| Lady Elizabeth Trentham | |
|---|---|
| Countess of Oxford | |
| Spouse(s) | Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford |
| Issue | |
| Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford | |
| Noble family | de Vere |
| Father | Thomas Trentham |
| Mother | Jane Sneyd |
| Born | b. circa 1562/3 Rocester, Staffordshire |
| Died | d. circa December 1612 (aged 49 or 50) |
| Burial | Hackney, London |
| Occupation | Noblewoman |
Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Oxford, formerly Elizabeth Trentham (born circa 1562/3 - died circa December 1612), was the second wife of the Elizabethan courtier and poet Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.
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Elizabeth Trentham was born circa 1562/3 at Rocester in Staffordshire, the eldest daughter of Thomas Trentham and Jane Sneyd. Her father's will, made on 19 October 1586, mentions his son and heir, Francis, another son, Thomas, and three daughters, Elizabeth, Dorothy and Katherine.[1] Elizabeth's brother Francis married Katherine, the daughter of Sir Ralph Sheldon of Beoley, and carried on the family line. Her younger brother, Thomas, died unmarried in 1605.[2] Elizabeth's two sisters were already married when Thomas Trentham made his will in 1586, Dorothy to William Cooper of Thurgarton, and Katherine to Sir John Stanhope.
Thomas Trentham reputation in the county is indicated by his appointment by the Privy Council, as one of the "principal gentlemen in Staffordshire", to accompany the Scottish Queen Mary from her Staffordshire exile to her trial at Fotheringay Castle in 1586 (a trial at which the Earl of Oxford sat on the jury).
Elizabeth was Maid of Honour to Queen Elizabeth for at least ten years, and was known at court as a beauty.[3] She was still listed as a Maid of Honour on the subsidy roll of 10 November 1590.[4] However in 1591 Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, whose first wife, Anne Cecil, had died on 5 June 1588, entered into a number of legal agreements with Elizabeth's brother, Francis Trentham, and others for the purpose of providing a jointure for Elizabeth. The couple were married, at the latest, by 27 December of that year, at which time the Queen bestowed a gift on the new Countess at her marriage.[5] Elizabeth Trentham brought her husband a dowry of £1000 bequeathed to her in her father's will, payable at the rate of 500 marks a year for three years. The newly married couple resided Stoke-Newington, where their son, Henry de Vere, was born on 24 February 1593.[6]
On 2 September 1597 the Queen granted licence to the executors of Sir Rowland Hayward to sell King's Place in Hackney in north London to Elizabeth Trentham, her brother Francis Trentham, her uncle Ralph Sneyd, and her cousin, Giles Yonge. The purchase was likely made in the name of the Countess in order to safeguard the property from possible suits by Oxford's creditors.[7] King's Place was a substantial country manor house with a celebrated great hall, a classic Tudor long gallery, a chapel and "a proper lybrayre to laye bokes in"; the land comprised orchards and fine gardens and some 270 acres (1.1 km2) of farmland. It would remain their principal London home until Oxford's death on 24 June 1604, the Countess finally removing in 1609 after selling King's Place to Fulke Greville.
In 1591 Oxford had sold Castle Hedingham, the de Vere family seat from the time of William the Conqueror, to William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley in trust for Oxford's three daughters by his first wife, Anne Cecil, Elizabeth, Bridget and Susan. In 1608/9, Elizabeth Trentham repurchased Castle Hedingham from Oxford's daughters for her son, Henry de Vere (1593–1625), 18th Earl of Oxford.
Elizabeth Trentham's letters to Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury reveal a sharp-minded, independent woman at ease with legal and business matters.
Elizabeth died circa December 1612 and was buried 3 January 1613 at Hackney. Her will, made on 25 November 1612, includes generous bequests to her son, close family members, friends, servants, the poor of Hackney and Castle Hedingham, and various London prisons and hospitals. She appoints as executors her brother, Francis Trentham, and her friends Sir Edward More (d.1623) and John Wright of Gray’s Inn.[8]