Lady Blanche Arundell (1583 or c. 1584 – 28 October 1649) was born to Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester

Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester

Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester, KG, Earl Marshal was an English aristocrat. He was an important advisor to King James I, serving as Lord Privy Seal....

 and Lady Elizabeth Hastings

Lady Elizabeth Hastings

Lady Elizabeth Hastings , known as Lady Betty, was a benefactor and the daughter of the 7th Earl of Huntingdon. Her brother George became the 8th Earl. On her father's death in 1701 her brother passed on to her the estate of Ledston or Ledstone Hall, near Castleford, West Yorkshire, and she lived...

.

On 11 May 1607 (date of settlement for the marriage) she married Thomas Arundell, 2nd Baron Arundell of Wardour

Thomas Arundell, 2nd Baron Arundell of Wardour

Thomas Arundell, 2nd Baron Arundell of Wardour was an English nobleman son of Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour and Lady Mary Wriothesley....

, son of Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour

Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour

Sir Thomas Arundell, 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour was the eldest son of Sir Matthew Arundell of Wardour Castle in Wiltshire , and Margaret Willoughby, the daughter of Sir Henry Willoughby, of Wollaton, Nottinghamshire...

 and Lady Mary Wriothesley.

On 2 May 1643, during the absence of her husband she gallantly and bravely defended Wardour Castle

Wardour Castle

Wardour Castle is located at Wardour, near Tisbury in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Salisbury. The original castle was partially destroyed during the Civil War...

 for nine days with only herself, her children, a few maid-servants, and twenty-five men against the Parliamentary forces of thirteen hundred men and artillery commanded by two Parliamentary officers, Sir Edward Hungerford and Colonel Edmund Ludlow

Edmund Ludlow

Edmund Ludlow was an English parliamentarian, best known for his involvement in the execution of Charles I, and for his Memoirs, which were published posthumously in a rewritten form and which have become a major source for historians of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. After service in the English...

. She finally was forced to surrender on honourable terms. However the terms were not honoured, with the castle being sacked, and she was removed as a prisoner to Dorchester. But on her husband's return the parliament forces were soon dislodged.

She died at Winchester

Winchester

Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...

, Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

, and was buried at Tisbury, Wiltshire

Tisbury, Wiltshire

The large village of Tisbury lies approximately west of Salisbury in the English county of Wiltshire.With a population at the 2001 census of 2,056 it is an important local centre for communities around the upper River Nadder and Vale of Wardour...

. Her will (dated 28 September 1649) was probated on 2 November 1649.