Dorothy Spencer ('' née'' Sidney; later Smythe), Countess of Sunderland (5 October 1617 (

baptised Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...

) – 5 February 1684), was the wife of

Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland Henry Spencer, 1st Earl of Sunderland, 3rd Baron Spencer of Wormleighton (c. 23 November 1620 – 20 September 1643), known as The Lord Spencer between 1636 and June 1643, was an English peer, nobleman, and politician from the Spencer family who ...

, and the daughter of

Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester Robert Sidney, 2nd Earl of Leicester (1 December 1595 – 2 November 1677) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1625 and then succeeded to the peerage as Earl of Leicester. Life Sidney was born ...

, and Lady Dorothy Percy. Lady Dorothy Sidney (or Sydney) was celebrated not only for her beauty but for wit, charm and intelligence. In about 1635, she rejected a marriage proposal from the poet

Edmund Waller Edmund Waller, FRS (3 March 1606 – 21 October 1687) was an English poet and politician who was Member of Parliament for various constituencies between 1624 and 1687, and one of the longest serving members of the English House of Commons. S ...

, who addressed verses to her under the nickname "Sacharissa" (which he based on the Latin word ''sacharum'', meaning "sugar").Kenyon p.1 On 20 July 1639 at

Penhurst Penhurst is a village and civil parish, sharing a parish council with neighbouring Ashburnham, in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. It is located on the Weald, 4 miles (7km) west of Battle. The parish touches Ashburnham, Battle, Brig ...

, she married

Henry Spencer Henry Spencer (born 1955) is a Canadian computer programmer and space enthusiast. He wrote "regex", a widely used software library for regular expressions, and co-wrote C News, a Usenet server program. He also wrote ''The Ten Commandments for C ...

. It seems to have been a love marriage and had her family's wholehearted approval: her father after her husband's death wrote that he thanked God for the part he had played in her happiness.Kenyon p.1 In 1643, Spencer was created 1st

Earl of Sunderland Earl of Sunderland is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1627 in favour of Emanuel Scrope, 11th Baron Scrope of Bolton. The earldom became extinct on his death in 1630 while the barony becam ...

in recognition of his service to King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

.Kenyon p.3 Spencer was killed at the

First Battle of Newbury The First Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War that was fought on 20 September 1643 between a Royalist army, under the personal command of King Charles, and a Parliamentarian force led by the Earl of Essex. Followin ...

, leaving Dorothy with two children, and pregnant with a third, who died young.Kenyon pp.2-3 Their children were: * Lady Dorothy Spencer *

Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, (5 September 164128 September 1702) was an English nobleman and politician of the Spencer family. An able and gifted statesman, his caustic temper and belief in absolute monarchy nevertheless made him nu ...

* Lady Penelope Spencer (c. 1642–1667), died unmarried. The widowed countess lived at

Brington, Northamptonshire Brington is a civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish population was 482 people, increasing to 496 at the 2011 census. It contains three villages: *Great Brington * Little Brington *Nobottle ...

, but eventually returned to

Penshurst Place Penshurst Place is a historic building near Penhurst, Kent, south east of London, England. It is the ancestral home of the Sidney family, and was the birthplace of the great Elizabethan poet, courtier and soldier, Sir Philip Sidney. The ori ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

to live with her parents. In 1652 she remarried to Sir Robert Smythe of

Bidborough Bidborough is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells and south of Tonbridge. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 958, increasing to 1,163 at the 2011 Census. ...

, and had a second son, also named Robert.Kenyon p.5 Her letters show both her intelligence and her clear-sightedness, even about those closest to her. While her son and daughter-in-law could see no fault in their eldest son, Robert, Lord Spencer, Dorothy wrote dryly of her grandson: "He has no good nature or humour, is scornful and pretending… comes to me seldom, seems weary in a minute, talks of my company uestsas though I picked them up in the streets…".Kenyon p.76 Her death has been attributed to the grief caused by her brother Algernon's trial and execution for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

in December 1683.Kenyon p.88 Her grave is in

Everdon Everdon is a village in West Northamptonshire in England, some south of Daventry. The population of the civil parish (including Little Everdon) at the 2011 census was 356. Nearby, The Stubbs is a wood belonging to the Woodland Trust, a UK cons ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

Bibliography

*''Sacharissa; some account of Dorothy Sidney, Countess of Sunderland, her family and friends, 1617-1684'' by Julia Mary Cartwright Ady (1926) *Kenyon, J.P. ''Robert Spencer Earl of Sunderland 1741-1702'' Longman Green and Co. 1958 Reprinted by Gregg Revivals 1992

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunderland, Dorothy Spencer, Countess Of 1617 births 1684 deaths English countesses Daughters of British earls

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters *Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...

17th-century English women 17th-century English people