Dorothy Vernon facts for kids
Dorothy Vernon (born 1544 – died 1584) was a famous English heiress. She was the younger daughter of Sir George Vernon and Margaret Talbois. Dorothy inherited Haddon Hall, a beautiful old English country house in Derbyshire that dates back to the 1100s. In 1563, she married John Manners. Their family, the Dukes of Rutland, still owns Haddon Hall today. A popular story from the 1800s says that Dorothy and John ran away together to get married. This romantic legend has inspired many books, plays, and movies.
Dorothy's Family and a Famous Legend
Sir George Vernon, Dorothy's father, was a wealthy and generous landowner in Derbyshire. His family home was Haddon Hall, which is known as England's best-preserved medieval manor house. It's a very popular place for tourists to visit.
Dorothy, Sir George's second daughter, fell in love with John Manners (who lived from about 1534 to 1611). John was the second son of Thomas Manners, the first Earl of Rutland. Some historians believe Dorothy and John were second cousins.
The popular legend says that Sir George did not approve of Dorothy and John's relationship. There are a few ideas why: perhaps the Manners family was Protestant while the Vernons were Catholic, or maybe Sir George worried that John, as a second son, did not have a secure financial future.
According to the story, Sir George told John not to try to win Dorothy's heart. He also told Dorothy she could not see John. Dorothy was torn between her love for her father and her love for John Manners. So, she decided to run away with John.
The legend describes Dorothy slipping away during a grand ball held by her father. She supposedly sneaked through the gardens, down some stone steps, and over a small footbridge. John Manners was waiting for her there. They rode away together to get married.
This supposed elopement became the subject of many novels, plays, and other fictional works. We don't have written records of where they got married. It could have been at Sir George's manor in Aylestone, or at a church in Bakewell, or even in the chapel at Haddon Hall.
If the elopement really happened, Dorothy and John must have quickly made up with Sir George. They inherited the Haddon Hall estate when he died just two years later. Dorothy and John had at least two children, named George and Roger.
Dorothy Vernon passed away in 1584. She was buried in the Vernon Chapel at All Saints Church, Bakewell. Sir John died in 1611 and was also buried there. Their eldest son, George, inherited Haddon Hall after his father's death. The Manners family still owns Haddon Hall to this day.
Dorothy Vernon in Stories and Films
The romantic legend of Dorothy Vernon has inspired many creative works over the years:
- A story called "King of the Peak – A Derbyshire Tale" by Allan Cunningham was published in The London Magazine in 1822.
- A novel titled The King of the Peak – A Romance was written in 1823 by William Bennett, using the pen name Lee Gibbons.
- "The Love Steps of Dorothy Vernon," a short story by Eliza Meteyard, appeared in Eliza Cook's Journal in 1849.
- An opera called Haddon Hall was created in 1892 by Arthur Sullivan, with words by Sydney Grundy.
- A popular novel, Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall, was written by American author Charles Major in 1902.
- A play based on Major's novel, by American playwright Paul Kester, opened on Broadway in 1903.
- In 1906, Fred Terry and Julia Neilson adapted Kester's play into Dorothy o' the Hall.
- A film based on Major's novel was released in 1924, starring Mary Pickford.
