Lady Frances Sidney | |
|---|---|
| Countess of Sussex | |
 The Countess of Sussex c. 1570-75, this painting hangs in the hall of Sidney Sussex College | |
| Tenure | 1557-1589 |
| Known for | Foundress of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge |
| Born | 1531 Penshurst Palace |
| Died | 9 March 1589 Bermondsey |
| Nationality | English |
| Residence | Kilmainham Priory, Ireland; Bermondsey |
| Spouse(s) | Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex |
| Parents | Sir William Sidney and Anne Pagenham |
Frances Radclyffe, Countess of Sussex (née Sidney; 1531–1589) was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth I and the founder of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge. She was the daughter of Sir William Sidney,[1] of Penshurst Place in Kent, a prominent courtier during the reign of King Henry VIII, and his wife, the former Anne Packenham. She was the sister of Sir Henry Sidney, and aunt to both the poet Sir Philip Sidney and the first Sidney Earl of Leicester.
In 1555, she married (as his second wife) Thomas Radclyffe, Viscount FitzWalter,[1] who was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland in April 1556,[1] and who succeeded his father as 3rd Earl of Sussex in 1557. They left no children.
In her will, Lady Sussex left the sum of £5,000 together with some plate to found a new college at Cambridge University[2] 'to be called the Lady Frances Sidney Sussex College'.[3] Her executors, Sir John Harington and Henry Grey, 6th Earl of Kent, supervised by Archbishop John Whitgift, founded the college seven years after her death.[4]
Her arms are used by Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge and a mascot of the college is a blue and gold porcupine, taken from a crest of the Sidney family.[5][6]
- ^ a b c Chisholm, 1911, pp. 164–165
- ^ Chisholm, 1911, p. 95
- ^ Levin et al., 2016, p. 212
- ^ "College History", 2020
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Montague-Smith, P.W. (ed.), Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, Kelly's Directories Ltd, Kingston-upon-Thames, 1968, p. 336, Viscount de L'Isle.