1587. England is at war with Spain. The people of Devon wait in terror for King Philip of Spain’s mighty armada to unleash untold devastation on their land. Roberda, daughter of a French Huguenot leader, has been managing the Dartington estate in her estranged husband Gawen’s absence. She has gained the respect of the staff and tenants who now look to her to lead them through these dark times.
I’ve been researching Devon’s history for years, focusing on one family — the Champernownes. The sixteenth century Champernownes were much more than simple rural gentry. Many of them served at the royal court.
Within their ranks we find soldiers, seafarers, adventurers and courtiers; a woman renowned for her beauty and learning who was lady-in-waiting and close friend of Queen Katherine Parr; the mother of Sir Walter Raleigh; and Queen Elizabeth’s childhood governess. Yet the Champernownes remain relatively unknown beyond the West country.
I’ve made it my mission to bring the stories of the Champernowne women out of the shadows. Some of them have left a light footprint on the historical record. I’ve had to delve deep to find them. One who has left her mark is Lady Gabrielle Roberda Montgomery, known as Roberda, who married into the family.
During my research, I’ve become fascinated by the particular challenges she faced when she left her home in war-torn France for a new life in South Devon.
Sir Arthur Champernowne, Queen Elizabeth’s Vice Admiral of the Fleet of the West, was the first of the family to make his home at Dartington Hall, the magnificent medieval manor house built for John Holland, the half-brother of King Richard II.
Roberda, the daughter of the Count of Montgomery — the man who killed the King of France in a jousting accident and became a Huguenot general in the French Wars of Religion — married Sir Arthur’s son, ambitious and volatile Gawen. Roberda’s early life and her difficult reception in Devon are the subject of my novel, The Dartington Bride.
Mistress of Dartington Hall begins in 1587, when King Philip of Spain is poised to launch his mighty armada. Devon is on a knife edge.The threat of invasion is just as real as that southern England faced during World War II, and the South West is in the front line.
Early intelligence suggests that the Spanish fleet will make landfall on the Devon coast. Everyone knows that last-minute, desperate efforts to prepare are unlikely to hold back the wave of well-trained, ruthless Spanish soldiers who will march through the land.
Like many high-born women, Roberda has picked up the reins and managed the extensive estate and household successfully in her husband’s absence. She has earned the respect of the people of Dartington who look to her for leadership during perilous times.
Drawing on all her reserves of strength and determination, Roberda rallies them to face the onslaught. But when Gawen returns everything changes. Roberda must cede power to her husband and negotiate a difficult marriage amidst a national crisis.
While researching this turbulent time, it was easy to find details of the actions of Spanish commanders, naval battles, and the significant roles played by the English officers, including Drake and Admiral Howard.
I could follow the fortunes of Devon’s Deputy Lieutenants and find out what Gawen’s cousin, Sir Walter Raleigh, was doing as England scrambled to shore up its defences. However, I found nothing in the record to tell me how the women of England fared while the invasion became more and more likely.
Some wealthy women of Elizabethan Devon may have retreated to safer estates further inland, while others, like Roberda, opted to stay at home to face the invading army alongside their tenants and estate workers. In Mistress of Dartington Hall, I have allowed her to adopt a sort of ‘Blitz spirit’.
Drawing on her childhood experiences in France, where she followed her father on the campaign, she manages food supplies against the likely need for evacuation, prepares medicines to care for the injured, and provides better clothing for the men called to the muster. Gawen joins his cousin, Sir Walter Raleigh and his friend, Sir Francis Drake as Devon prepares.
In the event, the Spanish commanders make a catastrophic error. They sail on up the English Channel, chased by Drake, who famously launches fire ships to split up their formation. A strong wind ultimately defeats King Philip’s mighty Armada, driving them northwards and around the coast of Scotland.
Although King Philip’s attempt failed in 1588, he did not give up on his ‘enterprise of England’.
The threat of invasion remained real well into the 1590s. Against this turbulent background, and amid growing financial pressures, Roberda must navigate unpredictable events in a world that rarely offers women control over their destinies.
Yet elite women’s roles were slowly evolving. Marriage remained the glue that welded together mighty families, increasing their status and wealth. A woman’s primary purpose in life was still to produce an heir and spares. However, the advent of the printing press and growing interest in Humanist thinking meant many women received a broader education than their medieval counterparts.
This went beyond a smattering of law and accounting, in order to manage the books while husbands were absent. Women often joined their son’s lessons with tutors and read the classics. Some, like Devon woman, Anne Dowriche, who gets a brief mention in Roberda’s story, even wrote and published literary works.
Education opened up new ideas for women like Roberda; boundaries were gradually shifting. In a strong marriage, no doubt couples negotiated these changes with ease. But in less stable relationships, women like Roberda must have found it much more difficult. She must weather many storms if she is to remain Mistress of Dartington Hall and secure her children’s inheritance.
Rosemary Griggs
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