The Gateway Walk

These pages were contributed my Malcolm Hanson, who runs the Skipton Experience guided walks

Part 5

Skipton Castle - Lady Anne Clifford

Now we come to the most noble of them all - Lady Anne, Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery, and last of the Clifford dynasty. Brought up in the shadow of the great Queen Elizabeth I; married to the Earl of Dorset, widowed; remarried to the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery; cheated of her vast inheritance by her father, uncle, husband, relations and even statesmen right the way up to King James VI of Scotland and I of England; fighting against them all for many years until finally - in the autumn of her life - inheriting all by default; then going on to create her own northern kingdom, rebuilding castles, restoring lands, and creating hospices and almshouses, all over which she presided until her death in 1676, at the grand old age of 86.

The story of Lady Anne Clifford is a classic tale of triumph over adversity, and begins with her father George, 3rd Earl of Cumberland known as the 'Sailor Earl' due to his life as a buccaneer. History seems to have ignored him since it does not acknowledge the name of Clifford when remembering those other great mariners of the time - Drake, Frobisher, Hawkins and Howard; yet it was Lord George Clifford who commanded the queen's largest ship, the 'Elizabeth Bonaventure', at the forefront of the sea battle against the Spanish Armada in 1488. It was Clifford too who first brought news of the great victory to the Virgin Queen, who, on being so surprised, she dropped her gloves! The truth is enshrined in the fact that Elizabeth made a present of a glove to her gallant earl in recognition of his great service; this he had embroidered with jewels and then sewn into the front of his hat as a cockade! Further to being 'Sailor No.1' George was Elizabeth's personal champion of the tilt-yard, since she was not allowed to take part herself. Clifford was her deputy, wearing her official badge and colours, and doing battle in her name.

In 1590, into this sublime way of life was born Lady Anne, whom after just ten weeks at Skipton Castle was whisked south to London, to be brought up at the Court of Queen Elizabeth, within whose circle her parents dwelt.

So Anne was brought up in the shadow of the Virgin Queen; a queen that regarded this bonny and attractive child as her 'favourite'; a child that was dressed in the finest silks, and who was expected to grow to be a great beauty. For the young Lady Anne, life was one long round of country estates and castles as the queen made her stately progressions throughout the land. Still sadly, in 1603, when the 'favourite' was just 13 years old, Queen Elizabeth died, and it was a vicious blow to the young girl who regarded this great lady as an aunt. Indeed, she writes in her diary of her sadness at not being allowed to be a pallbearer at the queen's funeral. She was, as she wrote, 'too small'. Still, it was not long before the young Lady Anne would become the favourite of the new sovereign, James VI of Scotland and I of England; and though she must again have seemed content with her lot, she could never have imagined the blow fate would next deal her. The 3rd Earl of Cumberland was dying, and his demise would bring about consequences that would plunge this plucky young girl into a battle between herself and almost all of her relatives - and ultimately King James himself - for many years to come.

It went like this: in the 13th century, when Edward I granted the Cliffords titles and lands 'for services rendered to the king', he stipulated that these endowments must always go to the eldest heir - whatever sex. Now, originally, in this particular case there would have been no problem, since the 3rd Earl of Cumberland's wife, Lady Margaret Russell, had bore him two boys before Anne came along - but both had died in infancy, and now there was a problem. A big problem. Some say Lord George believed his daughter was too young to inherit such a vast and convoluted estate; others that he owed a fortune she might never pay off. Whatever his motives, he froze the poor girl out of his will, conferring the lands and titles on his younger brother, Francis, and it was this act of injustice that would prove to be a turning point for Lady Anne. Now - at such a tender age - she would begin a life-long struggle to win back her inheritance; a struggle that would last some 38 years.

Lady Anne Clifford married Richard Sackville, Earl of Dorset in 1609. From her home she moved to the great house of Knole in Kent, performing her wifely duties with conviction, and bearing her husband three boys, (all who died), and two daughters, Margaret and Isabella. Yet soon the darker side of Dorset's nature showed through - highlighted by his constant urge to gamble. Often losing fortunes on a single stake he would return home in a rage, making life difficult for all. Soon, with his money going swiftly down the drain, the earl would need a way to replenish the Sackville coffers. He cast his eye around and its gaze landed on his wife's inheritance. Poor Anne. It seemed all were after a piece of her cake - one of which she was allowed no portion for herself! Dorset now instructed his wife to sign away her claim to her inheritance in favour of a financial settlement. The terms were to be very generous indeed, he assured her - £20,000! Fine if you want to give up your claim, but not much fun if you don't, and Anne had no intention of giving up her 'beloved Westmerland' as she referred to her inheritance, especially when in the small print it stated that the compensation would not actually be going to her but to a certain 'Mr Dorset!

