See also
| Husband: | Patrick + of CHAWORTH (1250-1283) | |
| Wife: | Isabel + of BEAUCHAMP (1252-1306) | |
| Children: | Maud + of CHAWORTH (1282-bef1322) | |
| Marriage | 1281 | |
| Name: | Patrick + of CHAWORTH | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Father: | Patrick + of CHAWORTH (1218-1257) | |
| Mother: | Hawise + of LONDRES (1223-1274) | |
| Birth | 1250 | Kempsford, Gloucestershire, England |
| Occupation | Knight | |
| Title | Sir | |
| Death | 7 Jul 1283 (age 32-33) | |
| Name: | Isabel + of BEAUCHAMP | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Father: | William + of BEAUCHAMP (1237-1298) | |
| Mother: | Maud + FITZJOHN (1237-1301) | |
| Birth | 1252 | Warwick, Warwickshire, England |
| Occupation | Lady Kidwelly | |
| Death | 30 May 1306 (age 53-54) | Elmley Castle, Worcestershire, England |
| Name: | Maud + of CHAWORTH | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Spouse: | Henry + PLANTAGENET (1281-1345) | |
| Birth | 2 Feb 1282 | Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales |
| Death | bef 3 Dec 1322 (age 40) | |
Isabella de Beauchamp, Lady Kidwelly, Lady Despenser (died before 30 May 1306), was an English noblewoman and wealthy heiress. She married twice; firstly to Sir Patrick de Chaworth, Lord of Kidwelly, by whom she had a daughter, Maud Chaworth. Her second husband was Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester, by whom she had four children, including Hugh the younger Despenser.[1] Her second husband and eldest son were both executed in 1326 by the orders of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, and his mistress, Isabella of France, Queen-consort of King Edward II. The couple were de facto rulers of England at the time. Isabella de Beauchamp had been dead for over twenty years at the time of their executions.
[edit] FamilyIsabella was born on an unknown date in Warwickshire, England. She was the only daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick and Maud FitzJohn. She had a brother, Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick who married Alice de Toeni, by whom he had seven children. Her paternal grandparents were William de Beauchamp of Elmley Castle and Isabel Maudit, and her maternal grandparents were Sir John FitzGeoffrey, Lord of Shere, and Isabel Bigod.
[edit] Marriages and issueSometime before 1281, she married firstly Sir Patrick de Chaworth, Lord of Kidwelly in Carmarthenshire, South Wales. The marriage produced one daughter:
Maud Chaworth (2 February 1282- 1322), married Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, by whom she had seven children.
Following Patrick's death in 1286, Isabella had in her possession four manors in Wiltshire and two manors in Berkshire, assigned to her until her dowry should be set forth along with the livery of Chedworth in Gloucestershire and the Hampshire manor of Hartley Mauditt which had been granted to her and Sir Patrick in frankmarriage by her father.[2]
That same year 1286, she married secondly Sir Hugh le Despenser without the King's licence for which Hugh had to pay a fine of 2000 marks.[2] He was created Lord Despenser by writ of summons to Parliament in 1295, thereby making Isabella Lady Despenser.
Together Hugh and Isabella had four children:[3]
Hugh le Depenser, Lord Despenser the Younger (1286- executed 24 November 1326), married Eleanor de Clare, by whom he had issue.
Aline le Despenser (died before 28 November 1353), married Edward Burnell, Lord Burnell
Isabella le Despenser (died 4/5 December 1334), married firstly as his second wife, John de Hastings, Lord Hastings, by whom she had three children. Their descendants became the Lords Hastings; she married secondly as his second wife, Sir Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer.
Philip le Despenser (died 1313), married as her first husband Margaret de Goushill, by whom he had issue.
Isabella died sometime before 30 May 1306. Twenty years later, her husband and eldest son, favourites of King Edward II, were both executed by the orders of Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March and Queen Isabella. The couple were by that time the de facto rulers of England, and along with most of the people in the kingdom, they had resented the power both Despensers wielded over the King.
As her husband had been made Earl of Winchester in 1322, Isabella was never styled as the Countess of Winchester.