Paternal Family Tree: Cranfield
Maternal Family Tree: Anne Brett Countess Middlesex -1670
In 1599 [her father] Lionel Cranfield 1st Earl Middlesex [aged 24] and Elizabeth Sheppard were married.
Before 1621 [her father] Lionel Cranfield 1st Earl Middlesex [aged 45] and [her mother] Anne Brett Countess Middlesex were married.
In 1622 [her father] Lionel Cranfield 1st Earl Middlesex [aged 47] was created 1st Earl Middlesex. [her mother] Anne Brett Countess Middlesex by marriage Countess Middlesex.
In 1622 Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset was born to Lionel Cranfield 1st Earl Middlesex [aged 47] and Anne Brett Countess Middlesex.
Before 1637 Richard Sackville 5th Earl Dorset [aged 14] and Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset [aged 14] were married. She the daughter of Lionel Cranfield 1st Earl Middlesex [aged 61] and Anne Brett Countess Middlesex. He the son of Edward Sackville 4th Earl Dorset [aged 45] and Mary Curzon Countess Dorset [aged 46].
Before 9th December 1641. After Anthony Van Dyck [aged 42]. Portrait of Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset [aged 19].
On 24th January 1643 [her son] Charles Sackville 6th Earl Dorset 1st Earl Middlesex was born to [her husband] Richard Sackville 5th Earl Dorset [aged 20] and Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset [aged 21]. He married (1) June 1674 Mary Bagot Countess Falmouth and Dorset (2) 7th March 1685 his sixth cousin Mary Compton Countess Dorset and Middlesex, daughter of James Compton 3rd Earl of Northampton and Mary Noel Countess Northampton, and had issue.
On 6th August 1645 [her father] Lionel Cranfield 1st Earl Middlesex [aged 70] died. His son [her brother] James [aged 24] succeeded 2nd Earl Middlesex, 2nd Baron Cranfield of Cranfield in Bedfordshire.
On 3rd March 1646 [her brother] James Cranfield 2nd Earl Middlesex [aged 25] and [her sister-in-law] Anne Bourchier Countess Middlesex [aged 15] were married. She by marriage Countess Middlesex. She the daughter of Edward Bourchier 4th Earl Bath and Dorothy St John Countess Bath. He the son of [her father] Lionel Cranfield 1st Earl Middlesex and [her mother] Anne Brett Countess Middlesex.
Anne Boleyn. Her Life as told by Lancelot de Carle's 1536 Letter.
In 1536, two weeks after the execution of Anne Boleyn, her brother George and four others, Lancelot du Carle, wrote an extraordinary letter that described Anne's life, and her trial and execution, to which he was a witness. This book presents a new translation of that letter, with additional material from other contemporary sources such as Letters, Hall's and Wriothesley's Chronicles, the pamphlets of Wynkyn the Worde, the Memorial of George Constantyne, the Portuguese Letter and the Baga de Secrets, all of which are provided in Appendices.
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On 4th February 1648 [her daughter] Mary Sackville Countess Orrery was born to [her husband] Richard Sackville 5th Earl Dorset [aged 25] and Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset [aged 26]. She married 1665 her third cousin Roger Boyle 2nd Earl Orrery, son of Roger Boyle 1st Earl Orrery and Margaret Howard Countess Orrery, and had issue.
On 17th June 1650 [her daughter] Anne Sackville Countess Home was born to [her husband] Richard Sackville 5th Earl Dorset [aged 27] and Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset [aged 28]. She married 19th April 1671 Alexander Home 4th Earl of Home, son of James Home 3rd Earl of Home and Jean Douglas Countess Home.
On 16th September 1651 James Cranfield 2nd Earl Middlesex [aged 30] died. His brother Lionel [aged 26] succeeded 3rd Earl Middlesex, 3rd Baron Cranfield of Cranfield in Bedfordshire.
Before 1652 John Weesop. Portrait of Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset [aged 29].
On 17th July 1652 [her father-in-law] Edward Sackville 4th Earl Dorset [aged 61] died. His son [her husband] Richard [aged 29] succeeded 5th Earl Dorset, 5th Baron Buckhurst. Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset [aged 30] by marriage Countess Dorset.
