Description:As part of her work with the Sutherland Papers, Mary Partridge, a PhD student from the University of Birmingham, has examined letters, interrogatories and depositions relating to the secret marriage of Francis Coppinger. Mary has produced transcriptions of these documents which can be seen by clicking on the images on the left.
Who was Francis Coppinger?
Francis Coppinger was the son of Thomas Coppinger of Kent. When Thomas died in March 1579/80, Francis and his elder brother William became Wards of the Crown. As the maternal grandfather, William Brooke, Lord Cobham, Lieutenant of Kent, was granted the wardship of William by the Queen. When William died his younger brother and heir Francis was only a child, and he became the ward of William, Lord Cobham. Documents relating to the boy were found amongst the papers of Sir John Leveson of Halling who worked closely with Lord Cobham as Deputy Lieutenant of Kent. Leveson was also Cobham’s executor.
Francis Coppinger’s Clandestine Marriage
In 1596 Francis Coppinger eloped to London where he secretly married his cousin Elizabeth Randolph. William Brooke, Lord Cobham was a patron of the Randolph family, and the documents suggest that Francis had fallen in love with Elizabeth and run off to London where the couple were married at the chapel of the Savoy hospital. The marriage took place while Francis was still legally a ward of Lord Cobham, and the ceremony went ahead without Lord Cobham’s consent. This caused an enormous upheaval in the family, involving legal action against those involved. Francis had been intended to marry a lady called Marie Moore, daughter of George Moore, an associate of Lord Cobham before he secretly married his cousin.
Contextual information here taken from Mary Partridge's article 'Francis Coppinger's Secret Marriage'.
Click on the images on the left to learn more about the secret marriage in the Sutherland Papers and read Mary's transcriptions of documents relating to this case.
Learn More about Francis Coppinger's Secret Marriage
In addition to producing transcriptions of documents relating to Francis and Elizabeth's secret marriage, Mary Partridge has written an article exploring the background, family politics and consequences of the clandestine marriage in 1596. Click on the link below to read her fascinating account Francis Coppinger's Secret Marriage .
Mary Wright created these pages whilst studying for her PhD at the Centre for Reformation and Early Modern Studies at the University of Birmingham. Click on the link below to learn more about the Centre.