Elizabeth de Clare

Marriages Elizabeth de Clare married three times. She had three children; one by each husband. Her father had been one of England's wealthiest and most powerful nobles but when Elizabeth's only brother, Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford and 8th Earl of Gloucester, was killed at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 aged only 23 and leaving no surviving issue, his property, estimated to be worth £6,000/year, was equally divided between his three full sisters, Elizabeth, Eleanor and Margaret. This made Elizabeth one of the greatest heiresses in England.

First marriage She accompanied her brother Gilbert to Ireland for their double wedding to two siblings: the son and daughter of the Earl of Ulster. Elizabeth married John de Burgh on 30 September 1308. He was the heir to the Earl of Ulster, and Elizabeth could expect to be a countess in due course. She gave birth to their only child, a son, in 1312; he would become William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster. Only a year later, her husband John was unexpectedly killed in a minor skirmish in Galway. A widow, Elizabeth remained in Ireland until the death of her brother at the Battle of Bannockburn compelled her immediate return to England in July 1314.

Second marriage

Edward II placed her in Bristol Castle, but his plans to marry her to one of his supporters were dashed in February 1316, when Elizabeth was abducted from Bristol by Theobald II de Verdun, the former Justiciar of Ireland. He claimed that he and Elizabeth had been engaged before she was called back to England. She was Lady Verdun for only six months until Theobald died on 27 July 1316, and was baptised by the Bishop of Salisbury. The Verdun estates were partitioned among Theobald's four daughters as coheiresses and their husbands, She held a very elaborate Christmas feast that year in Usk Castle, perhaps partly in celebration of her adversary's death, for which the long list of food and drink survives in the collection of the National Archives. She also undertook building works at Usk and the nearby Llangibby Castle,

Later life After D'Amory's death, Elizabeth de Clare never remarried and styled herself the 'Lady of Clare' after her principal estate in Suffolk. She also had a residence at Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire, Great Bardfield, Essex, and in 1352 she built a London house in the precinct of the Franciscan Convent of the Minoresses, Aldgate. A good idea of her lifestyle in the last 25 years of her life can be taken from the extensive survival of her household and other records. These throw light on the activities of and provision of food and drink for the household (numbering up to 100 people) of one of the richest and most influential women of the fourteenth century. Amongst the records are the works of her personal goldsmith in 1333.

Elizabeth was a religious benefactress and in her records she also lists alms giving and patronage towards her favourite religious houses, such as the priories at Clare, Anglesey, and Walsingham (founded on her manor), and Denny Abbey.

Her most important and long-lasting foundation was Clare College, Cambridge. The marriage produced at least five children, four of whom survived infancy.

Her younger daughter, Elizabeth d'Amory, married John Bardolf, 3rd Lord Bardolf of Wormegay, Knight Banneret (1314–1363). They had three children.

Her son William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster and 4th Baron of Connaught married Maud of Lancaster, the daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Maud Chaworth. His wardship had been granted to her father. She was betrothed to Edward III's third but second surviving son Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, in 1341, and they married on 9 September 1342 at the Tower of London.

Ancestry