At this point - in an act of pure desperation - Sackville beseeched the king to act as arbitrator in the matter. (This was normal procedure in such disputes; a monarch's judgement being regarded as 'infallible'). The king promptly favoured the earl, and ordered Lady Anne to sign away her inheritance in favour of the financial settlement. The plucky heiress immediately refused outright, causing uproar among the assembled courtiers. No one could believe it! This 'upstart woman' was openly defying the ruling of the king - and to his face! "Treason!" they might have shouted, and the king might well have agreed, but his affection for the little 'favourite' had not diminished, and so he let things stand - for the moment. The earl, however, continued to apply pressure, and things deteriorated to such an extent that Lady Anne was again summoned before the king; but this time there was to be no compromise. On entering the king's Drawing-Chamber, she found all her enemies lined up before her. There stood 'Big Frank' Cumberland with his son and heir, the young Lord Henry; while in attendance were Lord Arundel; both Earls of Pembroke and Montgomery; the Vice-Chamberlain; the Lord Chief Justice; the Attorney General and Sir Randall Crewe, (Counsel for Lord and Lady Dorset); and of course, her husband, Richard.

King James had already decided the outcome; either she signed away all her rights to her inheritance, or they would be forcibly withdrawn from her. For the moment Lady Anne was well and truly stuffed - and she knew it. Still, she had no intention of conceding in the meek and mild way her antagonists would have expected. No. She looked them all in the eye - her sovereign included - and announced defiantly, "Take my inheritance for I cannot stop you; but never while Ilive and breathe shall I sign it away to you. You shall have no signature of mine!"

Richard Sackville, Earl of Dorset, died in 1624, having never resolved his differences with Lady Anne, yet from all this sorry tale sprang forth some happiness. The feisty lady had refused to trust her sovereign in the matter of her inheritance; a perilous position to take when considering that such a stance had proved fatal for such personages as Beckett and More. Anne had quite literally risked her neck in defying the king and the earl admired her for this. This served to bring the couple closer together, and though the two never again lived as one, their fondness for each other grew until the earl took that last breath.

In 1630 Lady Anne married again - though not for love. The Dowager Countess of Dorset still had many powerful enemies and she sought protection from them. She saw that protection in Philip Herbert, Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery. But let's not go into this; suffice to say that he acted as any normal man would - drinking, gambling, womanising, even badgering Anne to sign away her all-but-now defunct inheritance to him! After four years of this treatment the Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery had had enough - she took off for her house at Wilton, never to return. Still, she continued to raise the question of her inheritance - even at one point jointly signing formal claims with her estranged husband, Philip - though really, there was little to do but wait and see what the future might bring.

Then, in 1641, her 'beloved Westmerland' came one step nearer when big Uncle Frank died in his 82nd year. For a moment, it looked like the end of the much-put-upon heiress's long struggle. But it was not to be. Any hopes of the lady's return to the north were quickly dashed when the old earl's son, Henry, succeeded him as 5th Earl of Cumberland. Now Lady Anne's inheritance seemed further away than ever; what personal anguish and frustration she must have undergone in those dark days can only be imagined. Still, she continued to live in hope that one day her ship would come in, and that day finally came in December, 1643, when the young Clifford died unexpectedly, leaving no male heir. The earldom was finished, and her 'beloved Westmerland' was to be attained on her at last.

For Lady Anne, it must have seemed like the final end to a 40-year nightmare - though even now, after finally attaining her most coveted possession, fate - seemingly as ever - was to be against her. The English Civil War was rife, with heavy fighting spread throughout the Midlands. Moreover, her castles of Skipton and Appleby were garrisoned by Royalist troops - and both were in a state of siege. And now there would be worse to come; the 'slighting' of both castles would begin once Oliver Cromwell got his warty hands on them - the battlements would be torn down, the roofs would be dismantled, and what buildings left standing fit only for the use of cattle. What with her other castles of Brougham, Brough and Pendragon already in ruins after years of neglect, the good lady must have wondered if her'beloved Westmerland'was actually worth getting out of bed for anymore!

So it wasn't until 1649 that Anne was finally - once and for all - able to leave London for her estates in the north; no doubt pondering nervously on what lay ahead. It would take eight days to get home to Skipton, and on arrival her worst fears would be confirmed. The once proud and stately castle had all but been pulled down; the beautiful church of Holy Trinity was pretty much a ruin, and the tombs of her ancestors smashed and desecrated by the earlier rampaging Parliamentarians. The whole area was a quagmire of seemingly endless unrest, depredation and abandonment, and for the Royalist Baroness Lord of the Honour of Skipton - having just witnessed the spectacle of seeing her beloved sovereign, Charles I beheaded on the same day as her 59th birthday - it must have seemed a fine start to the rest of her life.

