Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Oxford, formerly Elizabeth Trentham (d. c. December 1612), was the second wife of the Elizabethan courtier and poet

Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (; 12 April 155024 June 1604) was an English peer and courtier of the Elizabethan era. Oxford was heir to the second oldest earldom in the kingdom, a court favourite for a time, a sought-after patron o ...

Family and early years

Elizabeth Trentham was born at

Rocester Rocester is a village and civil parish in the East Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England. Its name is spelt ''Rowcestre'' in the Domesday Book. It is located on the Derbyshire border. Geography The village is about north of Uttoxe ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

, the daughter of

Thomas Trentham Thomas Trentham (1538–1587) was an English politician. He was the son of Richard Trentham of Rocester Abbey, who died in 1547. In 1571, he became a Knight of the Shire in the House of Commons as one of two members for the County of Stafford ...

and Jane Sneyd. Her father's will, made 19 October 1586, mentions his son and heir, Francis, another son, Thomas, and three daughters, Elizabeth, Dorothy and Katherine. Elizabeth's brother Francis married Katherine, the daughter of Ralph Sheldon of

Beoley Beoley is a small village and larger civil parish north of Redditch in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire. It adjoins Warwickshire to the east. The 2001 census gave a parish population of 945, mostly at Holt End. The parish includes ...

, and carried on the family line. Her younger brother, Thomas, died unmarried in 1605. Two of Elizabeth's sisters were already married when Thomas Trentham made his will in 1586, Dorothy to William Cooper of Thurgarton, and Katherine to

Sir John Stanhope Sir John Stanhope (1559 – 1611) was an English knight and landowner, and father of Philip Stanhope, 1st Earl of Chesterfield. Career John Stanhope was the son of Sir Thomas Stanhope (d. 1596) of Shelford Manor, Nottinghamshire, and Margare ...

. Thomas Trentham's reputation in the county is indicated by his appointment by the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mo ...

as one of the "principal gentlemen in Staffordshire" to accompany

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

from her Staffordshire exile to her trial at

Fotheringay Castle Fotheringhay Castle, also known as ''Fotheringay Castle'', was a High Middle Age Norman Motte-and-bailey castle in the village of Fotheringhay to the north of the market town of Oundle, Northamptonshire, England (). It was probably fou ...

in 1586 (a trial at which the 17th Earl of Oxford sat on the jury).

Later years and marriage

Elizabeth Trentham was

Maid of Honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Role Traditionally, a queen ...

to Queen Elizabeth for at least ten years. Records indicate that she exchanged New Year's gifts with the Queen in 1584, 1588 and 1589, and she is listed as a

on a subsidy roll dated 10 November 1590. She was known at court as a beauty.

had been in need of an heir and, hence, a wife since 5 June 1588, when his 31-year-old wife

Anne Cecil Anne de Vere (née Cecil), Countess of Oxford (5 December 1556 – 5 June 1588) was the daughter of the statesman William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, chief adviser to Queen Elizabeth I of England, and the translator Mildred Cooke. In 1571 she be ...

died suddenly, leaving him no legitimate male heir. (His son Edward had been born to mistress Anne Vavasour, a maid of honor. She gave birth in the palace after concealing both the long affair and her entire pregnancy. The betrayal of the Queen's trust landed them both in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

.) Oxford had an immediate need: money. In the summer of 1590, he owed £11,445 to just one of his many impatient creditors: the Crown. The Bank of England's Inflation Calculator values his debt to the Crown at £3,986,734 today or $5.64 million US. Elizabeth Trentham was wealthy. Her father's will bequeathed her a

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...

of £1000, payable at the rate of 500 marks a year for three years. It was a generous amount (£352,624.00 or $499,200.98 US today), but it was only a tenth of what Oxford owed the Queen. The wedding of Trentham and Vere "may be dated to 27 December 1591 (at the latest) from a record of the Queen's gift to the new Countess: 'geuen the Countess of Oxforde at her marridge the xxxvij of December Anno 34th." The newly married couple resided at

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish. The ...

