Frances, Lady Norton facts for kids
Frances, Lady Norton (born Freke; 1644 – 20 February 1731) was an English writer. She wrote poems and stories, mostly about feeling sad and dealing with the loss of her daughter, Grace Gethin. She was also the sister of another writer, Elizabeth Freke.
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The Early Life of Frances Norton
Frances Freke was born in Oxford in 1644. Her parents were Ralph Freke and Cicely Culpepper. Cicely's father was Sir Thomas Colepeper from Hollingbourne.
In 1672, Frances married Sir George Norton. His father, also named Sir George Norton, was famous for helping King Charles II hide during a difficult time when his father, Charles I, was executed. Frances and Sir George Norton had three children, but sadly, only one of them, their daughter Grace, lived past infancy.
Grief and Legacy: Remembering Grace
Frances Norton experienced deep sadness when her daughter, Grace, passed away at just 21 years old. To honor Grace, special memorials were built. You can find one at Hollingbourne Church and another in the famous Westminster Abbey in London.
Frances also made sure Grace's own writings were published. In 1699, she released a book called Reliquae Gethinianae, which was a collection of Grace's works.
Frances Norton's Writings
In 1705, Frances Norton wrote two books about dealing with sadness and finding comfort. These books were called The Applause of Virtue and Memento mori, or, Meditations on Death. They were sold together and were dedicated to two women who had helped Frances during her grief and who had also recently lost someone.
These books were very religious and offered comforting thoughts from Christian, Classical, and philosophical texts. They aimed to help people find peace during difficult times.
Creative Needlework and Poetry
Frances Norton was also very creative with her hands. In 1714, she created a unique book called A miscellany of poems, compos'd, and work'd with a needle, on the backs and seats &c. of several chairs and stools. This means she wrote short poems and then embroidered them onto furniture like chairs and stools at the Norton family home in Abbots Leigh. Her poems were almost always about religious themes.
Later Life and Marriages
In 1710, Frances became very ill, and her family even mistakenly thought she had died. However, she recovered!
Her first husband, Sir George Norton, passed away in 1715. A few years later, in 1718, she married his cousin, Colonel Ambrose Norton. After he died, she married a third time in 1724, to a man named William Jones. Frances outlived her third husband by a few years. She passed away on February 20, 1731, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, a very famous and important place.
