Isabel Leigh, Lady Stumpe ( 1496 – 16 Feb 1573) was a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

during the reign of her younger half-sister,

Catherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542), also spelled Katheryn Howard, was Queen of England from 1540 until 1542 as the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a cousin to Anne Boleyn (the s ...

, fifth wife and Queen Consort to

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

Early life

Isabel was the first child of

Joyce Culpeper Jocasta "Joyce" Culpeper, of Oxon Hoath ( – ) was the mother of Catherine Howard, the fifth wife and Queen consort of King Henry VIII. Family Joyce Culpeper, born about 1480, was the daughter of Sir Richard Culpeper (d. 4 October 1484) and h ...

and Sir Ralph Leigh. She had two younger sisters and two younger brothers: *Margaret Leigh (born 1500); married a man surnamed Rice. *Joyce Leigh (born 1504); married John Stanney. May have had issue. *John Leigh (born 1502); married Elizabeth, surname unknown. Had issue. *Ralph Leigh (born 1498; died 1561); married Margaret Ireland. Had issue. Ralph died c. 1509/1510 and Isabel's mother remarried to

Lord Edmund Howard Lord Edmund Howard ( – 19 March 1539) was the third son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, and his first wife, Elizabeth Tilney. His sister, Elizabeth, was the mother of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn, and he was the father of the ...

c. 1513/1515. They had six children. *Margaret Howard ( 1515 – 10 Oct 1572); married Sir

Thomas Arundell of Wardour Castle Sir Thomas Arundell of Wardour Castle in Wiltshire (c. 150226 February 1552) was a Cornish administrator and alleged conspirator. Arundell was connected by birth and marriage to the crown and to several of the most important families in England, ...

, son of Sir John Arundell of Lanherne and Lady Eleanor Grey. Had issue. * Mary Howard (born after 1515); married Edmund Trafford. * Henry Howard (born after 1515); married Anne Howard. * Charles Howard (born after 1515). * George Howard ( 1519 – 1580). *

( 1523 – 13 Feb 1542); married

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

Marriage and issue

She married

Edward Bayntun Sir Edward Bayntun (c.148027 November? 1544), of Bromham, Wiltshire, was a gentleman at the court of Henry VIII of England. He was vice-chamberlain to Anne Boleyn, the King's second wife, and was the brother-in-law of Queen Catherine Howard, ...

or Baynton, of Bromham, Wiltshire, on 18 January 1531. They had three children. *Henry Baynton (b. c 1536). Married Anne Cavendish. Had issue. *Francis Baynton (b. 1537) *Anne Baynton (d. young) After Edward's death in 1544, Isabel married

James Stumpe Sir James Stumpe (by 1519 – 29 April 1563), of Malmesbury and Bromham, Wiltshire, was an English clothier and Member of Parliament. He was the eldest son of wealthy clothier and MP, William Stumpe. He was knighted 1549 or later and succeeded h ...

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the up ...

, Wiltshire. James had been her step-daughter Bridget's husband, and Isabel and James married after Bridget died in 1545. James died in 1563. Isabel married a Thomas Stafford about 1565.

Royal connections

The leases of many manors such as

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

, Temple Rockley, and

Chisbury Chisbury is a hamlet and prehistoric hill fort in the civil parish of Little Bedwyn in Wiltshire, England. Chisbury is about west of Hungerford and about south-east of Marlborough. History At above sea level, Chisbury hillfort is the highes ...

were given to Edward during his marriage to Isabel. Some of the leases were given to Isabel after Edward's death, and they passed on to their son Henry. On New Year's Day 1532, Isabel made a gift of a shirt to the King, following a gesture that had first been made by Edward's first wife Elizabeth. Isabel became one of Catherine Howard's Ladies of the

Privy Chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

upon her marriage to Henry VIII. Her husband Edward Baynton was Vice-Chamberlain of the Household to all of Henry VIII's later queens, including Catherine Howard. When Queen Catherine was banished from court in 1541, Isabel was one of the four ladies-in-waiting she was allowed to take with her. An account of the jewels that was taken following the Queen's arrest noted that she had given a "girdle of gold" to the Lady Baynton. For a short time, Isabel served as a guardian of

Mary I of England Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...

and

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

with Edward.

Later life and death

In 1550, Isabel obtained a lease for the dissolved monastery at

Edington Eddington or Edington may refer to: People *Eddington Varmah, Liberian politician *Eddington (surname), people with the surname Places Australia * Eddington, Victoria United Kingdom * Eddington, Berkshire * Eddington, Cambridge * Ed ...

, Wiltshire with Edward Hastings, 1st

Baron Hastings Baron Hastings is a title that has been created three times. The first creation was in the Peerage of England in 1290, and is extant. The second creation was in the Peerage of England in 1299, and became extinct on the death of the first holder in ...

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...

. An interest in the manor of Faulston near Salisbury was declined by Isabel, but after her death in February 1573 the interest was taken up by her son Henry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leigh, Isabel 1490s births 1573 deaths English ladies-in-waiting 16th-century English women Household of Catherine Howard