It is adorned
with seventeen shields, and Whitaker doubted 'whether so great an
assemblage of noble bearings can be found on the tomb of any other
Englishman.' This third Earl was a notable figure in the reign of
Elizabeth, and having for a time been a great favourite with the Queen,
he received many of the posts of honour she loved to bestow. He was a
skilful and daring sailor, helping to defeat the Spanish Armada, and
building at his own expense one of the greatest fighting ships of his
time.
The memorials of Lady Anne give a description of her appearance in the
manner of that time: "The colour of her eyes was black like her
Father's," we are told, "with a peak of hair on her forehead, and a
dimple in her chin, like her father. The hair of her head was brown and
very thick, and so long that it reached to the calf of her legs when
she stood upright."
We cannot leave these old towers of Skipton Castle without going back
to the days of John, the ninth Lord Clifford, that "Bloody Clifford"
who was one of the leaders of the Lancastrians at Wakefield, where his
merciless slaughter earned him the title of "the Butcher.
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