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 to Novembe ...

. 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 wa ...

, 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, 1st Duke of Newcastle (9 January 1662 – 15 July 1711) was an English Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer and politician. Early life Holles was born in Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire, the son of the Gilbert Holles, 3rd Earl of Clare ...

, 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, was described as "scandalous" by Christopher Vane, and it would later be thought that Gilbert and Mary's daughter, Anne Vane, had followed her mother's example when she became a mistress of

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis, German: ''Friedrich Ludwig''; 31 January 1707 – 31 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 C ...

.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. The Court of Chancery decided that the castle must be restored to its original condition, at Lord Barnard's expense. For her part in the dispute, Elizabeth gained the nickname "Old Hell-Cat". She died two years after her husband and was buried with him at Shipbourne, where their effigies may still be seen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vane, Elizabeth, Lady Barnard 1650s births 1725 deaths