Most people would have turned the horses around and gone back to wherever they had come from, but not Lady Anne Pembroke Clifford. She stood in the shadow of her ruined castle - in the place of her birth and vowed she would rebuild all of her kingdom, and all of her castles, and if Parliament knocked them down again, she would rebuild them again - and shall do so always so long as I have one shilling in my pocket!" It is said that word was sent of this feisty lady's sedition to Cromwell, and he - perhaps knowing something of his opponent's iron will in the matters of her inherited estates - feigned little interest, replying, '...Nay, let the Lady Clifford build what she will, she shall have no hindrance from me.'

First she toured all of her lands and estates, drawing up plans as she went. Skipton, Barden, Appleby, Brough, Brougham, Pendragon - all of them - and all of their churches - were to be rebuilt. Never before had there been such a vast plan undertaken for the reconstruction of a private fiefdom - and all to begin as the great lady would pass into her 60th year. But there was more: almshouses for widows; hospices for the poor; chapels where there had been none; to be built by the craftsmen and labourers of her new and prosperous land. Over the gate of Skipton Castle she had her family motto built into the balustrade. 'Desormais' -
English: 'Henceforth'. Henceforth? Did she mean a new way of life? Very possibly - for Lady Anne was creating a welfare state.

Still, not all were happy living in this carefree land. In Appleby, after the Royalists had been driven out, Parliament had found it necessary to keep a force of troops garrisoned at the castle, and when in residence, Lady Anne had to share the place with the notorious regicide, General Harrison, (he of whom it was said even the mighty Cromwell went in fear of). Harrison harboured a fanatical hatred of all Royalists, and fancying her head on the chopping-block, he challenged the Dowager Countess to deny any allegiance to her former sovereign.

(The following comes from the text of Bishop Rainbow, who kept an account of the incident):

   She would not easily yield, but would be superior in the Dispute, having Truth and Loyalty on her side, she would not betray them at the peril of her life and fortune; but boldly asserted, that she did love the King, that she would live and die in her Loyal thoughts to the King, and so with her courage dulled the edge of so sharp an Adversary, that by God's merciful restraint he did her no harm at this time.

Lady Anne now spent her days moving from castle to castle always to wherever the next stage of her rebuilding programme began. The pattern of work never differed: first God's House to be built or repaired; then the refuge, if needed, for her 'subjects', and finally her own quarters. Often she travelled with a vast entourage of workers and staff numbering some 300 - a sight many regarded as 'not seen since the stately progressions of the Virgin Queen'. In the midst of all this there came constant visits from her extended family - all to be seen to, all to be fed, all to be fussed over, and all to be loved. Yet, in all this, she still found time to repair or build new tombs and monuments for her mother, father, and ancestors, and even design her own; theirs vast and grand; hers plain and simple.

With the restoration of the monarchy, Anne opened up her kingdom to great festivity; particularly Appleby -which, like Skipton - had remained die-hard Royalist territory throughout the Civil War. Forthis she would discard her plain, black attire, spoken of as 'not disliked by any, imitated by none', choosing once again to wear the finery of a noble Lady of Court. Asked if she might one day revisit the splendours of London she replied I'd wear blinkers, lest I censure what 1 cannot competently judge of; be offended myself, or give offence to others." Feisty as usual!

Lady Anne Pembroke Clifford, Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery; High Sheriff of Westmoreland; and Baroness Lord of the Honour of Skipton, died in 1676 at her favourite castle of Brougham, at the grand old age of 86. Age had wearied her body; she no longer made progressions around her estates preferring to keep to her chamber and receive her family and friends there, yet her mental faculties were as acute as ever, and she spent her last days recalling, in her diary, events that had taken place more than five decades before.

How can one end a story like this? What fitting tribute can be made to this great Lady? Perhaps we should turn once again to Bishop Rainbow. I can think of no better way than to quote the following extracts from his funeral sermon:

   She was absolute Mistris of her Self, her Resolutions, Actions, and Time; and yet she allowed a time for every purpose, for all Adresses, for any Persons; None had access but by leave, when she calld; but none were rejected; none must stay longer than she would; yet none departed unsatisfied. Like him at the Stern, she seem'd to do little or
nothing, but indeed turn'd and steer'd the whole course of her Affairs...

...Thus fell at last this goodly Building; thus died this great wise Woman; who while she lived was the Honour of her Sex and Age fitter for an History than Sermon. Who having well considered that her last Remove ( how soon she knew not) must be to the house of death, she built her own Apartments there; the Tomb before your eyes; against this day, on which we are all now here met to give her Relique Livery and Seizin, quiet possession. And while her Dust lies silent in that Chamber of death, the Monuments which she had built in the Hearts of all that knew her, shall speak loud in the ears of a profligate generation; and tell, that in this general Corruption, lapsed times decay, and downfal of Vertue, The thrice Illustrious Anne Countess of Pembroke, Dorset and Montgomery stood immovable in her integrity of Manners, Vertue and Religion ......

Lady Anne lies at rest in the church of St Lawrence at Appleby.

"And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations, and thou shalt be called, The Repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in---. (Isaiah Iviii, 12.)

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