Elizabeth Bacon ( 1541 – 3 May 1621) was an English aristocrat. She is presumed to have been the Lady Neville of ''

My Ladye Nevells Booke ''My Ladye Nevells Booke'' (British Library MS Mus. 1591) is a music manuscript containing keyboard pieces by the English composer William Byrd, and, together with the '' Fitzwilliam Virginal Book'', one of the most important collections of Rena ...

'', an important manuscript of keyboard music by

William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English Renaissance composer. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native country and on the Continental Europe, Continent. He i ...

, which was compiled in 1591. She was the daughter of

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...

Lord Keeper of the Great Seal The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and later of Great Britain, was formerly an officer of the English Crown charged with physical custody of the Great Seal of England. This position evolved into that of one of the Great Officers of ...

, Sir Nicholas Bacon, by his first wife, Jane Ferneley (d. 1552). She was, successively, the wife of Sir Robert D'Oylie, the courtier Sir Henry Neville, and the judge

Sir William Peryam Sir William Peryam (15349 October 1604) of Little Fulford, near Crediton in Devon, was an English judge who rose to the position of Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in 1593, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I. Origins Peryam was born in ...

Family

Born about 1541, she was the eldest daughter of Sir Nicholas Bacon,

, by his first wife, Jane Ferneley (d. 1552).. By her father's first marriage, she had three brothers,

Sir Nicholas Bacon, 1st Baronet, of Redgrave Sir Nicholas Bacon, 1st Baronet (–22 November 1624), of Redgrave, Suffolk, English Member of Parliament. In 1611 he became the first man to be made a baronet. Bacon would serve on many commissions. The Privy Council constantly called upon ...

; Sir Edward Bacon; and Sir Nathaniel Bacon; and two sisters, Anne, who married

Sir Henry Woodhouse Henry Woodhouse (c. 1545 – 8 October 1624), of Hickling and Waxham, Norfolk, was an English politician. Woodhouse was the son of William Woodhouse and his first wife Anne Repps. He was born around 1545. Woodhouse was a Member of Parliamen ...

, and Elizabeth, who married Francis Wyndham.. By her father's second marriage, to

Anne Cooke Anne Cooke, (née Syme; born 14 November 1945) is a British biologist and academic, specialising in immunology and autoimmune diseases. From 2000 to 2013, she was Professor of Immunobiology at the University of Cambridge. She was a fellow of ...

, she was the half-sister of Anthony Bacon and

Sir Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General for England and Wales, Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under James VI and I, King ...

Career

Elizabeth Bacon first married Sir Robert Doyley of

Chiselhampton Chiselhampton is a village in the civil parish of Stadhampton, on the River Thame, in the South Oxfordshire district, in the county of Oxfordshire, England. It is about southeast of Oxford. In 1931 the parish named Chislehampton had a populatio ...

, Oxfordshire, 'a member of a prominent land-owning family' and a member of parliament for

Bossiney Bossiney (, meaning ''Kyni's dwelling'') is a village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is north-east of the larger village of Tintagel which it adjoins: further north-east are the Rocky Valley and Trethevy. Until 1832 the village, ...

, Cornwall, in 1572. He was knighted in 1576. While serving as a Justice of the Peace at the Oxford assizes of 4–7 July 1577, Doyley and others were, according to

John Stowe John Eric Stowe, O.F.M. Conv., (born April 15, 1966) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been bishop of the Diocese of Lexington in Kentucky since 2015. Biography Early life John Stowe was born in Amherst, Ohio, on ...

, infected with a 'strange sickness', whereof the jurors, including 'Sir Robert de Olie', died. Doyley made his last will on 21 July, and was buried on 29 July at

Hambleden Hambleden is a small village and civil parish in southwest Buckinghamshire, England. The village is around west of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Marlow, and around northeast of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. The civil parish also includes the vi ...

. In his will, he left several properties to his widow, Elizabeth, according to Harley likely making her 'an independently wealthy woman'. There were no children of the marriage. Soon after her first husband's death, in about May 1578, Elizabeth Bacon married, as his third wife, Sir Henry Neville, of

Billingbear House Billingbear House was an English country house situated in the parish of Waltham St. Lawrence in Berkshire, England, about six miles from Windsor. Originally owned by the Bishop of Winchester, the land was given to Sir Henry Neville (father o ...

