Isabella de Forz, Countess of Devon

Who was Isabella de Forz, Countess of Devon?

Isabella de Forz was the eldest daughter of Baldwin de Redvers, 6th Earl of Devon. After the early death of her husband and her brother before she was thirty years old, she inherited their estates and became one of the richest women in England, living mainly in Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, which she owned.

She had six children, all of whom died before her. On her death bed she was persuaded to sell the Isle of Wight to King Edward I, in a transaction that has ever since been considered questionable.

A weir on the River Exe is named after her, and she is the subject of at least two legends.