Elizabeth Richardson, 1st Lady Cramond

Who was Elizabeth Richardson, 1st Lady Cramond?

Elizabeth Richardson, 1st Lady Cramond was an English writer and peeress.

Born Elizabeth Beaumont, she was the eldest child of Sir Thomas Beaumont and his wife, Catherine. On 27 November 1594 she married John Ashburnham at Stoughton, Leicestershire, and they had ten children including John Ashburnham. Their daughter, Elizabeth, was the first wife of Frederick Cornwallis, 1st Baron Cornwallis.

Sir John's death in 1620 left the family in financial difficulty, but Lady Ashburnham was considerably influential at court due to Mary Villiers, Countess of Buckingham being her cousin. She procured a baronetcy for her son-in-law, Edward Dering, in 1627 and a letter to Buckingham, that year, indicates she enjoyed the company of his wife, Katherine, of Lady Carlisle and of Henrietta Maria of France.

On 14 December 1626 Lady Ashburnham married Sir Thomas Richardson at St Giles in the Fields. Through his influence, she was created Lady Cramond in the Peerage of Scotland, on 29 February 1628, an event which elicited 'many gibes and pasquinades...for the amusement of Westminster Hall'. On 9 September 1629, she was granted an annual pension of £300 for the duration of her life.