On 1st May 1655 [her brother] Lionel Cranfield 3rd Earl Middlesex [aged 30] and [her sister-in-law] Rachael Fane Countess Bath and Middlesex [aged 42] were married at St Bride's Church, Fleet Street. She by marriage Countess Middlesex. She the daughter of Francis Fane 1st Earl of Westmoreland and Mary Mildmay Countess of Westmoreland. He the son of [her father] Lionel Cranfield 1st Earl Middlesex and [her mother] Anne Brett Countess Middlesex.
John Evelyn's Diary. 25th December 1657. I went to London with my wife [aged 22], to celebrate Christmas-day, Mr. Gunning [aged 43] preaching in Exeter chapel [Map], on Micah vii. 2. Sermon ended, as he was giving us the Holy Sacrament, the chapel was surrounded with soldiers, and all the communicants and assembly surprised and kept prisoners by them, some in the house, others carried away. It fell to my share to be confined to a room in the house, where yet I was permitted to dine with the master of it, the Countess of Dorset [aged 35], Baroness Hatton [aged 45], and some others of quality who invited me. In the afternoon, came Colonel Whalley, Goffe, and others, from Whitehall [Map], to examine us one by one; some they committed to the marshal [Map], some to prison. When I came before them, they took my name and abode, examined me why, contrary to the ordinance made, that none should any longer observe the superstitious time of the nativity (so esteemed by them), I durst offend, and particularly be at common prayers, which they told me was but the mass in English, and particularly pray for Charles Stuart [aged 27]; for which we had no Scripture. I told them we did not pray for Charles Stuart, but for all Christian kings, princes, and governors. They replied, in so doing we prayed for the king of Spain, too, who was their enemy and a Papist, with other frivolous and ensnaring questions, and much threatening; and, finding no color to detain me, they dismissed me with much pity of my ignorance. These were men of high flight and above ordinances, and spoke spiteful things of our Lord's nativity. As we went up to receive the Sacrament, the miscreants held their muskets against us, as if they would have shot us at the altar; but yet suffering us to finish the office of Communion, as perhaps not having instructions what to do, in case they found us in that action. So I got home late the next day; blessed be God!
Samuel Pepys' Diary. 9th February 1660. Thence to Westminster Hall, where I heard an action very finely pleaded between my [her husband] Lord Dorset [aged 37] and some other noble persons, his lady [aged 38] and other ladies of quality being here, and it was about; £330 per annum, that was to be paid to a poor Spittal, which was given by some of his predecessors; and given on his side.
On 13th June 1661 [her brother] Lionel Cranfield 3rd Earl Middlesex [aged 36] and [her sister-in-law] Rachael Fane Countess Bath and Middlesex [aged 48] were divorced by decree of the Court of Arches having previously obtained a royal warrant dated 19 Mar 1661 to retain her precedency as Countess of Bath.
In 1665 [her son-in-law] Roger Boyle 2nd Earl Orrery [aged 18] and Mary Sackville Countess Orrery [aged 16] were married. She the daughter of Richard Sackville 5th Earl Dorset [aged 42] and Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset [aged 43]. He the son of Roger Boyle 1st Earl Orrery [aged 43] and Margaret Howard Countess Orrery [aged 42]. They were third cousins.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
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Samuel Pepys' Diary. 7th November 1667. Up, and at the office hard all the morning, and at noon resolved with Sir W. Pen [aged 46] to go see "The Tempest", an old play of Shakespeare's, acted, I hear, the first day; and so my wife, and girl, and W. Hewer [aged 25] by themselves, and Sir W. Pen and I afterwards by ourselves; and forced to sit in the side balcone over against the musique-room at the Duke's house, close by my Lady Dorset [aged 45] and a great many great ones. The house mighty full; the King [aged 37] and Court there and the most innocent play that ever I saw; and a curious piece of musique in an echo of half sentences, the echo repeating the former half, while the man goes on to the latter; which is mighty pretty. The play [has] no great wit, but yet good, above ordinary plays.
