Elizabeth Sander (before 1574 – 1 August 1607) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Bridgettine nun and writer. She joined the

Syon Abbey Syon Abbey , also called simply Syon, was a dual monastery of men and women of the Bridgettines, Bridgettine Order, although it only ever had abbesses during its existence. It was founded in 1415 and stood, until its demolition in the 16th cen ...

nuns, who were in religious exile, and then returned to England where she was imprisoned and escaped in 1580. She then escaped from imprisonment in

Winchester Castle Winchester Castle is a medieval building in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1067. Only the Great Hall still stands; it houses a museum of the history of Winchester. History Early history Around AD 70 the Romans constructed a ...

before she surrendered to her jailors. She died in Lisbon in the only English community of nuns to survive unbroken after the dissolution of the monasteries.

Life

Elizabeth Sander's parents were Elizabeth (maiden name Mynes) and William Sander (died 1572) and they lived at

Charlwood Charlwood is a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England. It is immediately northwest of London Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, close west of Horley and north of Crawley. The Historic counties of England, historic co ...

in Surrey. One of her eleven siblings was the priest

Nicholas Sanders Nicholas Sanders (also spelled Sander; c. 1530 – 1581) was an English Catholic priest and polemicist. Early life Sanders was born at Sander Place near Charlwood, Surrey, one of twelve children of William Sanders, once sheriff of Surrey, who ...

. Her brother, who had been a Professor, was ordained in Rome as a Roman Catholic priest as he had left England after the Protestant

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

came to the throne in 1558. Her sister Margaret became a Bridgettine nun and that too was her ambition. She left England in the company of others of similar ambitions to become a nun before 1578. The group she joined was formed when

was closed in 1539 as part of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. This group of nuns had moved five times between 1539 and 1573 when it settled in

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

. Strangely, we know that Elizabeth was part of the Mechelen group in 1578, because in that year she came back to England. She arrived back in England in 1578 with others including Mary Champney and Anne Stapleton. Champeney died that year and Stapleton died in 1580. It is supposed that they may have returned to England to escape the problems at Mechelen where their cloisters now included Calvinists, or maybe it was to raise money for the Mechelen group. We know a lot about this group as Sander wrote long letters to Sir

Francis Englefield Sir Francis Englefield (c. 1522 – 1596) was an English courtier and Roman Catholic exile. Family Francis Englefield, born about 1522, was the eldest son of Thomas Englefield (1488–1537) of Englefield, Berkshire, Justice of the Common P ...

. Englefield had held high office for Queen Mary but in 1559 he had gone into exile from a Protestant England. Sander was able to stay with other Catholics in England, but in 1580 she was imprisoned and questioned about the books that she was carrying. The

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

wrote of her "certeyne lewde and forbydden bokes". These books probably included a work by

Edward Campion The Oaten Hill Martyrs were Catholic Martyrs who were executed by hanging, drawing and quartering at Oaten Hill, Canterbury, on 1 October 1588. The gallows had been put up in 1576. These four were beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1929.Winchester Castle Winchester Castle is a medieval building in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1067. Only the Great Hall still stands; it houses a museum of the history of Winchester. History Early history Around AD 70 the Romans constructed a ...

. She escaped from Winchester Castle when she ignored the advice of her fellow prisoners who advised her to be law abiding. After she escaped she talked to other priests and under their advice she returned to her former jail. This surprising move resulted in her being given greater freedoms. In 1587 she returned to her fellow nuns abroad (now in Rouen) and after some years the community settled in Lisbon in 1594.

Death and legacy

Elizabeth Sander died in Lisbon on 1 August 1607. The Syon Abbey nuns would in time return to England – the only community to survive dissolution without a break. The community closed in 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sander, Elizabeth 1500s births 1607 deaths 16th-century English nuns People from Surrey English expatriates in Portugal English expatriates in Belgium English prisoners and detainees English escapees 17th-century English people Nuns of the Habsburg Netherlands