Margaret Fiennes, 11th Baroness Dacre (1541 – 16 March 1612) was a ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

'' peeress having been created Baroness Dacre by King

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 unti ...

in 1604. She was the daughter of

Thomas Fiennes, 9th Baron Dacre , issue-link = , issue-pipe = , full name = , native_name = , styles = , other_titles = , noble family = :Fiennes family, Fiennes , house-type = , father = Sir Thoma ...

who was executed for murder in the year of her birth. His title and lands had been forfeited to the crown. Baroness Margaret's husband was

Sampson Lennard Sampson Lennard ( 1544 – 20 September 1615), of Chevening in Kent, was an English Member of Parliament who represented an unusually large number of different constituencies during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I.N.M.S., 'Lennard ...

MP. She was also known as Baroness Dacre of the South.

Family

Margaret was born in 1541, the youngest child and only daughter of Thomas Fiennes, 9th Baron Dacre and Mary Neville. In the year of her birth, her father was hanged for the murder of a gamekeeper by the order of King

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

, and his lands and title were forfeited to the crown.

Marriage and issue

On 10 November 1564 at the age of 23, Margaret married Sampson Lennard (died 1615), who came from a family of landed gentry. They resided at

Chevening Chevening House () is a large country house in the parish of Chevening in Kent, England. Built between 1617 and 1630 to a design reputedly by Inigo Jones and greatly extended after 1717, it is a Grade I listed building. The surrounding gardens, ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. He was a Member of Parliament for various

constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

, and from 1590 to 1591, he held the post of

High Sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instru ...

. Lady Dacre and her husband had five sons and six daughters:Thomas Barrett-Lennard. ''An account of the families of Lennard and Barrett compiled largely from original documents by Thomas Barrett-Lennard,'' Spottiswoode and Co. Ltd, 1908. pg 214
''Open Library''
/ref> Occurring in

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

, England unless otherwise stated: * John Lennard, born 1567; buried 10 Oct 1575. * Sir

Henry Lennard, 12th Baron Dacre Henry Lennard (1570 – 8 August 1616) was an English politician and Baron Dacre, Baron of Dacre. Life Lennard was the son of Margaret Fiennes, 11th Baroness Dacre, Margaret Fiennes, who was Baroness Dacre, and Sampson Lennard and was bap ...

(25 March 1570 - 8 August 1616); Born in

Chevening, Kent Chevening () is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It was the location for the world's earliest known organised cricket match. The parish is located to the north west of Sevenoaks on the southern slopes o ...

, England; married Chrysogona Baker, by whom he had issue. * Anne Lennard, born 1 Aug 1572 Chevening, Kent; married Herbert Morley. * Elizabeth Lennard, born 5 Jun 1580; buried 20 Oct 1581. * Elizabeth Lennard, born 26 Nov 1581; married Sir Francis Barnham, by whom she had issue. * Gregory "George" Lennard, born 25 Oct 1573 Chevening, Kent; married in 1614 to Maud Llewellyn. Died 1620, without issue. * Mary Lennard, born 22 Oct 1574 Chevening, Kent; married Sir Ralph Bosville. * Thomas Lennard, died 1638 without issue (d.s.p). * Margaret Lennard, born 28 Sep 1578; married Sir Thomas Waller, by whom she had issue, including Parliamentarian soldier Sir

William Waller Sir William Waller JP (c. 159819 September 1668) was an English soldier and politician, who commanded Parliamentarian armies during the First English Civil War. Elected MP for Andover to the Long Parliament in 1640, Waller relinquished ...

. * Frances Lennard, born 28 Jul 1583; married Sir Robert More * John Lennard, born 11 Oct 1584; died bef. 1615.

Baroness Dacre

The title of

Baron Dacre Baron Dacre is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of England, each time by Hereditary peer#Writs of summons, writ. History The first creation came in 1321, when Ralph Dacre, 1st Baron Dacre, Ralph Dacre was Hereditary peer# ...

had been restored to Margaret's brother

Gregory Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname *Gregory (The Walking Dead), fictional character from the walkin ...

by Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

shortly after her ascension to the throne; however, upon his death in 1594, it had once again lapsed in

abeyance Abeyance (from the Old French ' meaning "gaping") describes a state of temporary dormancy or suspension. In law, it can refer to a situation where the ownership of property, titles, or office is not currently Vesting, vested in any specific perso ...

. On 8 December 1604, King James I created her ''suo jure'' Baroness Dacre, and she held this title until her death on 16 March 1612. She was succeeded by her eldest son, Henry.

In literature and art

*Between 1595 and 1600 her portrait was painted by

Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger Marcus Gheeraerts (also written as Gerards or Geerards; 1561/62 – 19 January 1636) was a Flemish artist working at the Tudor court, described as "the most important artist of quality to work in England in large-scale between Eworth and van ...

. *A character loosely based on Lady Dacre can be found in the 1993 novella ''Candlemass Road'' by

George MacDonald Fraser George MacDonald Fraser (2 April 1925 – 2 January 2008) was a Scottish author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Harry Paget Flashman, Flashman. Over the course of his career he wrote eleven n ...

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dacre, Margaret Fiennes, 11th Baroness 1541 births 1612 deaths

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

16th-century English nobility English baronesses 17th-century English nobility 11 16th-century English women 17th-century English women People from Chevening, Kent