Lady Margaret Hoby
Encyclopedia
Lady Margaret Hoby née Dakins (1571–1633) was an English
diarist of the Elizabethan period. Hers is the oldest known diary
written by a woman in English.
Margaret was educated in the Puritan household of Katherine Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon
, a devout Protestant with Puritan leanings who ran a school for young gentlewomen. Penelope and Dorothy Devereux, the daughters of Margaret's future father-in-law, Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
, also attended the school. As an heiress Margaret was a valuable commodity on the Elizabethan marriage market. Her first husband was Walter Devereux, the younger son of Essex, and a court favorite of Queen Elizabeth I
. The manor and parsonage of Hackness
near Scarborough in the North Riding were purchased for the couple, and remained Margaret's property after the death of Devereux at the siege of Rouen in 1591.
Three months later, Margaret was courted unsuccessfully by Sir Thomas Posthumous Hoby, son of the translator and English ambassador to France Sir Thomas Hoby
. She married at that juncture Sir Thomas Sidney, the younger brother of Philip Sidney
and Robert Sidney
, but after Sidney died in 1595, she next married Hoby, on 9 August 1596. They lived at Hackness
, near Scarborough, but had no children. Margaret spent much of her time there in the company of a confessor, Richard Rhodes. She went around tending the sick and infirm in her own community, as well as running her household and recording detailed household accounts. The activities reported in her diary reflect profound religious beliefs.
later in the 17th century, the day's entry often ends with the phrase, "And so to bed."
Margaret Hoby visited York
and London
several times during the years covered by her diary, but it makes little reference to public events. Margaret died on 4 September 1633 and was buried on 6 September in the chancel of Hackness church, where her husband erected an alabaster monument to her. It survives, but St Margaret's Chapel in Harwood Dale
, which Hoby also built to her memory, is in ruins. Her husband died in 1640 leaving his manor at Hackness to the son of his first cousin named John Syndenham, whose son, Sir John Posthumous Syndenham, erected a monument to Hoby in Hackness church. There is also a memorial to him in All Saints' Church, Bisham
, Berkshire
.
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...
diarist of the Elizabethan period. Hers is the oldest known diary
Diary
A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...
written by a woman in English.
Life
Margaret Dakins was born before 10 February 1571 (the date of her baptism), the only child of a landed gentleman, Arthur Dakins (c.1517–1592) of Linton, East Riding, and his wife, Thomasine Gye (d. 1613).Margaret was educated in the Puritan household of Katherine Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon
Katherine Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon
Katherine Hastings , Countess of Huntingdon was an English noblewoman. She was the youngest surviving daughter of John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland and his wife Jane Guildford, and a sister of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Elizabeth I's favourite...
, a devout Protestant with Puritan leanings who ran a school for young gentlewomen. Penelope and Dorothy Devereux, the daughters of Margaret's future father-in-law, Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, KG , an English nobleman and general. From 1573 until his death he fought in Ireland in connection with the Plantation of Ulster, where he ordered the massacre of Rathlin Island...
, also attended the school. As an heiress Margaret was a valuable commodity on the Elizabethan marriage market. Her first husband was Walter Devereux, the younger son of Essex, and a court favorite of Queen Elizabeth I
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...
. The manor and parsonage of Hackness
Hackness
Hackness is a village and civil parish in the Scarboroughdistrict of the county of North Yorkshire, England.Hackness is mentioned as the site of a double monastery or nunnery by Bede, writing in the early 8th century. The church of Saint Mary has fragments of a high cross dating from the late 8th...
near Scarborough in the North Riding were purchased for the couple, and remained Margaret's property after the death of Devereux at the siege of Rouen in 1591.
Three months later, Margaret was courted unsuccessfully by Sir Thomas Posthumous Hoby, son of the translator and English ambassador to France Sir Thomas Hoby
Thomas Hoby
Sir Thomas Hoby was an English diplomat and translator. He was born in 1530, the second son of William Hoby of Leominster, Herefordshire, by his second wife, Katherine, daughter of John Forden. He matriculated at St. John's College, Cambridge in 1546...
