ON THIS DAY - 27 August 1562

On This Day (27 Aug) in 1562, Margaret St John, Lady Russell, Countess of Bedford, died from smallpox at Woburn Abbey.

Tomb effigies of Margaret St John and Francis Russell, St Michael's Church, Chenies © NorfolkBoy1 [flickr]

Margaret was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I, the wife to Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford, and mother of seven, including her eldest Anne Russell, who had also recently joined the Queen's household.

Smallpox, a highly infectious disease, transmitted by close contact, was virulent during the Elizabethan period. It was known to be fatal, especially to the vulnerable (children, elderly) and women. Early symptoms of the disease include high fever, fatigue, severe back pain, abdominal pain and vomiting, with the characteristic rash appearing 2-3 days later, initially on the face and hands.

Elizabeth I herself would contract smallpox in Oct 1562; whilst she survived this almost-fatal attack, she was left permanently scarred, as did Mary Dudley, Lady Sidney, who contracted it from the Queen from attending her.

Anne, who would go on to marry Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick, did not have any children of her own. However, she took on a mothering role to her younger siblings, which included her youngest sister Margaret, later Countess of Cumberland (being only 2 years old at the time of her mother's death), as well as her nieces and nephews (including Lady Anne Clifford).

Bedford Chapel, St Michael's Church, Chenies © Chenies Manor House and Gardens

Margaret was interred in the 'Bedford Chapel' within St Michael's Church, Chenies: a chapel that had been constructed in 1556 by Anne Sapcote, the Dowager Countess of Bedford, for the place of rest for her late husband, John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford. The chapel became the preferred place of burial for members of the Russell family during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Margaret's husband Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford, was buried with her on his death over 20 years later, in 1585, with the couple's tomb being decorated with a effigies, lying side-by-side.