Knollys, Lettice (1543 - 1634)

Biographical Overview

Other Last Names

Parents

Titles - 2
Properties - 4
Total events naming patron - 8
Troupes - 2
Bibliographic Sources - 2
Legend

patron legend

Base layers

Data layers

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Other Last Names

Devereux, Dudley, Blount

Born / Died

Birth Date: 1543-11-08
Death Date: 1634-12-25

Siblings

Male

Knollys, Henry (1542 - )
Knollys, William (1545 - 1632) (patron)
Knollys, Edward (1546 - )
Knollys, Robert (1547 - )
Knollys, Richard (1548 - )
Knollys, Thomas ( - )

Female

Knollys, Anne ( - )
Knollys, Katherine ( - )

Marriages/Other Unions

  1. Devereux, Walter (1539 - 1576)
    Type: marriage
    Union began: 1560
    Union ended: n.d.
    Note: Married between this year and 1565, when rumours of Lettice's affair with Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester began
  2. Dudley, Robert (1532 - 1588)
    Type: marriage
    Union began: 1578-9-21
    Union ended: n.d.
    Note: Private wedding ceremony possibly occurred as early as 1576
  3. Blount, Christopher (1555 - 1600/1)
    Type: marriage
    Union began: 1589-7
    Union ended: n.d.
    Note: Marriage occurred less than one year after Lettice's second husband's death, causing some to gossip that Lettice had poisoned him

Offspring

From Dudley, Robert (1532 - 1588)

  1. Male offspring: Dudley, Robert (1581 - 1584)

From Devereux, Walter (1539 - 1576)

  1. Male offspring: Devereux, Robert (1565 - 1601) (patron)
  2. Female offspring: Devereux, Penelope (1563 - 1607)
  3. Female offspring: Devereux, Dorothy (1564 - 1619)
  4. Male offspring: Devereux, Walter (b. 1569)

Primary Title

Countess of Essex

Titles

  • Countess of Essex
    Assumed 1560 (date of 1st marriage)
    Vacated 1634-12-25
  • Countess of Leicester
    Assumed 1578-09-21 (date of 2nd marriage)
    Vacated 1634-12-25

Details of Properties

Residence

  • Wanstead, Essex
    Residence of 2nd husband
    Acquired: 1578
  • Leicester House, London (city-county)
    Residence of 2nd husband; sold to son, who renamed it Essex House
    Acquired: 1578
    Divested: by 1593
  • Chartley, Staffordshire
    Residence of 1st husband
    Acquired: 1560
    Divested: 1576
  • Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire
    Acquired: 1595
    Divested: 1634

Events Naming Patron

Event Date Location Troupe
Performance 1579-1579 Oxford (Unknown), Oxford , Oxfordshire Countess of Essex's Musicians
Performance 1579-1580 St Mary's Guildhall, Coventry , Coventry (city-county) in Warwickshire Countess of Essex's Musicians
Performance 1576-1577 Guildhall, Oxford , Oxfordshire Countess of Essex's Players
Performance 1576-1577 St Mary's Guildhall, Coventry , Coventry (city-county) in Warwickshire Countess of Essex's Players
Performance 1578-1579 Boothall, Gloucester , Gloucestershire Countess of Essex's Players
Performance 1578-1579 Guildhall, Oxford , Oxfordshire Countess of Essex's Players
Performance 1578-1579 St Mary's Guildhall, Coventry , Coventry (city-county) in Warwickshire Countess of Essex's Players
Performance 1579-1580 Guildhall, Oxford , Oxfordshire Countess of Essex's Players

Patronized Troupes

Troupe Name Patron Troupe Type # of events
Countess of Essex's Musicians Knollys, Lettice (1543 - 1634) Musicians 2
Countess of Essex's Players Knollys, Lettice (1543 - 1634) Players 6

Bibliographic Sources

View a list of abbreviations.

The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. 1887–98 (8 vols); 1910–59 (13 vols). 6 vols. Gloucester: Alan Sutton, 1982.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 01/05/2005 (http://www.oxforddnb.com)