town. The town's name was simply Appleby, until...
, Ninekirks
Ninekirks
Ninekirks , dedicated to Saint Ninian, was formerly the parish church of Brougham, Cumbria. It is situated on the south bank of the River Eamont near its confluence with the River Eden.-Importance:...
, Brougham
Brougham, Cumbria
Brougham is a small village and civil parish on the outskirts of Penrith in the Eden District of Cumbria, England...
and Mallerstang
Mallerstang
Mallerstang is a civil parish in the extreme east of Cumbria, and, geographically, a dale at the head of the upper Eden Valley. Originally part of Westmorland, it lies about south of the nearest town, Kirkby Stephen...
. She was also responsible for the improvement and expansion of many of the Clifford family's castles across Northern England
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...
, including those at Pendragon
Pendragon Castle
Pendragon Castle is a ruin located in Mallerstang dale, Cumbria, close to the hamlet of Outhgill, at It stands in an atmospheric spot, above a bend in the river Eden, overlooked by Wild Boar Fell to the south-west and Mallerstang Edge to the east.-Legend:...
(Mallerstang), Brough
Brough Castle
Brough Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Brough, Cumbria , England. It is currently administered by English Heritage. The Castle consists of a large mound, on which there is an extensive range of buildings, with a circular corner tower, and the remnants of an older four storey...
, Skipton
Skipton Castle
Skipton Castle is situated within the town of Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. The castle has been preserved for over 900 years, built in 1090 by Robert de Romille, a Norman baron.- History :...
and Appleby
Appleby Castle
Appleby Castle is in the town of Appleby, Cumbria overlooking the River Eden . It consists of a 12th-century castle keep which is known as Caesar's tower, and a mansion house. These, together with their associated buildings, are set in a courtyard surrounded by curtain walls...
, the last being her home.
She served as High Sheriff of Westmorland
High Sheriff of Westmorland
Westmorland in North West England no longer exists as a county, the original core of it having merged into the modern district of Eden within the county of Cumbria....
from 1653 to 1676. At her death, aged 86, she was the Dowager Countess of Dorset, Pembroke, and Montgomery. Her tomb is in St Lawrence's Church, Appleby-in-Westmorland.
Further reading
- Acheson, Katherine O., ed. 2006. The Memoir of 1603 and The Diary of 1616-1619. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press. ISBN 979-1551113395. http://www.broadviewpress.com/product.php?productid=797&cat=66&page=1
- Proud Northern Lady by Martin Holmes