Elizabeth Vane, Lady Barnard, formerly Lady Elizabeth Holles (c. 1657 – 9 November 1725) was an English noblewoman, the wife of
Christopher Vane, 1st Baron Barnard
Christopher Vane, 1st Baron Barnard (21 May 1653 – 28 October 1723) was an English peer. He served in Parliament for Durham after his brother, Thomas, died 4 days after being elected the MP for Durham. Then, again from January 1689 - November ...
. Her disputes with her family led to a noted court case, and her ghost is reputed to haunt
Raby Castle
Raby Castle () is a medieval castle located near Staindrop in County Durham, England, among of deer park. It was built by John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby, between approximately 1367 and 1390. Cecily Neville, the mother of the Kings Ed ...
, near Durham.
Elizabeth was the daughter of
Gilbert Holles, 3rd Earl of Clare
Gilbert Holles, 3rd Earl of Clare (24 April 1633 – 16 January 1689) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660. He was styled Lord Haughton from 1637 until he succeeded to the title Earl of Clare in 1666.
Life
Holles was t ...
, and his wife, the former Grace Pierrepont. After her marriage to Vane in 1676, she fell out with her younger brother and co-heir,
John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
John Holles, Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Order of the Garter, KG, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, PC (9 January 1662 – 15 July 1711) was an English Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer.
Early life
Holles was born in Edwinstowe, Nottingha ...
, who inherited their father's title. They had three children:
A family dispute began when Lord Barnard's heir, Gilbert, decided to marry Mary Randyll. Mary, the daughter of politician
Morgan Randyll
Morgan Randyll (1649 – 1738 or later), of Chilworth Manor, Surrey was an English lawyer and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1679 and 1722.
Randyll was the eldest son of Vincent Randyll of Chilworth ...
,
was described as "scandalous" by Christopher Vane, and it would later be thought that Gilbert and Mary's daughter,
Anne Vane
Anne Vane (17 September 1710 - 27 March 1736), also known as "the Hon. Mrs. Vane," was a maid of honour to Caroline of Ansbach and mistress to her son Frederick, Prince of Wales.
Life
Vane was the first daughter of Gilbert Vane, second Baron B ...
, had followed her mother's example when she became a mistress of
Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fath ...
.
[Matthew Kilburn, 'Vane, Anne (d. 1736)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200]
accessed 19 Feb 2017
/ref> Christopher instructed John Proud, the steward of Raby Castle, to engage 200 workmen for the purpose of dismantling the castle so that Gilbert would have nothing to inherit.[Mounsey, Chris. ''Christopher Smart: Clown of God.'' London: Bucknell University Press, 2001. Pages23- 25] In 1714 the couple arranged for the castle to be stripped:
:"of its lead, glass, doors, and furniture, even pulling up the floors, cutting down the timber, and destroying the deer, and 'of a sudden in three days' did damage to the tune of £3000, holding a sale at which the household goods, lead, etc., were sold for what they would fetch"
Gilbert sued Christopher for the damages to the castle in the case ''Vane vs. Lord Barnard'' 1716, and won.Shipbourne
Shipbourne ( ) is a village and civil parish situated between the towns of Sevenoaks and Tonbridge, in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in the English county of Kent. In 2020 it was named as the most expensive village in Kent.
It is located i ...
, where their effigies may still be seen.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vane, Elizabeth, Lady Barnard
1650s births
1725 deaths