On This Day in Herstory November 10th 1293, Isabel de Forz, who inherited in her own right the earldom and feudal barony of Plymouth and the Lordship of the Isle of Wight, and the richest woman in England at the time, died at the age of 56.
Isabel de Forz or Isabel de Redvers, the eldest daughter of the 6th Earl of Devon, was born in July 1237; she spent the majority of her early life in Tidcombe, a small town in Devon. When she was 11 of 12 she became the second wife of William de Forz, 4th Earl of Albemarle; he held extensive land in Yorkshire and Cumberland, and was Count of Aumale in Normandy; the couple went on to have six children, two of them died before William, all of them died before Isabella. In 1260 William died, and all of their children were underage, so wardship to their heirs and estates were passed to King Henry III. One third of William’s estates were granted to Isabella, and she was granted custody of her two remaining sons; the remaining two thirds went to the crown.
In 1262 Isabella’s brother, the 7th Earl of Devon, died without any children, and so she inherited his lands in Devon, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, and Harewood in Yorkshire. From this point she used the titles “Countess of Aumale and of Devon” and “Lady of the Isle.” With the death of her father, husband, and brother, Isabella was the richest woman in England and she was only 25; at this point she became a very sought after wife. In 1264 the 6th Earl of Leicester was acquired the rights to her remarriage from the King and she hid from him; in 1268, the son of Henry III acquired the rights to her marriage as well, and when she objected he married her daughter instead. Her daughter Aveline married the King’s son in 1269, but she died 4 years later at age 15.
The monarchy had been after Isabella’s estates for some time, and in 1276 the King asked that she sell her lands in southern England that she inherited from her brother, she did not comply. After the death of her daughter, and last surviving heir, a man named John de Eston was found to be her next heir, and in 1278 John transferred her lands in the north to the crown. In 1293 while travelling from Canterbury, Isabella fell ill. One of the King’s servants rushed to her bedside and drafted a charter to confirm the sale of the Isle of Wight to the King, Isabella agreed; the sale of the Isle of Wight is contested to this day. She died in the early morning of November 10th 1293, at age 56.
