Cecilia Crofts (died 1638), courtier and maid of honour to

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria of France (French language, French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to K ...

, subject of poems. Cecilia Crofts was the sixth daughter of Sir John Crofts (1563-1628) of

Little Saxham Little Saxham is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of The Saxhams, in the West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The village appears as ''Sexham'' in the Domesday Book and as ''Saxham Parva'' in 1254. In 196 ...

, Suffolk, and Mary Shirley daughter of Sir Thomas Shirley of Witneston or Wiston. Her eldest brother was Henry Crofts.

King James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

was entertained by Sir John Crofts at Little Saxham with a masque and in February 1620 the "fair sisters" put on or planned another masque for

Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day) is the final day of Shrovetide, which marks the end of the pre-Lenten season. Lent begins the following day with Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is observed in many Christian state, Ch ...

"of their own invention". There was a masque for the king at Little Saxham in December 1621. A masque text survives, known as "The Vision of the Nine Goddesses" performed by the eight Croft sisters including Cecilia Crofts, Dorothy, Lady Bennet, and Anne Crofts, Lady Wentworth. Each of the goddesses was introduced by a verse sung an actor playing Apollo, but the text does not say which sister played which goddess. Around this time

Simonds d'Ewes Sir Simonds d'Ewes, 1st Baronet (18 December 1602 – 18 April 1650) was an English antiquary and politician. He was bred for the bar, was a member of the Long Parliament and left notes on its transactions. D'Ewes took the Puritan side in the Civ ...

recorded a rumour that the king had married "Sissilia Crafts", a woman he might have married himself, if he had the means. King James had given one of Sir John Croft's unmarried daughters, probably Cecilia, a carcanet or necklace worth £500 on Shrove Tuesday 1620. James denied the rumour in March 1622, declaring he was "King of the most lying nation in the world". In 1631 she competed with Richard Forster to gain the profits and rents of four coal mines at

Benwell Benwell is an area in the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne, in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. Until 1974 it was in Northumberland. History The place-name 'Benwell' is first attested in the '' Historia de Sancto Cuthberto'' circa 1050 ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

; Stumple Wood Head, Crossflatt, Goreflat, and Meadow Fields. Her brother Anthony Crofts and Lord Goring assisted her successful counter-petition. Forster had to settle with Sir Peter Riddell of Gateshead, the entrepreneur who owned the mines. Cecilia Crofts took part in

Walter Montagu Walter Montagu (c. 1603–1677) was an English courtier, secret agent (a.k.a. David Cutler) and Benedictine abbot. Life He was the second son of Henry Montagu, 1st Earl of Manchester, by his first wife Catherine Spencer. He was born in the par ...

's masque ''

The Shepherd's Paradise ''The Shepherd's Paradise'' was a Caroline-era masque written by Walter Montagu and designed by Inigo Jones. Acted in 1633 by Queen Henrietta Maria and her ladies in waiting, it was noteworthy as the first masque in which the Queen and her lad ...

'' at

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

in 1633.

Sir Robert Ayton Sir Robert Aytoun or Ayton (c. 1570–1638) was a Scottish poet. Biography Aytoun was the son of Andrew Ayton of Kinaldie Castle, in Fife, Scotland, and Mary Lundie. Aytoun and his elder brother John entered St Leonard's College in St Andrew ...

's poem, ''Upon Platonic Love: To Mistress Cicely Crofts: Maid of Honour'', has been connected with the treatment of neo-Platonism in Montagu's masque, but may have been written in earlier years. In 1636 she married

Thomas Killigrew Thomas Killigrew (7 February 1612 – 19 March 1683) was an English dramatist and theatre manager. He was a witty, dissolute figure at the court of King Charles II of England. Life Killigrew was one of twelve children of Sir Robert Killigre ...

a courtier and playwright, son of

Robert Killigrew Sir Robert Killigrew (1580–1633) was an English courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1601 and 1629. He served as Ambassador to the United Provinces. Life Killgrew was born at Lothbury, London, t ...

and

Mary Woodhouse Mary Woodhouse, Lady Killigrew (d. 1656), musician and correspondent of Constantijn Huygens, was the daughter of Henry Woodhouse (MP) of Hickling and Waxham, and Anne Bacon, daughter of Nicholas Bacon (Lord Keeper), Sir Nicholas Bacon. (Without su ...

