Elizabeth Lilburne
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Lilburne born Elizabeth Dewell, was a Leveller and the wife of John Lilburne
.
's Baptist congregation in Stepney
. Her husband's politically active life, leading to frequent spells in prison (often with Elizabeth alongside him) and some time in exile, dominated her life and made for much lobbying and hardship for her. During John's time serving as a captain in Lord Brooke's regiment he was captured at Brentford
by royalists and threatened with execution - Elizabeth not only managed to petition parliament to threaten to hang tit-for-tat executions of royalist prisoners if her husband was executed, but also carried a letter of this news from the speaker of the Commons to the Royalist court in exile in Oxford
whilst pregnant. After John's release she spent a few quieter months in Boston, Lincolnshire
while he was serving with the army of the Eastern Association
, though he became more and more disaffected with the dominant parliamentary factions. Heavily pregnant, she joined him in Newgate Prison
in August 1645 when he was sent there for attacking William Lenthall
and it was there that their daughter Elizabeth was born and (maybe against the couple's wishes) baptised. Elizabeth's childbed linen was in the meantime stolen from the couple's London home by parliamentary officers hunting for "dangerous Bookes". Between then and 1649 they also had two sons.
John was imprisoned again in 1646-48 for attacking presbyterian and parliamentarian authoritarianism and in March to July 1649 - during the former period Elizabeth was herself arrested for circulating John's books, and it was her catching smallpox (as did the couple's 3 children - the two sons died but the daughter survived) that led to his bail at the end of the latter. Elizabeth recovered and went on to have seven more children, though only two of these (plus their first daughter) reached adulthood. She became ill again in October 1649 and was unable to be present on John's acquittal
of treason by a London jury. The following 18 months were peaceful for the couple, living partly off the proceeds of confiscated Durham church lands John had been granted in compensation for his 1630s punishments, but they came to ruin through the exile and £7000 fine imposed on John in January 1652 after his conviction for libel by parliament after an attack on Sir Arthur Haselrig
's administration of sequestered north-eastern estates. The prominent Baptist William Kiffin
was an old friend of John and a former political ally, and it was to him that Elizabeth was entrusted during John's exile. She tried to convince him to reconcile himself to Oliver Cromwell
, if only for their family's sake, visiting him in Bruges
and convincing him to return to England in June 1653. He was, however, imprisoned on arrival and remained there until his death apart from brief paroles, though two more children were born in 1652-53 (he criticised her for being "perfectly distracted" by the death of one of their children in this period). John's father and Elizabeth tried and failed in July 1655 to have him released, with themselves as guarantors of his good behaviour, and he was moved from Jersey
to Dover
before dying in Eltham on 29 August 1657 on bail after his wife's last confinement.
In his last years John became a Quaker but it seems from his writings that he was not joined in this by Elizabeth. In his exile writings he called her arguments to him to return to be "mournful", the terms on which she recommended compromise as "sneaking terms [that] my soul abhorres [sic]" and Elizabeth herself as "my poor credulous wife". However, her arguments were vindicated after his death when she eventually managed to gain from Cromwell the lifting of the 1652 fine, the renewal of a weekly pension of 40s. for herself and her children and help in settling disputes over the Durham property. Her pension was still being paid in March 1660, though the improvement in her fortunes probably ended with the English Restoration
(her date of death is unknown). With John's obstinacy now removed, she also managed to resolve the Lilburnes' complex property disputes in Durham, so much so that Hesilrige became an ally in Parliament (in return for her giving him all the papers relating to his original dispute with John).
John Lilburne
John Lilburne , also known as Freeborn John, was an English political Leveller before, during and after English Civil Wars 1642-1650. He coined the term "freeborn rights", defining them as rights with which every human being is born, as opposed to rights bestowed by government or human law...
.
Life
The daughter of the London merchant Henry Dewell (d. in or after 1655), no details of Elizabeth's life prior to her marriage to John in or before September 1641 (shortly after his release from prison) are known. Already involved in London separatist circles at the time of her marriage, she was one of the thirteen women and sixteen men arrested in September 1641 for their attendance at John SpilsburyJohn Spilsbury (Baptist minister)
John Spilsbury was an English cobbler and Particular Baptist minister who set up a Calvinist Baptist church in London in 1638.-Early records:...
's Baptist congregation in Stepney
Stepney
Stepney is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in London's East End that grew out of a medieval village around St Dunstan's church and the 15th century ribbon development of Mile End Road...