, Berkshire. As Sir Henry's wife, she became the ''Lady Nevell'' of ''My Ladye Nevells Booke'', a manuscript of keyboard music by

. However, over time her link to the book was forgotten, and it was firmly established only recently by John Harley, following earlier suggestions by

Thurston Dart Robert Thurston Dart (3 September 1921 – 6 March 1971) was an English musicologist, conductor and keyboard player. Along with Nigel Fortune, Oliver Neighbour and Stanley Sadie, he was one of Britain's leading musicologists of the post-World W ...

and Alan Brown. Some people have assumed she must have been a keyboard player, but not much is known of her musical activities. Her interest in music is also implied by the dedication to her of a second music book, discussed below. Letters written by Neville and his third wife during their marriage indicate that they lived at both Billingbear House and at Sir Robert Doyley's former house at Greenlands, and that they also had a home in London. A contemporary inventory of Billingbear survives, mentioning a

long gallery In architecture, a long gallery is a long, narrow room, often with a high ceiling. In Britain, long galleries were popular in Elizabethan and Jacobean houses. They were normally placed on the highest reception floor of English country house ...

great hall A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages. It continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great cha ...

armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, and other rooms, including 'Lady Gresham's Chamber', a chamber likely occupied by Frances Gresham, the mother of Neville's second wife, Elizabeth Gresham. According to Harley, in a letter to his brother-in-law, Sir Nathaniel Bacon, in early 1590 Neville referred to his third wife as 'Betty', and stated that she wore 'the bryches' in the household. Neville made his will on 20 April 1592, and died on 13 January 1593. He was buried in the church of

Waltham St Lawrence Waltham St Lawrence is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. Toponymy The name 'Waltham' is believed to be derived from the Anglo-Saxon words ''Wealt'' and ''Ham'', meaning 'homestead or vill ...

, where there is a monument to his memory. There were no children of the marriage, and Neville's third wife is not mentioned in his will. Before the end of September 1595, Elizabeth Bacon married, as her third husband and as his third wife,

Chief Baron of the Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who pres ...

. Also in 1595, a published music book was dedicated to her as 'Lady Periam':

Thomas Morley Thomas Morley (1557 – early October 1602) was an English composer, music theory, theorist, singer and organist of late Renaissance music. He was one of the foremost members of the English Madrigal School. Referring to the strong Italian inf ...

's ''The First Booke of Canzonets to Two Voyces''. In his dedication, Morley stated that his wife had been in her service. Sir William died at

Little Fulford Little Fulford was a historic estate in the parishes of Shobrooke and Crediton, Devon. It briefly share ownership before 1700 with Great Fulford, in Dunsford, about to the south-west. The Elizabethan mansion house originally called Fulford H ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

shire, on 9 October 1604, and Elizabeth was granted administration of his will. There were no children of the marriage.. In 1609 Elizabeth Bacon founded a

charity school Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...

. Elizabeth Bacon made her last will on 12 November 1618, terming herself 'Dame Elizabeth Periam of Greenland', and providing for scholarships or fellowships at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. She died 3 May 1621. There is a monument to her in the church of St Mary's,

. A number of Elizabeth Bacon's letters survive, including both family correspondence and business letters dealing with the administration of her properties.

Marriages

Elizabeth Bacon married, firstly, Sir Robert D'Oylie (d. July 1577) of Chislehampton, Oxfordshire, and Greenlands in

, Buckinghamshire. He was a victim of that still-unexplained mass death called the Black Assize of Oxford 1577. He was the eldest brother of the noted

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

Thomas D'Oylie. She married, secondly, about May 1578, as his third wife, Sir Henry Neville of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

.. Neville had been married, firstly, to Winifred Losse (d. in or before 1561), daughter of Hugh Losse (d. 1555) of

Whitchurch, London Little Stanmore was an ancient parish of Middlesex which is today the residential area of Canons Park in the London Borough of Harrow, England. The parish included the western part of the town of Edgware. Toponymy The name 'Stanmore' means "po ...

, by whom he had no issue, and, secondly, by 1561, to Elizabeth Gresham (d. 6 or 7 November 1573), granddaughter of Sir Richard Gresham,

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

, and only daughter and heir of the latter's elder son, John Gresham (d. 1560), by Frances Thwaytes, the daughter and coheir of Sir Henry Thwaytes of

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

, Yorkshire.. In the will of their grandmother, Frances (née Thwaytes) Gresham, dated 20 October 1580 and proved 9 November 1580, Neville's children by his second marriage are named as

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

, Edward, Francis, William and Katherine. Katherine married Edmund Doyley of Shottisham,

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

.Other sources state that Neville had four sons and two daughters by his second marriage; ; . After Neville's death, she married, before the end of September 1595,

(d. 9 October 1604). Elizabeth Bacon had no issue by any of her marriages.

Notes

References

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External links

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...