. Killigrew wrote that

Thomas Carew Thomas Carew (pronounced as "Carey") (1595 – 22 March 1640) was an English poet, among the 'Cavalier' group of Caroline poets. Biography He was the son of Sir Matthew Carew, master in chancery, and his wife Alice, daughter of Sir John Rive ...

, a gentleman of the king's chamber, composed a song ''Jealousy: A Dialogue'', after seeing them argue before their wedding, and it was performed in a masque at

Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall – also spelled White Hall – at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, with the notable exception of Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, ...

in 1633. Killigrew included the poem in his

closet drama A closet drama is a play (theatre), play that is not intended to be performed onstage, but read by a solitary reader. The earliest use of the term recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is in 1813. The literary historian Henry Augustin Beers, H ...

'' Cicilia and Clorinda'' first published in 1664. Carew also wrote a poem on their wedding, ''On the Marriage of T. K. and C. C., the morning stormie''. Her nephew William Crofts, known as "mad cap Crofts", was master of horse to Henrietta Maria. His brother was shot in the head by

Jeffrey Hudson Jeffrey Hudson (1619 – ) was a court dwarf of the English queen Henrietta Maria of France. He was famous as the "Queen's dwarf" and "Lord Minimus" and was considered one of the "wonders of the age" because of his extreme but well-proportione ...

, the queen's

court dwarf Several dwarfism, dwarfs over the course of history were employed as court dwarfs. They were History of slavery, owned and traded amongst Courtier, people of the court, and delivered as gifts to fellow kings and queens. Visual effect Court dwarfs ...

, in a duel in France in 1644.Mary Anne Everett Green, ''Letters of Queen Henrietta Maria'' (London, 1857), p. 260. She died on 1 January 1638, leaving a son Henry or Harry Killigrew, baptised 16 April 1637 at

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours, there has been a church on the site since at least the medieval pe ...

. He married Mary Savage, daughter of

John Savage, 2nd Earl Rivers John Savage, 2nd Earl Rivers (25 February 1603 – 10 October 1654) was a wealthy English nobleman, politician and Royalist from Cheshire. Family A member of the Savage family, John was the first son of Thomas Savage, 1st Viscount Savage, and E ...

and died in 1705. Her portrait by

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of ...

was engraved by

Wenceslaus Hollar Wenceslaus Hollar (23 July 1607 – 25 March 1677) was a prolific and accomplished Bohemian graphic artist of the 17th century, who spent much of his life in England. He is known to German speakers as ; and to Czech speakers as (). He is partic ...

Francis Quarles Francis Quarles (about 8 May 1592 – 8 September 1644) was an English poet most notable for his emblem book entitled ''Emblems''. Early life Francis Quarles was born in Romford, Essex, and baptised there on 8 May 1592. His family had a long his ...

wrote an elegy, ''Sighes at the contemporary deaths of those incomparable sisters, the Countesse of Cleaveland, and Mistrisse Cicily Killegrue, daughters of Sir Iohn Crofts Knight of Saxom Hall, in the Countie of Suffolke deceased, and his noble lady now living. Breathed forth by F.Q.'' (London, 1640).

References

External links

'Madama Killegry', W. Hollar, 1652, NPG

Double portrait of Thomas Killigrew and ?William Crofts, RCT

Portrait of Cecilia Crofts, studio of Antony van Dyck, Sotheby's (London) 1993-07-14, nr. 22, RKD

Portrait of Cecilia Crofts, copy after Antony van Dyck, The Queen's College, Oxford, ART UK

Thomas Carew's 'On the Marriage of T. K. and C. C.'' in a manuscript miscellany, St John College, Cambridge MS S.23
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crofts, Cecilia 1638 deaths 17th-century English women English maids of honour English courtiers Household of Henrietta Maria