, where their son, Henry de Vere, was born on 24 February 1593. On 2 September 1597 the Queen granted licence to the executors of Sir Rowland Hayward to sell

King's Place Kings Place is a building in London’s Kings Cross area, providing music and visual arts venues combined with seven floors of office space. It has housed the editorial offices of ''The Guardian'' newspaper since December 2008 and is the fo ...

in the Hackney in north London to Elizabeth Trentham, her brother Francis Trentham, her uncle Ralph Sneyd, and her cousin, Giles Yonge.. The acquisition of King's Place by Elizabeth Trentham and her relatives placed it 'beyond the reach of Oxford's creditors'. King's Place was a substantial country manor house with a celebrated great hall, a classic Tudor

long gallery In architecture, a long gallery is a long, narrow room, often with a high ceiling. In Britain, long galleries were popular in Elizabethan and Jacobean houses. They were normally placed on the highest reception floor of English country hous ...

, a chapel and "a proper lybrayre to laye bokes in"; the land comprised orchards and fine gardens and some of farmland. It would remain their principal London home until Oxford's death on 24 June 1604. The Countess sold King's Place on 1 April 1609 to

Fulke Greville Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke, ''de jure'' 13th Baron Latimer and 5th Baron Willoughby de Broke KB PC (; 3 October 1554 – 30 September 1628), known before 1621 as Sir Fulke Greville, was an Elizabethan poet, dramatist, and statesman wh ...

, removing to

Canon Row Canon Row is a historic street in the City of Westminster in London. It is best known as the location of Canon Row Police Station. History In 1878 Canon Row extended from the back of Richmond Terrace to Bridge Street, Westminster, and about midw ...

in the parish of

St Clement Danes St Clement Danes is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. Although the first church on the site was reputedly founded in the 9th century by the Danes, the current ...

. In 1591 Oxford had sold

Hedingham Castle Hedingham Castle, in the village of Castle Hedingham, Essex, is arguably the best preserved Norman architecture, Norman keep in England. The castle fortifications and outbuildings were built around 1100, and the keep around 1140. However, the ke ...

, the de Vere family seat from the time of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

, to his father-in-law,

William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1 ...

, in trust for Oxford's three daughters by his first wife, Anne Cecil,

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

Bridget Bridget is an Irish language, Irish female name derived from the Goidelic languages, Gaelic noun ''brígh'', meaning "power, strength, vigor, virtue". An alternate meaning of the name is "exalted one". Its popularity, especially in Ireland, is la ...

and Susan. In 1609, Elizabeth Trentham repurchased Castle Hedingham from Oxford's daughters for her son, Henry de Vere (1593–1625), 18th Earl of Oxford. Elizabeth Trentham's letters to

Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612), was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart period, Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury s ...

reveal a sharp-minded, independent woman at ease with legal and business matters. According to John Chamberlain she was the custodian of

Havering Palace Havering Palace was an old royal residence in England. Between its building before 1066 until its abandonment in 1686 it was in the village of Havering-atte-Bower (in the London Borough of Havering, before 1965 in Essex). By 1816 no walls remain ...

Issue

Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford Henry may refer to: People * Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal ...

(1593–1625, aged 32). On 1 January 1624 he married

Diana Cecil Diana Cecil, Countess of Oxford (1596-1654) was an English aristocrat. She was a daughter of William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter and his second wife Elizabeth Drury, a daughter of Sir William Drury and Elizabeth Stafford. Her portrait was painted ...

, daughter of

William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter, (1566 – 6 July 1640), known as the third Lord Burghley from 1605 to 1623, was an English nobleman, politician, and peer. Life Exeter was the son of Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, and Dorothy Neville, daug ...

and Elizabeth Drury, a beauty who brought him a fortune of £30,000, but died without issue.

Death

The Dowager Countess died about 1 January 1613,. and was buried 3 January 1613 at Hackney. Her will, dated 25 November 1612, includes generous bequests to her son, close family members, friends, servants, the poor of Hackney and Castle Hedingham, and various London prisons and hospitals. She appoints as executors her brother, Francis Trentham, and her friends Sir Edward More (d.1623) and John Wright of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

.The National Archives PROB 11/121, ff. 74–75.

Notes

References

* *

External links

Will of Thomas Trentham of Rocester, Staffordshire, proved 4 May 1588, National Archives
Retrieved 15 April 2013
Will of Thomas Trentham of Rocester, Staffordshire, proved 14 May 1605, National Archives
Retrieved 15 April 2013
Will of Lady Elizabeth Vere, Countess of Oxford, proved 15 February 1613, National Archives
Retrieved 15 April 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Oxford, Elizabeth Trentham, Countess Of English countesses People of the Elizabethan era Year of birth uncertain 1612 deaths 16th-century English nobility 17th-century English nobility 16th-century English women 17th-century English women

People from Rocester