Grace, Lady Manners

Grace Pierrepont was the daughter of Sir Henry Pierrepont, a Knight of the Garter, and Frances Cavendish.^[1] Her maternal grandparents were Sir William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick. Grace's brother was Robert Pierrepont, born in 1584, who became the 1st Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull. Grace's sister, Elizabeth, married Thomas Erskine, 1st Earl of Kellie.

On 1 August 1593, she married Sir George Manners (1569–1623) of Haddon Hall in Derbyshire, a Member of Parliament.^[2] According to the inscription in Bakewell Church, she had nine children, including:

• John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland (1604–1679)^[3]
• Elizabeth Manners, who married Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexinton
• Eleanor Manners, who married Lewis Watson, 1st Baron Rockingham, and had children
• Frances Manners (died 1652), who married Nicholas Saunderson, 2nd Viscount Castleton, and had children
• Dorothy Manners, who married Sir Thomas Lake
• Mary Manners, who married Sackville Crowe

On 20 May 1636, she founded Lady Manners School in Bakewell, Derbyshire.^[4]

Her body is interred in Bakewell Parish Church.