Elizabeth Fox, Countess of Ilchester

On 15 March 1736, at the age of 13, Elizabeth married Stephen Fox, the 31-year-old future earl.

[3] He was raised to the peerage in 1741 and was created an earl on 17 June 1756, making his wife a countess.

In 1758, the earl took the additional surname and arms of Strangways in compliance with the terms of his wife's inheritance.

[5] Those who survived to adulthood were: In the mid-1760s, Elizabeth arranged the construction of a seaside villa with landscaped gardens, near Chesil Beach in Dorset, in imitation of Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill House; it was called "Strangways", later known as "Abbotsbury Castle".

[5] Elizabeth is supposedly the real person behind the "first Countess of Wessex" in Thomas Hardy's short story of that name, published in 1891.

Arms of Horner: Sable, three talbots passant argent . Statues of talbot hounds appear as decorative features at Mells Manor , and on the sign of the Talbot Inn, Mells
Arms of Strangways: Sable, two lions passant paly of six argent and gules . These arms were adopted by her father in lieu of his paternal arms, following his wife's inheritance