An aristocrat from 13th-century England left behind an extraordinary legacy. Ela of Salisbury not only managed vast estates as a countess in her own right but also served as sheriff and founded a monastery where she spent her final decades. Her story combines secular and religious power during an era when women rarely held such high offices.
Aristocratic inheritance and early years
The daughter of William FitzPatrick and Eléonore de Vitré was born in Amesbury around 1187. When her father died nine years later, the girl inherited the title of countess and extensive estates, becoming one of the wealthiest individuals in the kingdom. She held power suo jure, meaning full rights independent of any future husband.
Legend tells of abduction by an uncle seeking to seize her estates and imprisonment in a Norman castle. A knight named William Talbot supposedly found the girl by singing beneath fortress walls until he heard her response. King Richard I assumed guardianship of the heiress and arranged her betrothal to William Longespée, his illegitimate kinsman.
Connection to the royal family
In 1198, the young countess married William Longespée, illegitimate son of Henry II. Her husband used the title of Earl of Salisbury, though it formally belonged to his wife. This union produced at least eight children who played significant roles in English history.
The sons attained high positions – William II died during the crusade at Mansurah, Stephen became seneschal of Gascony, and Nicholas assumed the bishopric of Salisbury. The daughters made strategic marriages with influential families. After the male line expired, the earldom passed to one of the daughters as legal heiress.
Holding the office of sheriff
William Longespée died in a maritime disaster in 1226, leaving his widow with children. Ela assumed the office of sheriff of Wiltshire as the first and only woman in England to hold this position in the 13th century. Sources differ on exact dates – some indicate 1226-1227, others 1231-1236.
As sheriff, she enforced royal law, managed crown lands, and collected taxes in her jurisdiction. This position required authority and administrative competence in a male-dominated society. The countess proved she could direct public affairs as effectively as her male predecessors.
Monastic foundation at Lacock
Around 1229, the widow granted land for construction of an Augustinian women’s monastery at Lacock. The Bishop of Salisbury approved the foundation in April 1230. According to British Library documents, the cornerstone was laid in April 1232 at a site called Snail’s Meadow.
That same day, the founder traveled more than sixteen miles to establish a second monastery for men at Hinton Charterhouse. Both abbeys received numerous privileges ensuring financial stability. In 1238, she herself entered Lacock as a nun, bringing valuable documents including a copy of Magna Carta from 1225, which her late husband had witnessed.
Leading the religious community
In 1240, she was elected prioress of the monastery, a function she held for seventeen years. Under her leadership, the community grew and strengthened its position. Experience managing secular estates proved useful in administering monastic properties and ensuring economic independence.
In 1257, she resigned from the priorship due to advanced age and declining health. She remained in the monastery until the end of her life. She died in August 1261, aged approximately seventy-four years, and was laid to rest in the abbey she had founded.
Memory and historical significance
A Latin inscription carved on her tomb commemorated the founder of the religious house, holy prioress, and Countess of Salisbury full of good works. Historians rank her alongside Margaret de Quincy, Countess of Lincoln, as one of the two most important women of the second half of the 13th century. Her life combined aristocratic power with religious commitment in an epoch when such careers were exceptionally rare.