In 1670 [her mother] Anne Brett Countess Middlesex died.
After 1671 [her son-in-law] George Lane 1st Viscount Lanesborough [aged 51] and Frances Sackville Viscountess Lanesborough were married. She the daughter of Richard Sackville 5th Earl Dorset [aged 48] and Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset [aged 49].
On 19th April 1671 [her son-in-law] Alexander Home 4th Earl of Home and Anne Sackville Countess Home [aged 20] were married. She by marriage Countess of Home. She the daughter of Richard Sackville 5th Earl Dorset [aged 48] and Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset [aged 49]. He the son of James Home 3rd Earl of Home and Jean Douglas Countess Home.
On 22nd August 1672 [her daughter] Anne Sackville Countess Home [aged 22] died.
In June 1674 Charles Sackville 6th Earl Dorset 1st Earl Middlesex [aged 31] and Mary Bagot Countess Falmouth and Dorset [aged 29] were married. He the son of Richard Sackville 5th Earl Dorset [aged 51] and Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset [aged 52].
On 26th October 1674 [her brother] Lionel Cranfield 3rd Earl Middlesex [aged 49] died without issue. Earl Middlesex, Baron Cranfield of Cranfield in Bedfordshire extinct.
In 1675 [her son] Charles Sackville 6th Earl Dorset 1st Earl Middlesex [aged 31] was created 1st Earl Middlesex, 1st Baron Cranfield of Cranfield in Middlesex. His mother Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset [aged 53] was sister to the last Earl of Middlesex of the previous creation [her brother] Lionel Cranfield 3rd Earl Middlesex whose estates he had inherited.
On 27th August 1677 [her husband] Richard Sackville 5th Earl Dorset [aged 54] died. His son Charles [aged 34] succeeded 6th Earl Dorset, 6th Baron Buckhurst. Mary Bagot Countess Falmouth and Dorset [aged 32] by marriage Countess Dorset.
On 7th March 1685 Charles Sackville 6th Earl Dorset 1st Earl Middlesex [aged 42] and Mary Compton Countess Dorset and Middlesex [aged 16] were married. She by marriage Countess Dorset, Countess Middlesex. The difference in their ages was 25 years. She the daughter of James Compton 3rd Earl of Northampton and Mary Noel Countess Northampton. He the son of Richard Sackville 5th Earl Dorset and Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset [aged 63]. They were sixth cousins.
In 1687 Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset [aged 65] died.
William of Worcester's Chronicle of England
William of Worcester, born around 1415, and died around 1482 was secretary to John Fastolf, the renowned soldier of the Hundred Years War, during which time he collected documents, letters, and wrote a record of events. Following their return to England in 1440 William was witness to major events. Twice in his chronicle he uses the first person: 1. when writing about the murder of Thomas, 7th Baron Scales, in 1460, he writes '… and I saw him lying naked in the cemetery near the porch of the church of St. Mary Overie in Southwark …' and 2. describing King Edward IV's entry into London in 1461 he writes '… proclaimed that all the people themselves were to recognize and acknowledge Edward as king. I was present and heard this, and immediately went down with them into the city'. William’s Chronicle is rich in detail. It is the source of much information about the Wars of the Roses, including the term 'Diabolical Marriage' to describe the marriage of Queen Elizabeth Woodville’s brother John’s marriage to Katherine, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk, he aged twenty, she sixty-five or more, and the story about a paper crown being placed in mockery on the severed head of Richard, 3rd Duke of York.
Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.
