Lady Elizabeth Berkeley, Countess of Warwick

Female 1386 - 1422  (~ 36 years)


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  • Name Elizabeth Berkeley 
    Title Lady 
    Suffix Countess of Warwick 
    Birth 0___ 1386  Berkeley Castle, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Gender Female 
    Death 28 Dec 1422  [1
    Burial Kingswood Abbey, Kingswood, Gloucestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    • Kingswood Abbey was a Cistercian abbey, located in the village of Kingswood near Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, England.

      Through the abbey's gatehouse arch are a few houses and the small village primary school of Kingswood.

      Photo, history & source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingswood_Abbey
    Person ID I43531  The Hennessee Family
    Last Modified 11 Mar 2016 

    Father Thomas de Berkeley,   b. 5 Jan 1352, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 13 Jul 1417, Wotton Under Edge, Gloucester, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 65 years) 
    Mother Margaret Lisle,   b. ~ 1359, Kingston Lisle, Sparsholt, Berkshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 20 Mar 1392 (Age ~ 33 years) 
    Marriage 0Nov 1367  Wingrave, Buckingham, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [2
    Family ID F16913  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Sir Richard Beauchamp, Knight, 13th Earl of Warwick,   b. 28 Jan 1381, Salwarpe, Worcestershire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 30 Apr 1439, Rouen, Normandy, France Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 58 years) 
    Marriage 0Oct 1397  [1, 3
    Children 
     1. Lady Eleanor Beauchamp, Duchess of Somerset,   b. 0Sep 1408, Wedgenock, Warwickshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 6 Mar 1467, Baynard's Castle, London, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 58 years)
     2. Lady Elizabeth Beauchamp, Baroness Latimer of Snape,   b. 16 Sep 1417, Warwick Castle, Warwick, Warwickshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Bef 2 Oct 1480, Beauchamp Chapel, St. Mary's, Warwick, England Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 63 years)
    Family ID F15806  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 30 Apr 2023 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - 0___ 1386 - Berkeley Castle, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBurial - - Kingswood Abbey, Kingswood, Gloucestershire, England Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Notes 
    • Elizabeth Beauchamp (nâee de Berkeley), Countess of Warwick, Baroness de Lisle, and Baroness de Teyes (1386 - 28 December 1422) was an English noblewoman and heiress. She was the only child of Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley and Margaret de Lisle, 3rd Baroness Lisle.

      With her father's death in 1417, Elizabeth and her husband Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick became involved in an inheritance dispute with her cousin James Berkeley, initiating one of the longest lawsuits in English history.

      Life and inheritance

      Elizabeth de Berkeley was the only child born to Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley by his wife Margaret de Lisle, Baroness Lisle.[1][2] As such, Elizabeth was their sole heir, and was to inherit the baronies of Lisle and Tyes from her mother. Margaret died near 1392, but Elizabeth did not succeed to them until the death of Thomas in 1417, as he held the lands by tenure of courtesy.[1] In September 1392, the Baron Berkeley negotiated Elizabeth's marriage to Richard de Beauchamp, eldest son and heir to Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick. Elizabeth married him sometime before 5 October 1397, and became the Countess of Warwick in 1403.[1] The marriage remained unconsummated for at least six years. Elizabeth gave birth to three girls:[1]

      Lady Margaret Beauchamp (1404 – 1467/1468); married John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury[1][3]
      Lady Eleanor Beauchamp (c. 1408); married (1) Thomas de Ros, 8th Baron de Ros (2) Edmund Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset[1] (3) Walter Rokesley
      Lady Elizabeth Beauchamp (c. 1417[1] – died before 2 October 1480); married (1) George Nevill, 1st Baron Latymer[1] (2) Thomas Wake

      Berkeley Castle (as seen in present day), part of the dispute between the Countess and her cousin
      Elizabeth's level of education and literacy is evident from a 1410 commission asking John Walton to translate Boethius' De consolatione philosophiae; he dedicated it in her name.[2]

      An inheritance dispute erupted with her father's death in 1417. Thomas had named her his heir, but many of his lands and estates, including Berkeley Castle, were entailed through the male line to Elizabeth's cousin James Berkeley.[1][3] Elizabeth and her husband refused to accept the entail, thus "initiat[ing] one of the longest lawsuits in England," which lasted until 1609.[1] After Lord Thomas' death, the Earl and Countess of Warwick quickly took control of the castle and gained the temporary permission of King Henry V to maintain it. James was unable to seize control of the castle, as Warwick and the king were then fighting in France.[4] To gain support in the dispute, Elizabeth sought the help of John, Duke of Bedford while James successfully bribed Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, each one of the king's brothers. By 1425, Elizabeth was dead and James had been given Berkeley Castle along with most of the entailed lands.[1][4]

      Elizabeth died on 28 December 1422. She was buried at Kingswood Abbey, and a marble tomb was later placed over her grave through a provision in her husband's will.[1] The following year, the Earl of Warwick remarried to Lady Isabel le Despenser, the widow of his cousin Richard de Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester.[5] [1]

  • Sources 
    1. [S7845] "Elizabeth Beauchamp, Countess of Warwick (1386-1422)" biography, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Beauchamp,_Cou.

    2. [S9759] "Edward Cary" 9-Generation Ahnentafel, http://www.ourfamilyhistories.org/ahnentafel.php?personID=I16536&tree=00&parentse.

    3. [S7454] "Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, Count of Aumale, KG (25 or 28 January 1382[1] - 30 April 1439)" biography,.