Margaret Clifford, Countess Of Cumberland

Margaret Clifford (née Russell), Countess of Cumberland, was born on 7 July 1560 in Exeter, England. She was the daughter of Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford, and Margaret St John. Margaret was an English noblewoman and served as a maid of honor to Queen Elizabeth I.

On 24 June 1577, she married George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland. George Clifford was the son of Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl of Cumberland, and Anne Dacre. Margaret and George Clifford had several children, including Lady Anne Clifford (1590–1676), who married Richard Sackville, 3rd Earl of Dorset, and later Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke, as well as other children who died young.

Her sister, Anne Russell, Countess of Warwick, was married to Ambrose Dudley, brother of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Anne Russell was known as a literary patron and was a close friend of Queen Elizabeth I, attending her during her final illness.

In 1603, Margaret Clifford traveled from London accompanied by her daughter Lady Anne Clifford and her sister-in-law, the Countess of Warwick. They joined others at Dingley to greet Anne of Denmark and Prince Henry on 24 June. Subsequently, they traveled through Coventry with Anne Vavasour (later Lady Warburton) to see Princess Elizabeth at Cumbernauld.

During this period, her husband was not providing for her adequately. She sought assistance from Sir Robert Cecil, requesting intervention to acquire suitable clothing to attend the new queen. The royal couple was entertained at Grafton Regis by her husband; however, according to her daughter, Lady Margaret was marginalized during the event, not recognized as the mistress of the house.

Margaret Clifford was a patron of the poet Emilia Lanier. She had an interest in physic and alchemy, and her personal alchemical recipe book has been preserved. In 1593, she founded Beamsley Hospital, an almshouse aimed at supporting local widows.

She passed away at Brougham Castle on 24 May 1616. Her tomb is located at St Lawrence's Church in Appleby, alongside that of her daughter, Lady Anne Clifford. Her daughter also erected the Countess Pillar in her memory.

References for her life include works such as J. Belle Bell's "Assemblées: Or, Court and Fashionable Magazine" (1828) and Horace Walpole’s "A Catalogue of the Royal and Noble Authors of England, Scotland, and Ireland" (1806). Additional correspondence related to Margaret Clifford is available in the Electronic Miscellanies Library Online (EMLO).