. Her husband's politically active life, leading to frequent spells in prison (often with Elizabeth alongside him) and some time in exile, dominated her life and made for much lobbying and hardship for her. During John's time serving as a captain in Lord Brooke's regiment he was captured at Brentford
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent, west-southwest of Charing Cross. Its former ceremonial county was Middlesex.-Toponymy:...
by royalists and threatened with execution - Elizabeth not only managed to petition parliament to threaten to hang tit-for-tat executions of royalist prisoners if her husband was executed, but also carried a letter of this news from the speaker of the Commons to the Royalist court in exile in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
whilst pregnant. After John's release she spent a few quieter months in Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census...
while he was serving with the army of the Eastern Association
Eastern Association
The Eastern Association of counties was a Parliamentarian or 'Roundhead' army during the English Civil War. It was formed from a number of pro-Parliamentary militias in the east of England in 1642, including a troop of cavalry led by Oliver Cromwell...
, though he became more and more disaffected with the dominant parliamentary factions. Heavily pregnant, she joined him in Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison
Newgate Prison was a prison in London, at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey just inside the City of London. It was originally located at the site of a gate in the Roman London Wall. The gate/prison was rebuilt in the 12th century, and demolished in 1777...
in August 1645 when he was sent there for attacking William Lenthall
William Lenthall
William Lenthall was an English politician of the Civil War period. He served as Speaker of the House of Commons.-Early life:...
and it was there that their daughter Elizabeth was born and (maybe against the couple's wishes) baptised. Elizabeth's childbed linen was in the meantime stolen from the couple's London home by parliamentary officers hunting for "dangerous Bookes". Between then and 1649 they also had two sons.
John was imprisoned again in 1646-48 for attacking presbyterian and parliamentarian authoritarianism and in March to July 1649 - during the former period Elizabeth was herself arrested for circulating John's books, and it was her catching smallpox (as did the couple's 3 children - the two sons died but the daughter survived) that led to his bail at the end of the latter. Elizabeth recovered and went on to have seven more children, though only two of these (plus their first daughter) reached adulthood. She became ill again in October 1649 and was unable to be present on John's acquittal
Acquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
of treason by a London jury. The following 18 months were peaceful for the couple, living partly off the proceeds of confiscated Durham church lands John had been granted in compensation for his 1630s punishments, but they came to ruin through the exile and £7000 fine imposed on John in January 1652 after his conviction for libel by parliament after an attack on Sir Arthur Haselrig
Arthur Haselrig
Sir Arthur Haselrig, 2nd Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1659. He was one of the five members of Parliament whom King Charles I tried to arrest in 1642, an event which led to the start of the English Civil War...
's administration of sequestered north-eastern estates. The prominent Baptist William Kiffin
William Kiffin
William Kiffin , sometimes spelled William Kiffen, was a seventeenth-century English Baptist minister. He was also a successful merchant in the woolen trade.-Life:...
was an old friend of John and a former political ally, and it was to him that Elizabeth was entrusted during John's exile. She tried to convince him to reconcile himself to Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
, if only for their family's sake, visiting him in Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
and convincing him to return to England in June 1653. He was, however, imprisoned on arrival and remained there until his death apart from brief paroles, though two more children were born in 1652-53 (he criticised her for being "perfectly distracted" by the death of one of their children in this period). John's father and Elizabeth tried and failed in July 1655 to have him released, with themselves as guarantors of his good behaviour, and he was moved from Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
to Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
before dying in Eltham on 29 August 1657 on bail after his wife's last confinement.
In his last years John became a Quaker but it seems from his writings that he was not joined in this by Elizabeth. In his exile writings he called her arguments to him to return to be "mournful", the terms on which she recommended compromise as "sneaking terms [that] my soul abhorres [sic]" and Elizabeth herself as "my poor credulous wife". However, her arguments were vindicated after his death when she eventually managed to gain from Cromwell the lifting of the 1652 fine, the renewal of a weekly pension of 40s. for herself and her children and help in settling disputes over the Durham property. Her pension was still being paid in March 1660, though the improvement in her fortunes probably ended with the English Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
(her date of death is unknown). With John's obstinacy now removed, she also managed to resolve the Lilburnes' complex property disputes in Durham, so much so that Hesilrige became an ally in Parliament (in return for her giving him all the papers relating to his original dispute with John).