Elizabeth Tyrwhitt (died 1578), was an English gentlewoman, courtier, and writer.

Biography

Born in her father's house at Brede, she was one of five children of Sir

Goddard Oxenbridge Sir Goddard Oxenbridge, Order of the Bath, KB (died 1537) was an English landowner and administrator from Sussex. Origins Prominent in East Sussex for generations, the family's home in Brede, East Sussex, Brede, which he improved and extended ...

(died 1531) and his second wife Anne (died 1531), widow of John Windsor and daughter of Sir Thomas Fiennes, of Claverham in

Arlington Arlington most often refers to: *Arlington, Virginia **Arlington National Cemetery, a United States military cemetery *Arlington, Texas Arlington may also refer to: Places Australia *Arlington light rail station, on the Inner West Light Rail in S ...

(a son of Sir Richard Fiennes). Accepted into the court 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. ...

, by 1537 she was a gentlewoman of the privy chamber and shortly after was married to a fellow-courtier, married Sir Robert Tyrwhitt. She served in the households of Queen

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (; 24 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, who was ...

and Queen

Katherine Howard Catherine Howard ( – 13 February 1542) was Queen of England from July 1540 until November 1541 as the fifth wife of King Henry VIII. She was the daughter of Lord Edmund Howard and Joyce Culpeper, a first cousin to Anne Boleyn (the second ...

. In August 1540 Tyrwhitt and others ladies of the court visited Portsmouth to see a newly built ship. They sent Henry VIII a joint letter which was signed by Mabel, Lady Southampton, Margaret Tallebois (or Tailboys), Margaret Howard (sister of Katherine Howard), Alice Browne, Anne Knyvett (daughter of

Thomas Knyvett Sir Thomas Knyvett (also Knevitt or Knivet or Knevet), of Buckenham, Norfolk (c. 1485 – 10 August 1512) was a young English nobleman who was a close associate of King Henry VIII shortly after the monarch came to the throne. According to Hall ...

), Jane Denny, Jane Meutas,

Anne Bassett Anne Basset (1520 – before 1558) was an English lady-in-waiting of the Tudor period, reputed to have been the mistress of King Henry VIII. Biography Anne was born in 1520, the fourth child of Sir John Basset and Honor Grenville (daughter of ...

, Elizabeth Tyrwhitt, and Elizabeth Harvey. Tyrwhitt became a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

and a close friend to Queen

Katherine Parr Catherine Parr ( – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until Henry's death on 28 January 1547. Catherine was the final queen consort o ...

. The two were related by marriage and shared

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

sympathies. However, suspected of links to the executed

Anne Askew Anne Askew (sometimes spelled Ayscough or Ascue), married name Anne Kyme (152116 July 1546), was an English writer, poet, and Protestant preacher who was condemned as a heretic during the reign of Henry VIII of England. She and Margaret Cheyne ...

, with other members of Katherine's household in 1546 she was arrested by the King. After his death, she remained in service with Katherine and her fourth husband, Thomas Seymour, being at the bedside when Katherine died in 1549. In the scandal which followed over Seymour's relationship with the future Queen

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

, she gave evidence over possibly inappropriate behaviour and was briefly placed in charge of the princess in place of the suspect Katherine Astley. Thereafter, she lived a private life, dying at her home in

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell ( ) is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the medieval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The St James's C ...

. Her will was proved on 28 April 1578 and she was buried in the church of St Mary the Virgin at Leighton Bromswold, where her effigy may be seen together with those of her husband and daughter.

Writings

She composed a work called ''Morning and Evening Praiers, with Divers Psalmes Himnes and Meditations'', published in 1574. A copy now in the British Library had belonged to Queen Elizabeth I and includes prayers written by Katherine Parr.

Family

Between March 1538 and August 1539 she married, as his second wife, the courtier Sir Robert Tyrwhitt (died 1572), of Leighton Bromswold. (Her niece Elizabeth Oxenbridge, daughter of her half-brother Thomas, had previously married her husband's nephew, Sir Robert Tyrwhitt). They had one daughter Catherine (died 1567), who married Sir Henry Darcy of Brimham in Yorkshire.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyrwhitt, Elizabeth 1510s births 1578 deaths 16th-century English writers 16th-century English women writers People from Brede, East Sussex English ladies-in-waiting Household of Jane Seymour Household of Catherine Parr Household of Catherine Howard