. She married at that juncture Sir Thomas Sidney, the younger brother of Philip Sidney
Philip Sidney
Sir Philip Sidney was an English poet, courtier and soldier, and is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan Age...
and Robert Sidney
Robert Sidney
Robert Sidney may refer to:*Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester , English nobleman and statesman*Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester , son of the above*Robert Sidney, 4th Earl of Leicester -See also:...
, but after Sidney died in 1595, she next married Hoby, on 9 August 1596. They lived at Hackness
Hackness
Hackness is a village and civil parish in the Scarboroughdistrict of the county of North Yorkshire, England.Hackness is mentioned as the site of a double monastery or nunnery by Bede, writing in the early 8th century. The church of Saint Mary has fragments of a high cross dating from the late 8th...
, near Scarborough, but had no children. Margaret spent much of her time there in the company of a confessor, Richard Rhodes. She went around tending the sick and infirm in her own community, as well as running her household and recording detailed household accounts. The activities reported in her diary reflect profound religious beliefs.
The diary
Margaret Hoby's diary — the earliest known by an Englishwoman (1599–1605) — gives a notable account of the domestic disciplines of Elizabethan puritanism, along with the religious exercises and prayers for the whole household and the private prayers and reading, in which she was guided by her chaplain, Richard Rhodes. It was written as a pious exercise, and as such, presaged a school of religious soul-searching in diary form that continued into the 18th century. The diary also shed light on the management of the estate in her husband's frequent absences, supervising and paying servants, sorting linen, playing music, gardening, giving medical advice and treatment to neighbours and tenants. It tells little about the writer's private feelings. References to Sir Thomas Hoby are formal, though Margaret was strong-minded enough to resist until 1632 his request that she make over her Hackness and other properties to him and his heirs. She had no children herself. As with the diary of Samuel PepysSamuel 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...
later in the 17th century, the day's entry often ends with the phrase, "And so to bed."
Margaret Hoby visited York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
several times during the years covered by her diary, but it makes little reference to public events. Margaret died on 4 September 1633 and was buried on 6 September in the chancel of Hackness church, where her husband erected an alabaster monument to her. It survives, but St Margaret's Chapel in Harwood Dale
Harwood Dale
Harwood Dale is a village and civil parish in the Scarboroughdistrict of North Yorkshire, England.According to the 2001 UK census, Harwood Dale parish had a population of 134....
, which Hoby also built to her memory, is in ruins. Her husband died in 1640 leaving his manor at Hackness to the son of his first cousin named John Syndenham, whose son, Sir John Posthumous Syndenham, erected a monument to Hoby in Hackness church. There is also a memorial to him in All Saints' Church, Bisham
Bisham
Bisham is a village and civil parish in the Windsor and Maidenhead district of Berkshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,149. The village is on the River Thames, north of which is Marlow in Buckinghamshire...
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
.
Sources
- Paul Slack, "Hoby , Margaret, Lady Hoby (bap. 1571, d. 1633)", rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, UK: OUP, 2004). Retrieved 3 November 2011. Subscription required.
- Margaret Hoby: Diary of an Elizabethan Lady ISBN 0750913495
- Freedman, Sylvia: Poor Penelope: Lady Penelope Rich. An Elizabethan Woman (Abbotsbrook, Bucks: Kensal Press, 1983). ISBN 0946041202
- Hoby, Lady Margaret. In: A Historical Dictionary of British Women (London: Europa, 2003). ISBN 1857432282
- Hoby [née Dakins], Margaret, 1571-1633. In: The Cambridge Guide to Women's Writing in English (1993). Retrieved 24 September 2011.
- Thomas Posthumous Hoby. Secret-bases site, UK Retrieved 24 September 2011.
- Cambridge University Orlando project page on Hoby. Subscription required.
- University of Victoria biography