Letters of Horace Walpole. 5th August 1752. From Sevenoaks [Map] we went to Knowle. The park is sweet, with much old beech, and an immense sycamore before the great gate, that makes me more in love than ever with sycamores. The house is not near so extensive as I expected:330 the outward court has a beautiful decent simplicity that charms one. The apartments are many, but not large. The furniture throughout, ancient magnificence; loads of portraits, not good nor curious; ebony cabinets, embossed silver in vases, dishes, etc. embroidered beds, stiff chairs, and sweet bags lying on velvet tables, richly worked in silk and gold. There are two galleries, one very small; an old hall, and a spacious great drawing-room. There is never a good staircase. The first little room you enter has sundry portraits of the times; but they seem to have been bespoke by the yard, and drawn all by the same painter; One should be happy if they were authentic; for among them there is Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, Gardiner of Winchester, the Earl of Surry, the poet, when a boy, and a Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, but I don't know which. The only fine picture is of Lord Goring and Endymion Porter by Vandyke. There is a good head of the Queen of Bohemia, a whole-length of Duc d'Espernon, and another good head of the Clifford, Countess of Dorset, who wrote that admirable haughty letter to Secretary Williamson, when he recommended a person to her for member for Appleby: "I have been bullied by an usurper, I have been neglected by a court, but I won't be dictated to by a subject: your man shan't stand. Ann Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery." In the chapel is a piece of ancient tapestry: Saint Luke in his first profession is holding an urinal. Below stairs is a chamber of poets and players, which is proper enough in that house; for the first Earl wrote a play331, and the last Earl was a poet332, and I think married a player333 Major Mohun and Betterton are curious among the latter, Cartwright and Flatman among the former. The arcade is newly enclosed, painted in fresco, and with modern glass of all the family matches. In the gallery is a whole-length of the unfortunate Earl of Surry, with his device, a broken column, and the motto Sat superest. My father had one of them, but larger, and with more emblems, which the Duke of Norfolk bought at my brother's sale. There is one good head of henry VIII, and divers of Cranfield, Earl of Middlesex, the citizen who came to be lord treasurer, and was very near coming to be hanged.334 His Countess, a bouncing kind of lady-mayoress, looks pure awkward amongst so much good company. A visto cut through the wood has a delightful effect from the front: but there are some trumpery fragments of gardens that spoil the view from the state apartments.
Note 329. Only son of Dr. Richard Bentley, the celebrated Divine and classical scholar. He was educated at Trinity College, under his father. Cumberland, who was his nephew, describes him as a man of various and considerable accomplishments; possessing a fine genius, great wit, and a brilliant imagination; "but there was," he adds, "a certain eccentricity and want of prudence in his character, that involved him in distresses, and reduced him to situations uncongenial with his feelings, and unpropitious to the cultivation and encouragement of his talents."-E.
Note 330. Evelyn in his Diary for July 25, 1673, says, "In my way I visited my Lord of Dorset's house at Knowle, near Sevenoaks, a greate old-fashion'd house."-E.
Note 331. Thomas Sackville, Lord Buckhurst, while a student in the Temple, wrote his tragedy of Gordobuc, which was played before Queen Elizabeth, at Whitehall, in 1561. He was created Earl of Dorset by James the First, in 1604.-E.
Note 332. Charles Sackville, sixth Earl of Dorset. On the day previous to the naval engagement with the Dutch, in 1665, he is said to have composed his celebrated song, "to all you Ladies now on Land."-E.
Note 333. On the contrary, he married the Lady Frances, daughter of the Earl of Middlesex, who survived him.-E. [Note. This appears to be a mistake insofar as Richard Sackville 5th Earl Dorset married Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset who was the daughter of Lionel Cranfield 1st Earl Middlesex. Charles Sackville 6th Earl Dorset 1st Earl Middlesex married firstly Mary Bagot Countess Falmouth and Dorset and secondly Mary Compton Countess Dorset and Middlesex. There, however, references to his marrying an actress Alice Lee with whom he appear to have had a daughter Mary Sackville Countess Orrery.]
Note 334. Lionel Cranfield, Earl of Middlesex, married two wives: the first was the daughter of a London citizen; the second, the daughter of James Brett, Esq. and half-sister of Mary Beaumont, created Countess of Buckingham. To this last alliance, Lord Middlesex owed his extraordinary advancement.-E.
[her daughter] Frances Sackville Viscountess Lanesborough was born to Richard Sackville 5th Earl Dorset and Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset. She married after 1671 George Lane 1st Viscount Lanesborough and had issue.
Grandfather: Thomas Cranfield 
Frances Cranfield Countess Dorset
Grandfather: James Brett
mother: Anne Brett Countess Middlesex